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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Atlanta, GA | Posted: February 4, 2013
Summary Sentence:
Creating passwords for everything from email to credit card accounts is a challenge.
Full Summary:
Creating passwords for everything from email to credit card accounts is a challenge. But remembering all of them — including your Georgia Tech password, which must be changed every three months — can require a Herculean effort.
LastPassCreating passwords for everything from email to credit card accounts is a challenge. But remembering all of them — including your Georgia Tech password, which must be changed every three months — can require a Herculean effort.
That’s why the Office of Information Technology (OIT) is offering a new resource for faculty and staff called “LastPass.”
“As requirements for passwords become more complex, there’s a greater possibility of poor password management habits such as writing down passwords,” said Jimmy Lummis, information security policy and compliance manager for OIT. “LastPass provides a means to manage the creation of very strong passwords and the ability to store those passwords in a single location, which is secure and encrypted and available to the user in any location.”
OIT decided to offer the tool after a decision was made to shift Tech’s password standard from eight to 11 characters beginning Jan. 31 (the result of new state and Board of Regents requirements).
LastPass is compatible with many different types of computers and mobile devices and offers cloud synchronization among all of a user’s devices without relying on a third party service such as Dropbox. There is no limit to the number of passwords that can be stored in a user’s LastPass “vault,” which is encrypted with a LastPass master password that is required to lock and unlock the account.
“The beauty of this tool is users only need to remember their LastPass password, rather than the 50 passwords that many of us have to remember to access all of our accounts,” Lummis added.
To obtain a LastPass account, contact the Technology Support Center at support@oit.gatech.edu. For more information about the tool, click here.
