These steps will allow you to change the passwords for SYS, SYSTEM, and the oracle user at the operating system level.
1. Log into Oracle as internal or sysdba
$ svrmgrl command="connect internal"
– or –
$ sqlplus "/ as sysdba"
2. Type the following commands:
SQL> ALTER USER SYS IDENTIFIED BY [password]; SQL> ALTER USER SYSTEM IDENTIFIED BY [password];
3. Log off of Oracle and reconnect as SYS or SYSTEM and test the new password
Note that any OS user who is a member of the osdba group (usually ‘dba’)can run ‘sqlplus / as sysdba’. Because of this it is recommended to change the password of the OS users who are members of this group. To change a password at the OS level, perform the following steps.
For UNIX
1 Log in as the oracle software owner, usually ‘oracle’.
2. Type the following:
$ passwd
3. It will prompt you for the current password, enter current password.
4. It will then prompt you for the new password, enter the new password.
5. It will then ask for a confirmation of new password, re-enter new password.