Assigning Enable Passwords

The first important step in configuring your Cisco router is setting a password to control access to privileged mode. Without one, your router’s configuration is fair game to anyone with a rollover cable and only a tiny bit of know-how. Recall that the enable secret password always takes precedence over the unencrypted and less secure enable password. In fact, Cisco recommends not using the enable password command at all.

All Cisco passwords are configured from global configuration mode, although the console, auxiliary, and vty ports are configured at the line level. To set the enable password on your Cisco router, simply issue the enable password command.

toronto-1(config)#enable password cisco99

Obviously, this will set the enable password to cisco99. To set the enable secret password, use the enable secret command:

toronto-1(config)#enable secret cisco100

Author: Dan DiNicolo

Dan DiNicolo is a freelance author, consultant, trainer, and the managing editor of 2000Trainers.com. He is the author of the CCNA Study Guide found on this site, as well as many books including the PC Magazine titles Windows XP Security Solutions and Windows Vista Security Solutions. Click here to contact Dan.