Tips regarding the password
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Update: New Password Terms of Use
To further increase IT security at the University of Vienna, new password terms of use have been in effect since 1 September 2026. These apply to passwords used within the ZID’s IT services, such as the u:account password.
- Since coming into force, your password must meet higher quality requirements, including a minimum length of 12 characters and at least 3 character types.
- You can find all password requirements and best practices in the terms of use.
We therefore ask you to change your existing u:account password and set a password that complies with the new requirements.
Strong passwords not only protect your data, but also help increase the overall security of the university’s IT infrastructure.
How can you change your password?
Please open the form Changing password and set a new u:account password.
Please refer to the ZID password tips. Using a password manager to generate and store secure passwords is highly recommended.
Using IT securely
Under the Using IT securely menu item on the ZID website, you will find engaging videos, quizzes, and tips to help you make your use of IT more secure.
Requests for password changes are frequently misused for phishing attacks. Therefore, please pay special attention to the information on handling emails securely to protect yourself against phishing and other fraud attempts.
You can find more information in the IT News article.
Creating a password
Requirements:
- You should not use the same password you use for another service.
- The password should not be identical to your u:account UserID.
- The new password should not be identical to your previous password.
- The u:account password and the Wi-Fi password should not be identical.
A password has to consist of the following elements:
- At least 12 characters
- At least 1 upper-case letter (A–Z)
- At least 1 lower-case letter (a–z)
- At least 1 digit (0–9) or 1 special character (!"$&/()=?+*_.,;^|[]-)
What is a secure password?
A secure password
- is only known by you and the system you are using it for,
- is a series of characters as random as possible,
- cannot be deduced from your personal details and
- does not contain complete words.
Please also note the password terms of use to choose a secure password.
Passphrase
Passphrases are supported, but must consist of (at least four) randomly selected long words. They must not contain any well-known quotations, idioms, proverbs, titles or easily guessable combinations of words.
For example,
- Strong passphrase: “Elderberry_Relief_Jerky_Walking_Codeword”
- Weak passphrase: “Sun.Moon.and.Stars”
(It is generally recommended that you do not use any such example passphrases).
Use a password manager to generate a secure passphrase.