Accounts

Obtaining Accounts in Sociology
Accounts Received by Sociology Affiliates
The Importance of Choosing Good Passwords
Network PC Logins
Network PC Logouts
How to Change Your LAN Account Password
Linux System Logins
Linux System Logouts
How to Change Your Linux Account Password

Obtaining Accounts in Sociology

Please make account requests in person by coming to Room 140, Soc/Psych and asking for an account application form from a member of the computing staff. New account information for incoming graduate students is gathered at the fall graduate student orientation session and accounts are set up in a batch. All Sociology faculty, staff and graduate students are entitled to accounts. Undergraduates are only provided accounts if they are employed in some capacity by the department or are working on a project sponsored by a faculty member.

Accounts Received by Sociology Affiliates

Several accounts come into play. The first three accounts described below are set up within the department. It is standard practice for all three to have the same userid. It is common for all three accounts to have the same password, but that is up to you.

1. You are provided with a LAN account. Sociology has a Local Area Network (LAN) to which all departmental PCs are attached. When you use a departmental PC, the first thing you do is login to the LAN.
2. You receive a Linux account. Sociology maintains a Linux network that can be accessed from PCs in the department, from home or virtually any other networked location in the world. Most statistical analysis is done on the Linux system. Email on the Sociology system is also received through your Linux account..
3. If you work on a dedicated PC, you will have a machine account that is tied to that specifc PC. If you are a graduate student and work primarily on either one of our PC lab machines or a general purpose PC located in a shared graduate student office, you will typically use a generic machine account with a common password that is used across several machines. The password will be provided to you.
4. The University maintains an institution-wide Unix network that provides general email and Internet access to all Duke students, staff and faculty. Every new undergraduate and graduate student at Duke is issued an account which is referred to as your Duke NetID. [This system is historically referred to as the ACPUB (Academic Computing PUBlic) network.] Faculty and staff must apply for accounts. Acpub account forms are completed and submitted at the OIT Help Desk, which is located in Room 02 of the Bryan Center.
   

The userid for new Sociology LAN and Linux accounts is matched to your NetID. Issuance of accounts requires the completion of a "Network Account Request" form which you must sign. Signing indicates acceptance that the account is for your use only and that the password will not be shared with anyone else. Duke student NetIDs are assigned by the Office of Information Technology and will typically consist of your initials followed by a number. Faculty and staff may select their own userid from available, unused options.

The Importance of Choosing Good Passwords

Selection of a strong password is important for maintaining overall security of our networks and preserving your individual privacy. When setting up new accounts, you will be counseled in the selection of a strong initial password. If you know or suspect that someone else has learned one of your passwords, then it should be changed. Selecting a good password that you like, can easily type and can remember is hard work so, in our view, it is better to select a good password and use it for an extended period, than to change passwords regularly. We do not expire passwords to force regular changes. Some simple guidelines for password selection are:

1. It is 7 or 8 characters.
2. It is not a dictionary word in any language.
3. It is easy to remember – a nonsense word or phrase or an abbreviation of some familiar phrase.
4. It contains at least one non-alphanumeric character, such as: ~!@#$%^&*()+=.
   

Arts and Sciences Computing provides additional guidelines for password selection.

Network PC Logins

1. Type the <Ctrl><Alt><Del> keys simultaneously to start a login sequence.
2. A Novell login screen appears. Type your userid into the "Username" field, then type your password into the "Password" field.
3. If the userids and passwords of your LAN and machine accounts are synchronized, login proceeds.
4. If the machine account userid is a generic account (such as cluster in the Room 135 lab or grad in most graduate student offices), you will be prompted for the password for that generic account.

Network PC Logouts

Remember to logout from shared machines. Failing to do so opens your account to abuse or theft. It is bad protocol to lock a shared machine so that others cannot use it. It is fine to do so if the PC is dedicated for your use, but we strongly recommend that you logout at least once a week. Leave machines powered on after logging out. Increasingly, remote system administration is occurring that requires the machine to be on at all times. To logout:

1. Save your work.
2. Close all applications.
3. Type <Ctrl><Alt><Del>, to bring up the NetWare Security screen, then select the "Logout" option.

How to Change Your LAN Account Password

1. After you have logged onto the network, type <Ctrl><Alt><Del>.
2. From the Netware Security screen that appears, select the "Change Password" option.
3. From the change password box, select the DUKE_UNIVER... resource by left-clicking it. This element will turn from grey to dark blue.
4. The PC login id will also be listed. If it matches the LAN userid, then you should also change its password to keep the two passwords synchronized. Select it by holding down the <Shift> key and clicking that resource. Both elements should now be dark blue.
5. Type your current LAN password in the "Old Password" field.
6. Type your new password in the "New Password" field, and then retype it in the "Confirm New Password" field.
7. Click "OK" to complete the process.

Linux System Logins

Linux logins to Sociology systems are typically done from PCs in the department, from home PCs over Internet connections that you have established by dialup or broadband method, or from laptops while travelling to other settings away from Duke or home.

Three principal servers are accessed in Sociology. One Sociology server is called login.soc.duke.edu. It is a general login server that may be used for reading mail and transferring files. For small-scale forays into statistical processing, use charisma.soc.duke.edu. For moderate- to large-scale statistical processing, use the fast compute server paradigm.soc.duke.edu.

Additionally, using your Duke NetID, you can access the acpub UNIX system. You can access godzilla.acpub.duke.edu or you can use a public cluster of acpub workstations located in our building in Room 133. There are 16 workstations in this room named soc1.oit.duke.edu through soc16.oit.duke.edu. These machines are a convenient alternative for logging into the Sociology Linux servers.

All of the above mentioned Linux systems are accessed by means of a secure shell client. This ensures end-to-end encryption of your session so that your activities cannot be snooped or your password stolen. SSH clients are a replacement for what has traditionally been telnet access. Departmental PCs will be configured with an SSH client, typically F-Secure. The SSH client is a Windows application that can be used to login to a Linux or Unix host. You specify the desired host and enter your Linux userid and password to login.

To set up home PCs or laptops for Linux access with SSH software, please see a computing staff member.

While logged into a Sociology or acpub system, you may login to other Linux systems by using ssh software on those hosts. For example, to login to paradigm from godzilla, you would issue a command similar to the following:

     % ssh gwbush@paradigm.soc.duke.edu

where "gwbush" is replaced by your Sociology Linux userid.

Linux System Logouts

Remember to logout from all Linux secure shell sessions. Any session on any type of Linux system can typically be ended by typing "exit" at the Linux prompt and pressing <Enter>.

How to Change Your Linux and Samba Account Passwords

Login to login.soc.duke.edu and, at the prompt, type:

     passwd

and press <Enter>. Enter your old password when prompted. Enter your new password when prompted. Enter your new password a second time when prompted. This confirms its correctness. If the two new entries match, the password is changed.

You are then asked to change your Samba password. This pertains to a new method of LAN access that will be replacing the Novell system. This password should match your Linux password and this procedure allows you to keep the Linux and Samba passwords synchronized. When prompted, enter the old Samba password (same as your old Linux password) and then enter the new password twice, using the same password you entered for Linux.

You will be asked to change your password if, during a routine security audit, it is determined to be weak.