Managing MCommunity Groups and UMICH Passwords for Shared Accounts

Shared Accounts allow a group to have a U-M Google account that is owned by that group rather than by an individual. This document provides information about:

Shared Accounts

Shared Accounts in U-M Google are used when a group needs a Google account for university business that several people can use and that is owned by the group rather than by an individual.

For more information about requesting and using Shared Accounts, refer to Shared Accounts in U-M Google.

Logging in to the Shared Account

Using a Chrome Incognito window (or a different browser), log in with the account's name and UMICH password.

Note: To reset the password for a Shared Account, contact the ITS Service Center or change it yourself.

MCommunity Groups Associated With a Shared Account

Each Shared Account has an associated group in the MCommunity Directory. When you request a Shared Account from the ITS Service Center, an MCommunity group for your account is created for you.

The MCommunity group allows email to be sent to the Shared Account using an @umich.edu address. It also allows certain individuals (i.e., the MCommunity group's owners) to change the UMICH password associated with the Shared Account.

Some things you may notice about the MCommunity group profile for your Shared Account:

• In the Group Details on your group's MCommunity profile page, the Rules Summary section will state that the group has not been sent to U-M Google. Shared Accounts are linked with an account in U-M Google differently from other MCommunity groups and are not synchronized like regular groups.
• The owners of the group will be the owners of the Shared Account.
• One external member will be listed with an email address made up of your Shared Account's name and @go.mail.umich.edu. This external group member must be in your group for your Shared Account to receive email.
• No individuals will be listed as group members. The Shared Account owners can delegate access to the account through other means. (Refer to U-M Google Shared Accounts for information about giving people access to Shared Accounts.)

Managing the MCommunity Group for a Shared Account

Be aware that the MCommunity group is required to allow emails to be sent to the Shared Account. It is also required to give certain individuals (i.e., the MCommunity group owners) the ability to change the UMICH password for the shared Account.

1. Do not delete the group from MCommunity. If the group is deleted, the Shared Account cannot receive email.

2. Do not delete the external group member. The external group member, an address ending in @go.mail.umich.edu, delivers email to the Shared Account. It allows your Shared Account to receive mail sent to it at its @umich.edu address. If you delete the external group member from the MCommunity group, the Shared Account will not be able to receive email.

3. Do not change the group settings. Do not make the group private/moderated or make any other changes to the settings. Such changes can stop emails from being delivered to your Shared Account.

4. Renew the group on an annual basis. This ensures that the group does not expire. The group owners will be notified via email 90 days and 30 days before the group expires to remind them to renew it.

5. Make sure there are always several group owners. The group owners can renew the group, add and remove group owners, and change the password for the Shared Account. Having several group owners makes it more likely to be someone available to take care of these tasks as needed, even when an individual owner is away from the office.

Changing the UMICH Password for a Shared Account

To change the password for a U-M Google Shared Account, you must be an owner of the MCommunity group associated with that account and already know the password.

Be aware that when your Shared Account password is changed, the change is not synchronized to Google. You must take action to initiate the synchronization. This does not change the Google password used on a mobile device or desktop client. Contact the ITS Service Center to request that the password is sychronized to U-M Google.

Contact the Service Center

If you are an owner of the MCommunity group and do not know the password, or you are not comfortable using terminal programs and the ITS Login Service:

• Visit the Google at U-M Request Form
• Select Request a password reset for an existing Google Shared Account.

If you are comfortable using terminal programs and the ITS Login Service, you can change it yourself if you wish. To change the password for a Shared U-M Google Account, you must be an owner of the MCommunity group associated with that account.

Tip: Refer to Set ot Change Your UMICH Password for information about choosing a strong password.

Do It Yourself

1. Open a secure terminal program and connect to the ITS Login Service (login.itd.umich.edu). Log in with your own uniqname and UMICH password (not the name and UMICH password for your Shared Account).
   Note: If you get "access denied," it may be due to not having an account. For automatic provisioning, please use the AFS Self-Provisioning Tool. Please allow up to an hour for the account to be set up. Dearborn users can use login.umd.umich.edu instead of login.itd.umich.edu.

   Windows Users: See Use PuTTY to Connect to Host Computers [Windows] for instructions.

   Mac Users: Use the Terminal program, which is included as part of macOS. In your Applications folder, open the Utilities folder to find Terminal. Double-click Terminal to open it. Then type the appropriate ssh command:

   If your machine name is your uniqname, you can enter this command: ssh login.itd.umich.edu

   If your machine name is different, you will need to enter this command: ssh youruniqname@login.itd.umich.edu (where you have replaced youruniqname with your own uniqname.

   

   You will be prompted for your password. Type your UMICH password, then press the Return/Enter key. (You will not see anything on the screen when you type your password.)

   You will see the name of the Login Service machine you are connected to, followed by a percent sign. This is the prompt at which you can enter commands.

2. At the Login Service % prompt, enter kpasswd, followed by the name of your Shared Account, then press the Return/Enter key. (Kpasswd is the command indicating that you wish to change a UMICH password)

   For example, if your Shared Account name were its-test, you would type this: kpasswd its-test

   

3. At the Password for yoursharedaccount@UMICH.EDU prompt, enter the current UMICH password for your Shared Account and press the Return/Enter key.

4. At the Enter new password prompt, enter the new password you wish to use and press the Return/Enter key.

5. At the Enter it again prompt, enter your new password again and press the Return/Enter key.

6. You will see the words Password changed.

7. Type logout and press the Return/Enter key.

8. Exit or quit your terminal connection program.

Communicating Your Shared Account Password Securely

If you change the UMICH password for your Shared Account, it is your responsibility to convey the new password securely to your Shared Account co-owners.

It is most secure for you to convey the password verbally, either in person or by phone.

• Do not send a password via email.
• If you are on the phone, be sure you are speaking to the right person.
• Do not leave the password in a voicemail that someone other than the intended recipient might be able to access.