The password file that is used to verify your password is shared by all Unix workstations, Sun's and SGI's. You can only change your password on a Sun machine - if you try to change it on a SGI or Linux machine you will get a message explaining that you must change it from a Sun.
You should change your password immediately after logging on to any system for the first time. You can use the passwd command to change your login password at any time. To do so, simply type passwd and respond to the questions that follow. You will be asked to supply your OLD password for verification and then your new password. After entering the new password, you must type it in again to verify that you typed it correctly. If the passwords do not match, you will be reprompted to enter a new password, and then to verify it again. If you typed in your old password incorrectly, the system will reject your request for a new password.
A password may be composed of as few as five characters if those characters selected are a combination of both upper and lower case. The minimum length for a password is six characters if it consists entirely of either upper or lower case characters. With the exception of the password that is issued with your account, entirely numeric passwords are not allowed, at least one non-numeric character must be provided. Passwords are significant up to 8 places, any extra characters are ignored. You should use passwords that contain both alpha and numeric characters, or a combination of alpha characters and special characters ( \
#%$&(), etc). You should avoid passwords that are common English words, any word that can be looked up by a dictionary-checking program, or any password that someone who knows you can guess (no spouse names, etc). Your password is the only protection you have against other people using your account. It should be changed frequently. You should never write down your password or tell it to anyone. If you should forget your password, you may request that another one be set for you. You will need to provide proper identification when requesting a new password.
Please be sure to protect your password and account as you would protect any other possession of value. Easy to guess passwords are a tremendous security risk for both you and other users of the system. If your account presents a security risk to this system because of an insecure password, systems staff may temporarily disable your account.