There seems to be some ongoing confusion concerning passwords and logging on/into various programs. When we get calls with questions staff are often confused about the difference between logging into Windows and logging into Workflows.   Or what the difference is between Outlook and Outlook Web Access.
This guide is an effort to lessen the confusion and save time overall.

Windows

The first thing you do on any computer is log into Windows. Windows is the operating system of the computer, and everything else exists inside of it. When a staff computer is first turned on you must hit ctrl+alt+del simultaneously to bring up the password prompt, which looks something like this…

The computer will remember the username of the last user that logged in, so it usually doesn’t have to be reentered. However, some computers are shared by more than one person so the username may need to be changed. The Windows username may or may not have the WALS\ (that’s a backslash, not a forward slash!) prefix in front of it as well.
The second field in the login window is for the Windows password. I am happy to announce that Bryan Durkee has figured out how to change the password rules! The new rules are that a password must be at least 6 characters in length, it will expire every 90 days, and you cannot reuse any of the last four passwords. However, the complexity rules remain. The password must have 3 or the 4 following categories: uppercase, lowercase, numbers and symbols.
The third field will be grayed out if the WALS\ prefix is before the username. If it is not, the third field should say ‘WALS’.
Once the appropriate information is entered hit Enter on the keyboard or click on the ‘OK’ button and you will be logged into Windows.
If the password is mistyped 3 times the user will be locked out for 5 minutes. If you call someone at WALS we can unlock the password manually if necessary.

Outlook and Outlook Web Access

Once logged into Windows, if a user has logged with their name (wals\hodge, not wals\mpl_staff or wals\fdl-circulation) they can use Microsoft Outlook   to work with email. You do not have to re-enter your password to use Outlook because your identity has already been authenticated by logging into Windows.

Users that do not normally log in as themselves can use Outlook Web Access (http://outlook.winnefox.org in Internet Explorer) to check their email. You can use this from virtually any computer that has Internet access. You can use Mozilla Firefox with O.W.A. but not all of the features will be available.
However, Outlook Web Access is not the same as Outlook, the email client that is a part of Microsoft Office.   How you have logged into Windows, if at all, has no effect on O.W.A. so you must log in to O.W.A. every time you use it. It is more like using Hotmail or Yahoo mail.
With O.W.A., you must use the ‘wals\’ prefix before your username, and then enter your password.   Do not check the ‘Remember Password’ box as more than one person may be using O.W.A. to check their mail on that computer.

Changing the Password

When logging into Windows you will be notified when the time is near for changing your password. A small window will open up letting you know how many days you have left. If the password is already expired it will force you to change it immediately.
It’s also important to note that you may change your password at any time. When logged into Windows, hit ctrl+alt+del simultaneously and a window will open up with 6 buttons in it. Click on the button named ‘Change Password’ and fill out the fields to change your password.

Users that do not normally log in as themselves and use Outlook Web Access to check email will get a notification in the form of a yellow bar across the top of the page that lets them know how many days they have left before the password expires.
The user can change the password in one of two ways:
Before it expires, click on the Options button in the lower left-hand side of the screen. Scroll down until you see the ‘Change Password’ button. Click on that and fill in the appropriate information to change your password.



If the password has already expired the user will be unable to log into O.W.A. in order to change the password so they must log directly into Windows. The user must log off of the current profile and log back into Windows using their own username and password. You can use any staff computer to do this. Once logged in they will be immediately prompted to change their password. As soon as the password has been changed the user can log off of the computer and check their email through O.W.A. as before.

Workflows

The other software regularly requiring staff to log in with a username and password is Workflows, the primary software we use for circulation, cataloging, etc. Some of the confusion arises because the usernames for Workflows are often very similar to some of the usernames for Windows: Menashacirc and mpl_circ for example.
Workflows passwords are only changed about once a year, and either Karen Boehning or Karla Smith must change those passwords.

In conclusion,
Here are some helpful tips to deal with passwords and logging in…

-Reboot your computer everyday.
   Not only will this help to keep the computer running well, but staff will stay familiar with logging in if they have to do it more often. It’s easy to forget this stuff if you don’t do it very often.

-Pick easy to remember passwords.
   Develop a system that will make the complicated Windows password scheme easier to remember.   For example, consistently start with a capital letter and end with punctuation, or stick with a theme like flowers or books.
You can always write the password down until you get used to it, as long as the password isn’t left where the public can see it.