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1. Town of Prescott Valley Password Policy

1. Must be 8 to 16 characters in length.
2. Must contain at least one special character and one numeric character.
3. Passwords are case sensitive.

2. Password Expiration

All passwords are set to expire after 90 days. These unpopular but necessary restrictions partially addresses two issues. Because their owners are unlikely to notice unusual activities, infrequently used computer accounts are particularly susceptible to attack. Expiring passwords forces the account owner to periodically perform some amount of activity. Password expirations also help to limit the length of time an active computer account can be subjected to unauthorized use. If an active computer account is compromised, it won't remain compromised forever because its owner will have to change the password.

3. Suggestions for Passwords

A good password is easy for its owner to remember and difficult for anyone else to guess.

1. Good passwords are combinations of letters, numbers, and special characters. However, please keep in mind that the special characters - like 'space', %, *, ", ', \, (, ), { and } are known to be problematic for some systems.
2. Passwords are case-sensitive: the passwords WHATEVERHAPPENS, whateverhappens, and WhatEverHappens are different. Mixed-case passwords are more difficult to guess than passwords that are entirely uppercase or entirely lowercase.
3. One strategy for creating acceptable passwords is to join two words together, or, better, to join two separate words with a special character. For example, Denver!Broncos would be an easy password for a Broncos fan to remember.
4. You can increase the security of passwords by replacing letters with numbers or special characters. For example, Denver!Br0nc0s, D3nv3r!8roncos or Den^er!Broncos would be almost as easy to remember as Denver!Broncos, but considerably more difficult to guess.
5. Another strategy is to join the first letters of a phrase or sentence. For example, the obscure-looking password 4sa7yaof was created by from "Four score and seven years ago, our fathers".
6. Avoid passwords like names, telephone numbers, birth dates and Social Security Numbers.

Password requirements are meant to help us provide a computing environment that is both available and secure. For our increasingly vital computer operations, these are key features.

4. To change your Network password, you'll need to follow these steps:

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete on your keyboard simultaneously. This will open the security options menu.
2. From the menu, select "Change a password." You'll be directed to the "Change Password" screen.
3. On the "Change Password" screen, you'll need to provide your old/current password in the "Current password" field.
4. Enter your new password in the "New password" field. Make sure your new password meets the domain's password complexity requirements. It's generally recommended to use a strong password that includes a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.
5. Re-enter your new password in the "Confirm new password" field to ensure you've entered it correctly.
6. Click the "OK" or "Change Password" button to save your new password.
7. If the new password meets the domain's security requirements, it will be accepted, and you'll see a confirmation message.