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WebTycho UNIX User's Guide > Getting Started
- Logging in for the First Time
- Logging in via Telnet
- Changing Your Password
- Accepting the Security Policy
- Reading the System News
- Logging Out
Logging in for the First Time
During your first on-line session, you'll be asked to change the original password given to you with your account, accept UMUC's computer security policy, and read the system news. The following section will help you accomplish these tasks.
If you are connecting to the system from one of our labs, choose ALL PROGRAMS from the PC's START MENU and then choose PUTTY to access Nova or Polaris. If you have problems accessing the start menu, please contact the lab assistant on duty.
You can also connect to UMUC's host computer systems using a Telnet client. Windows 95/98 and above have a Telnet client built in. Opening a Telnet connection allows you to access UMUC's Unix systems while maintaining your Internet connection. In addition, you can use Telnet to avoid long distance phone charges if you are not local to the Adelphi campus.
Logging in via Telnet To access UMUC's host computers (Nova or Polaris) via Telnet:
Telnet provides a simple terminal connection to a remote server. Because of its inherent lack of security, support for telnet is being depreciated in favor of the more secure SSH protocol. Follow the instructions to install PortaPuTTY and create a Secure SHell (SSH) terminal connection to the university's UNIX servers.
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Connect to your Internet Service Provider (i.e. AOL)
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Open the start menu on your task bar (the bar at the bottom of your screen) and select "run". A new window titled "run" will open.
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To login to Nova, type : telnet nova.umuc.edu
To login to Polaris, type : telnet polaris.umuc.edu -
Click OK.
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A new window titled "Telnet" will open. Login to the system with your username and password.
* WARNING: Using telnet exposes your plain text username and password to all connection points between your computer and the destination server. It is therefore recommended that all terminal connections be made over SSH instead, as the username and password are encrypted during transmission. Follow the instructions to install PortaPuTTY and connect using SSH.
Changing Your Password
The computer-generated password you receive for your account automatically expires when your account is created, and the system will ask you to change it the first time you sign on. Please read these prompts carefully. The first prompt you will see will ask for your *login* password. At this prompt you need to re-enter the temporary password you were assigned during the account creation process and just used to access your account. You will then be prompted for a *new* password. Passwords must be between six and eight characters in length and must contain at least one non-alphabetic character within the first six characters (punctuation marks like commas or semicolons are particularly good choices).
For security reasons, passwords expire every 180 days. Several days before your password is to expire, you will see a warning message when you log in. You may either wait for the password to expire (in which case the system will automatically prompt you to choose a new password), or simply type passwd at the prompt and follow the directions.
- If your password has expired, you'll see the following message:
Choose a new password:
Or, if you used the passwd command, you'll see this message:passwd: Changing password for username
Then you will see the following prompt:Enter login password:
At this point you must type in your current password (the one you just used to sign on). The characters you type will not be echoed on the screen. If you type your old password incorrectly, the password change will be cancelled and you must restart the process.
- Once you've entered the old password correctly, you will be prompted for a new password.
New password:
Type the new password you've chosen. Again, the terminal will not echo the characters as you type them.
- Now that you've entered the new password, you will be asked to type it again for verification. You are prompted for this by the line:
Re-enter new password:
Type in your new password again.
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If you typed your old password correctly in step 1 and you typed your new password correctly in steps 2 and 3, your password will be changed and the log-in procedure will continue.
- If you ever forget your password or are unable to sign on with your password, contact Computer Support at 301-985-7400. You will be routed to a member of the UNIX systems staff who will reset your password.
Accepting the Security Policy
The next thing you'll see after you sign on for the first time is the UMUC computer security policy. You must agree to abide by the policy before you can use the system. Read the policy, and if you agree to its conditions, type accept and press [ENTER]. If you do not accept the policy, you will be logged off the system. If you mistype your response, you will be logged off and you must reinitiate the log-in procedure.
Reading the System News
When you sign on, the system checks to see if there are any system news items that you haven't read yet. If any unread news is found, the titles of the unread items are displayed and you'll be asked if you would like to read them. To read the news, just answer y.
You will be notified in this way whenever new items are posted, but you may also read the system news at any time with the following command:
Nova> ucnews
The UNIX systems staff will periodically post important information about system availability, as well as general information about new utilities available on the system, account deadlines, lab information, and other subjects. Since this information may directly affect you, you should make sure that you follow the news closely. If you have any questions about something you read in the system news, you may use the feedback command to request additional information. See Getting Help Using the System for instructions.
Logging Out
To log off the system, type exit or logout at the Nova> or Polaris> prompt.
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