The hosting account password (sometimes called the cPanel password) is what FTP, SFTP, and direct SSH connections use to authenticate. Most things in the portal don't need it — but if you're connecting tools directly to your hosting, this is the password they want.
Change it from the portal
- Go to Services and click your hosting service.
- Find the Change password option (usually in the service's quick actions).
- Enter a new password — at least 12 characters, mix of types.
- Save.
The change is instant. Existing FTP/SFTP sessions stay open until you close them; new connections need the new password.
What this password is for
- FTP / SFTP — uploading files via FileZilla, Cyberduck, Transmit, etc.
- SSH — for hosting plans that include shell access (most VPS, some shared with addon).
- MySQL connections — if you're connecting to your databases from outside (rare, usually you'd use phpMyAdmin or app-level credentials).
- Some legacy integrations that require explicit cPanel auth instead of SSO.
What this password is NOT for:
- Signing in to the portal — that's a separate password tied to your Flashcloud account.
- WordPress admin — that's per-WordPress-install.
- Email accounts — each email account has its own password.
Pick a strong password
Same advice as anywhere:
- 12+ characters.
- Mix of upper, lower, numbers, symbols.
- Unique to this account.
- Stored in a password manager.
Long random strings are easy with a password manager and harder to brute-force than a "memorable" password.
When you'd want to change it
- Suspected compromise — if you think someone got a copy of your FTP/SSH password.
- Team turnover — when a developer who had FTP access leaves.
- Periodic rotation — many security-conscious teams rotate hosting passwords every 90 days.
- Just feels old — same energy as changing your portal password.
What changing the password breaks
If you have:
- FTP clients with the password saved — they'll fail until you update.
- SSH keys — those aren't affected (key-based auth is independent of password).
- Backup tools running scheduled FTP backups — they'll fail. Update the credentials in the tool.
- Deploy scripts using
sftp://URLs — same. Update credentials.
After changing the password, walk through any tool or script that connects to your hosting account and update the saved credentials.
Power-user note
For SSH access, prefer key-based authentication over passwords — generate an SSH keypair, paste the public key into your hosting's SSH access settings (in cPanel under "SSH Access"), and disable password SSH. Keys are more secure and don't expire. This is one of the few cases where cPanel is currently the right place to do the configuration.