Assignment 1

There are two basic things you need to do for this first assignment. Some of these steps you may have completed during one of the organizational meetings. We're assuming you already know how to send and receive e-mail, and you can browse the Web. (Obviously, or you wouldn't be here!).

Step 1:  Setting up e-mail accounts

There are some lab exercises that make use of file transfers and other account-to-account exchanges that will require you to have access to two separate computer accounts. There are also exercises that will require you to use a shell account. You will most likely be able to accomplish these tasks using your own accounts, along with a gaia account provided free from the Engineering and Computer Science Department.

• Saclink Account

  If you don't currently have an established e-mail address, the school offers a free account to students. Please see the Saclink page at the University Communication and Computing Services web site for information about getting your Saclink account. Saclink accounts offer free dial-up services with a few restrictions. See the Saclink web page mentioned before for more information.

• Gaia Account

  Gaia is the main file server in the School of Engineering and Computer Science. It is a multi-user computer running a Unix-type operating system. To access it, you log in remotely using a terminal emulation program on your PC.

  Many of the labs that you do this semester will require you to have access to this gaia account. This account will enable you to access gaia for the duration of the semester. If you did not get an account at the organizational meeting, contact me to get an account.

  Some notes on accessing your gaia account

  In order to access your gaia account, you will need to log in directly to one of the workstations in RVR, or use a telnet application to remotely log in from a PC at home or school. If you are using a Windows machine at school or home, and after you have connected to the internet, go to the "Start" button, select the "Run" option, and in the Run dialog box, type: telnet gaia.csus.edu. If you're using a Mac from home, you will need special telnet software installed.

  Once you have made a connection, the server will prompt you for your account name and password. At the login prompt type the account name and password you received at the organizational meeting. (e.g. cs008sXX) After you have successfully logged in the first thing you will see is the shell prompt or command prompt. It will look something like:

  [cs008sXX]gaia:1>

  (you may or may not also see a flashing cursor)

  You are now able to execute commands on the gaia server. After you type a command, press the [return] or [enter] key on your keyboard to execute it. Gaia will process your input, produce output, and supply you with another prompt. Try testing this by typing ls at the command prompt. Gaia will print a list of files and folders in your account along with another prompt for more commands.

  The first useful thing you should do is change your password. Be careful here! Make sure to write down your password! If you get locked out of your account the best we can do is give you another one from our limited supply. Also, for security reasons, professors routinely try and hack into these accounts. If your password is to easy, I will get an e-mail about it and you will have to change your password again, so choose wisely.

  Passwords must be constructed to meet the following requirements:

  • A password must have at least six characters. Only the first eight characters are significant in an untrusted system.
  • A password must contain at least two uppercase and/or lowercase letters and at least one numeric or special character.
  • A password must differ from your account name and any reverse or circular shift thereof.
  • A new password must differ from the old one by at least three characters (one character in a trusted system).

  Some things to remember when creating passwords:
  Don't use obvious things like your birthday, your kid's or spouse's birthday, street address, or any word that can be looked up in a dictionary. Crackers can and often do try to break in to gaia; easy-to-guess passwords are a security risk. Pick a password that will be easy for you to remember, but hard for others to guess. Example: redrobin is a bad password. red1robn is better. r3dr0b1n is even better, but still could be guessed. t50fj8sl is completely random, and is the best of these, albiet harder to remember.

  The command to change your password is:

  passwd

  The computer will respond by asking you to type your current password once, and your new password twice. Follow the prompts, and you should be successful. This is all we will do on gaia at this time. Later, you will get more Unix shell commands thrown at you than you will ever want. For now, type: exit to log out and close your connection with gaia.

Send me an e-mail using the account you will most often use with your name, social security number, e-mail address, and shell account address to satisfy part 1 of the lab.

Step 2:  Subscribing to the class mailing list:

There is an electronic mailing list for this course. All students are required to subscribe to this list for the duration of the semester. The list is used to facilitate communication among the members of the class, and as a way for the instructor to send announcements and assignments to the class. The name of the list is csc8s.

To add your name to the list send a plain text e-mail to majordomo@hera.ecs.csus.edu, and in the message area type: subscribe csc8s. (You are sending this message to a machine, so don't add any other text or it may not understand the command.) That should do it. You do not need a subject. Just send the e-mail.

Be sure to send it from an e-mail account that you normally use to read your email. (It does not necessarily have to be your gaia or saclink account.) Once you have successfully been added to the list majordomo will send you both a confirmation e-mail and an e-mail with a brief description on how to unsubscribe from the list.

Once you have subscribed, send a message to the list at csc8s@hera.ecs.csus.edu In your message, introduce yourself to the class. Tell us your name, your major, and your class level. After that, feel free to send messages and general questions to the list throughout the semester. I will use the mailing list to send information to the class.

You will receive full credit for this lab when:

• I receive your e-mail from step 1.
• I receive your e-mail to the class list.
• I see your e-mail account listed on the class mailing list.