Tech Tip: Password Rules Update

With the transition to Office365 as our mail server, the rules for password complexity have changed slightly. In addition to the previous rules, your new password cannot contain any of Microsoft’s banned words (common words like Fall, Password, or Office) or any of Microsoft’s banned substitutions (like “P@ssword”). The full rules read as following: 

• 8 characters minimum 
• Must contain 3 of the following 4 items:  
  • Uppercase letter 
  • Lowercase letter 
  • Number 
  • Special character like # 
• Cannot be your username or email address 
• Cannot be the same as your last ten passwords 
• Cannot contain any of Microsoft’s banned words (common words like Fall, Password, or Office) 
• Cannot contain any of Microsoft’s banned substitutions (like “P@ssword”)  

We suggest you use a pass phrase, which is a long phrase or sentence that is easy to remember and hard for others to figure out.