Connecting to C.S. Department Computers
What’s my username?
You have a unique “username”, or “login name”, which identifies you to
the computer. You don’t get to make one up—somebody created one for
you. It’s the same as your NetID.
What’s my password?
Your password is initially your CSU ID, a nine-digit number starting
with 8, with no dashes or other punctuation. You should change it. If
you’ve taken a Computer Science class recently, you may still have a
login left over from that class. If so, your password will still be
whatever it was from that class. If you’ve forgotten your password,
send email to the CS Dept. IT people at
sna [snail] CS [period] ColoState [period] Edu -> mailto:sna [snail] CS [period] ColoState [period] Edu?subject=password%20reset%20request,
asking them to reset your password.
Both Must be Right
When you log in, both the username and the password have to be
right. If you get the username wrong, it doesn’t tell you “bad
username”—it still asks you for a password. Honest! This is a
security thing, so a bad guy can’t easily find out what usernames are
valid.
What computer do I use?
You don’t have to use the same computer every time.
Your files are magically on all of the
CS Department computers at once.
Here’s one, randomly chosen: salem.cs.colostate.edu
How do I actually get to one of these computers?
- Computer Lab
-
The simplest way is to walk to the Linux Lab in the first
floor of the Computer Science building. It’s a room
full of computers—sit down and log into one. You need a
RamCard
keycard to get into this room.
- Connecting from a home computer
-
You may connect to one of the CS Department Linux computers from your
home computer, and do your work from home. However, it is your
responsibility to get your homework done. If your internet connection
fails, or if your home computer breaks, that’s your problem—you have
to walk to the Linux Lab in the
Computer Science building, as described above.
You need to do your homework on one of the Linux Lab computers.
Don’t pick the first computer in the list, because everybody is
going to pick that one. Pick one whose name has some meaning to you.
Here’s a random choice:
salem.cs.colostate.edu
When you refer to a computer from that list, you must use its
full name, including .cs.colostate.edu. For example,
salem.cs.colostate.edu
How do I log in?
It seems to change every semester, but it’ll be something like this:
- Walk up to an unused computer, and wiggle the mouse.
- In the upper-right corner a drop-down menu has a list of
sixteen or so window managers, starting with “Cinnamon”,
and ending with “Xfce session”. Select “Xfce session”.
- In the box in the center, click on “Enter your username”.
- Type your username,
all small letters, followed by the enter key.
- Type your password, followed by the enter key.
- If a box appears that says “Welcome to the first start of the panel”,
select “use default config”.
- You should be logged in, with your name in the upper-right corner.
How do I create a shell (terminal) window?
- Click the terminal icon (a black box with
$_ in it)
in the panel at the bottom of the screen
or use the Application Menu in the upper-left corner.
To get rid of the shell window:
- Type
exit or click the × in the upper-right corner of the window.
How do I get a browser?
- Click the globe icon icon in the panel at the bottom of the screen
or use the Application Menu in the upper-left corner.
How do I log out?
- Click on your name in the upper-right corner.
- Click on “Log Out”.
- A box will appear in the center of screen. Click on “Log Out” again.
Changing your password
Once you log in, you should change your password using the passwd
command. Get a terminal window, then change your password like this:
passwd