Look at your confirmation message one more time. At the time your account was set up, you were automatically subscribed to the rootsweb-help mailing list. This is an excellent place to post your atypical questions, as the subscribers to that mailing list have much more intimate knowledge of the various software and hardware combinations that you might be using. The email needs to include your account name, your name, your email address, and the reason why you need your password changed. Please do not ask that your password be changed to something that is easy for you to remember.
Passwords are auto-generated.
Most files are preset to certain permissions when you upload them. However, in some cases you need to create files that are read and writeable to the world. Mail Merge requires that an output file be world read and writeable to work properly. Telnet is not available at RootsWeb. Most user required commands can be issued through a good quality FTP client.