CS253: Software Development with C++

Spring 2021

Connect

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.

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 a picked for you randomly: juneau.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: juneau.cs.colostate.edu
When you refer to a computer from that list, you must use its full name, including .cs.colostate.edu. For example, juneau.cs.colostate.edu

How do I log in?

It seems to change every semester, but it’ll be something like this:

How do I create a shell (terminal) window?

To get rid of the shell window:

How do I get a browser?

How do I log out?

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