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 eID. Mine is “applin”. It’s not your CSU ID.

What’s my password?

Your password is your CSU ID. It’s 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, let me know, and we’ll get it reset to your CSU ID.

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 need to do your homework on one of the Computer Science Department computers. From that list, select a machine where its OS is Linux or Linux(64), and its USE is general.

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—I use one whose name reminds me of my favorite comic-book character.

When you refer to a computer from that list, you must use its full name. For example, if the computer’s name is salem, you must refer to it as salem.cs.colostate.edu.

You don’t have to use the same computer every time. Your files are magically on all of the computers at once.

How do I actually get to one of these computers?

Computer Lab

The simplest way is to walk to the Linux Lab in the 1^st 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.

Changing your password

Once you log in, you should change your password using the passwd command. Get a terminal window by pressing Alt-F1 typeing “gnome-terminal”. When the prompt appears, change your password like this:

    passwd

CS253: Problem Solving with C++

Spring 2014