How do I reset my cPanel password?

When I registered my first domain name a couple of years ago, I got a welcome email from my webhost with instructions about my domain name. The email was full of technical jargon but it also had some good news and bad news. The good news was that they had sent me my user name and my password. It was good news because it meant I could login to the backend of my domain name and do various administrative tasks. The bad news was that the password was too hard. Yes- it was meant to be secure but it was too secure that I knew I couldn’t remember it either. So my first question was how do I reset my password?

This hub will answer that question but first things first; you want to make sure that even after you reset your password. You still have a secure password. A secure password will ensure that your domain is kept safe from hijack. But then you may ask, what is a secure password? Am glad you asked. Let me answer that:

The following are the nine important characteristics of a secure password.

• A secure password should be at least 8 characters long
• It is a good idea to use a password that is not found in the dictionary
• A secure password should not just be letters alone. You should combine the letters, numbers and the special characters.
• Avoid using passwords that names of commands
• Do not use nouns for the passwords especially names of your pets, children, siblings, spouses etc
• Do not use the name of your computer as your password
• A secure password must be changed from time to time
• A secure password must be significantly different from the previously used ones

There you have it! Now back to our question of how to reset the password. There are two ways of resetting your cPanel password. The first method is requesting your webhosting provider to reset it for you. Ideally, you do this by submitting a ticket to them and wait for their reply. The problem with this method is that you might not get an immediate response. Webhosting companies usually handle too many emails from customers on a daily basis and most times, the emails are responded to depending on how severe the case is. If you host with a relatively small firm, then your chances of getting an instant reply are higher but then it depends on many independent factors. I therefore recommend the second option- resetting the password yourself.

The first thing to do to reset the Cpanel password is login to the cPanel. If you are not sure how to login to the cPanel, please read my step by step guide on how to login to cPanel first before you continue. After you login to cPanel, you will see the Cpanel backend which is categrozide in different groups. Look for the group labeled preferences. By default, it is usually the first group unless some changes were made. It looks something like this

Under preferences, click on “change password” That will take you to a new window which will ask you for the old password and the new password. There is also a password generator which you can use to generate a strong password but chances are, the resulting password will again be too difficult to remember. You may therefore want to come up with your own password but ensure it adheres to the important characteristics of a secure password. Once you are good to go, click on the submit button labeled change your password now. Now that you have a password that is easy to memorize, avoid writing it down for safety. Enjoy administering your domain! If you are still confused at what the other icons in Cpanel do, just stay with me. I will be explaining the most important in my next hubs.