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4 February 2020 - Identity ManagementUpdate your Uni ID password NOW!

Update for March 2020: Due to the current situation, the URZ building is closed and the IT service is only available by phone and digitally. No Uni IDs are blocked for the time being. All users with outdated passwords are nevertheless asked to change their password immediately. Please read the following text to learn how to change it.

Sicherheitsschloss auf der Computerplatine

Please change your Uni ID password by 29 February 2020 to upgrade it to our new security standards. Our new password guidelines offer a higher degree of security and data protection.

Please note: To implement these new university-wide password guidelines successfully, all Uni ID users will have to change their password by 29 February 2020. After this date, all accounts with passwords older than 01 January 2020 will be blocked. You can only unblock your Uni ID by visiting an IT Service Point in person (as an employee: by contacting your IT representative). The password change does not yet apply to project IDs.

How can I update my password? To change your password, connect your device to the university network (by accessing the University LAN or WiFi) or use a VPN connection if you are not on campus. If you are using a device connected via eduroam to update your password, please download the lastest version of the eduroam CAT tool before changing your password (see FAQ below for more information).

After completing these steps, use the web form to change the password for your Uni ID.

Security is a priority: Our new password guidelines provide more security and data protection for all University institutions and for you. Many of the currently used passwords do not yet adhere to these guidelines. In the interest of IT security, it is imperative that we implement these rules comprehensively and promptly. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Do you have any questions or need support? The FAQ section below may already have some answers for you. Otherwise, do not hesitate to contact the IT Service if you encounter any difficulties. You have never used VPN before? Visit the VPN page to learn how to setup a VPN connection to the University network.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Why is this password change necessary?

As of 01 January 2020 the URZ has introduced new password guidelines. These rules allow using much more complex passwords, especially with regard to password length.

Simple passwords are a major security risk - and yet they are widely used. Current malware often exploits this fact and checks, for example, whether an attacking system is protected with poor but common passwords like "123456". More complex passwords can make this and many other ways of intrusion much more cumbersome.

This one-time, large-scale password change is intended to increase the complexity level of all Uni ID passwords in the long term. We have refrained from forcing users to change their password regularly, and will continue to do so in the future - in line with recent recommendations issued by the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI).

 

By changing your password, you help to improve the IT security of the entire university - and ultimately protect your own data as well.

Who is affected by the new Password Policy?

All users of an Uni ID are affected by the new Password Policy.

Project IDs are not included in this change.

What guidelines are required for my new password?

The new password guidelines:

- A minimum of 12 characters and a maximum of 45

- The first character of the password must be a letter

- No umlauts (ä, Ä, ö, Ö, ü, Ü, ß)

- Your password may not contain your Uni-ID, your first, or your last name.

In addition, the password should include at least three of the following categories with characters allowed:

- Capital letters: A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,X,Y,Z

- Lower case letters: a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,m,n,o,p,q,r,s,t,u,v,w,x,y,z

- Digits: 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9

- Special characters: -,!,?,$,&,*,+,#,%

Do I have to change my password even if it is compliant with the new Password Policy?

The new Password Policy is effective as of January 1, 2020.

All passwords generated after this date are already compliant with the new Password Policy.

All other users are asked to update their password.

What will happen if I haven't changed my password by February 29, 2020?

If you have not changed your password by February 29, 2020 your Uni-ID will be blocked. To unlock it again, you have to go to an IT-Service Point and renew your password on-site.

I am using a device connected to eduroam to change my password. What do I need to keep in mind?
Our recommendation: Download the latest version of the eduroam CAT tool  before changing your password. It will allow you to easily create a new eduroam WiFi profile if necessary.



In many cases, entering the new password for your eduroam settings will suffice to stay connected. However, on some devices, you will have to setup a new eduroam WiFi profile by using the eduroam CAT tool. The how-to “Change to the new eduroam Profile” tells you how to purge the old profile and setup a new one.



Already lost your connection to eduroam? In this case you can also use the WiFi networks UNI-HEIDELBERG or UNI-WEBACCESS (using a VPN connection for internet access) on campus to download the eduroam CAT tool.
I have updated my password and eduroam does not work anymore.

Since your Uni ID provides access to the eduroam network, you will also have change the password saved in the various eduroam configurations on your devices. Depending on the device and on the operating system, simply changing the password to your new Uni-ID password may suffice to reestablish the connection to eduroam.

Changing the password did not help? On some devices, you will have to setup a new eduroam WiFi profile by using the eduroam CAT tool. The how-to “Change to the new eduroam Profile” tells you how to purge the old profile and setup a new one.



Need an alternative connection? You can also use the WLAN networks UNI-HEIDELBERG or UNI-WEBACCESS (using a VPN connection for internet access) on campus to download the eduroam CAT tool.