PennDesign Computing Help
Accounts & Identities
Sorting Out Usernames & Passwords
User names and passwords can be a bit confusing. The following is designed to help you understand the various accounts you will need at PennDesign and the resources associated with each.
PennCard
The PennCard is your official University of Pennsylvania identification card. It is used for building access and many University services, including dining, photocopying, and PennCash. It should be carried with you at all times.
Please see the PennCard website for more details: www.upenn.edu/penncard.
Obtaining a PennCard: www.upenn.edu/penncard/card/obtaining.html.
PennKey
The PennKey is your virtual Penn ID. It provides access to many University network resources, including E-mail, PennInTouch, Campus Express, and much more. The username you select during the set-up process, your PennName, will be the username for all of your Penn accounts. Once you have selected your PennName, you may only change it in the event of a major life change, so choose carefully.
Please see the PennKey website for more details: www.upenn.edu/computing/pennkey.
PennDesign E-Mail
mail.design.upenn.edu is the University-operated e-mail service for full-time PennDesign students and visiting faculty (standing faculty and staff are eligible for Exchange accounts). Your PennDesign E-mail address serves as your Penn E-mail identity (jdoe@design.upenn.edu).
If you’re a full-time PennDesign student and you don’t have a PennDesign E-mail account, you can create your own account using Campus Express.
Attention! All University and School related E-mail will be sent to your PennDesign account (please don’t ask to have E-mail sent to an alternate address). If you wish to forward your E-mail to another account, you may do so using the Account Services website.
New for Fall 2008: Major changes have been made to the PennDesign E-mail service. In addition to a much improved web interface, the service will be accessible via standard E-mail clients like Outlook, Thunderbird, and Apple Mail. It will also included collaboration tools like shared calendars, contacts, tasks, and more. Please see the Penn Zimbra website for more details: www.upenn.edu/computing/email/help/zimbra.
PennDesign Account
Your PennDesign account gives you access to dedicated PennDesign Computing Resources as well as printers, plotters, and the Remote Access Web Interface. PennDesign accounts are created automatically at the beginning of each semester for all new full time students and any student taking a PennDesign course. An E-mail will be sent to your Penn E-mail account with your temporary password and logon information.
In summary, the PennName you select while creating your PennKey is the basis for all other account usernames. Passwords for other accounts can, but need not, vary. Each account provides you access to a different set of resources. PennKey is University-wide, Design is for e-mail and PennDesign is for PennDesign-specific resource.
A Security Tip from Penn's Information Systems and Computing (ISC): Assign a hard-to-guess, complex password to your computer. Two of the biggest security problems on campus are the failure to assign passwords to individual computers and the use of guessable passwords that cannot withstand automated password cracking attempts. Complex passwords are essentially random strings of upper and lower-case characters and numbers that are not associated with your name, birthday, or other personal information and do not include dictionary words.
If you have additional questions please don’t hesitate to contact a member of the PennDesign computing staff or write to our general purpose tech support e-mail account, ithelp@design.upenn.edu.
