User`s guide

Setting up Meridian Mail security 6-139
Forced regular password changes
Standard 1.0 System Administration Guide January 1998
Forced regular password changes
Introduction
Forced password changes help increase security especially if
they are done regularly. By compelling mailbox users to change
their passwords and encouraging them to vary the length, it
makes it very difficult for hackers to guess your password
patterns.
Who can change the
password
The mailbox password is changeable by both the administrator
and the mailbox user. It can be altered as often as desired.
Relevant fields
The following fields in the Voice Security Options screen are
related to forced password changes. The second and third fields
are displayed only if the first field is set to a value of 1 or more:
• Maximum Days Permitted Between Password Changes
• Password Expiry Warning (days)
• Minimum Number of Password Changes before Repeats
Note:
These fields apply to the MMUI interface only.
For more information on the Voice Security Options screen and
its fields, see “Modifying mailbox security settings” on
page 6-146.
Maximum days
between password
changes
You can either force users to change their passwords on a
regular basis, or you can allow them to change them when or if
they want.
Default
On a newly installed system, the default setting forces users to
change their passwords every 30 days. You can choose a value
between 0 and 90 days.
Guideline
Forcing users to change their passwords on a regular basis is
recommended since this results in a much greater level of
security.