Objectives
This lab is meant to be mostly for reference. Later labs will build on the knowledge you've learned here.
- Learn what a GT account is, and why you need one.
- Learn how to setup your GT account.
- Learn information security basics.
- Learn how to access a remote computer with SecureCRT
- Learn how to use WinSCP to transfer files.
What is a GT account?
A GT account is a UNIX account issued to you by OIT (Office of Information Technology) when you enroll in Georgia Tech. It is a unique series of numbers and letters in the form 'gtXXXXL' or 'gtLXXXL' where 'X' is a number and 'L' is a letter. In future labs, and around campus, this may also be referred to as a "Prism account", or a "Acme account".
Why do I need a GT account?
You will need your GT account to access the 'acme' machines. These machines are where you will log on in order to read your campus email, and to turn in some assignments. Note that you cannot actually go and sit in front of acme to log in. To log in, you will need to use a program such as SecureCRT, but more on that later.
How to activate your GT account
Before you can use your GT account, you need to get it activated. To do this, you have to go to OIT (located in the Rich building, down the hill from the library) and show them your student ID. Once your account has been activated, you will be given a temporary password that you can use to log in to the acme machines.
NOTE: Bring your student ID with you or your account cannot be activated.
Information Security Basics
Directions:
- Go to
http://www.oit.gatech.edu/information_security/education_and_awareness/safe/ and
follow the tutorials for
- E-mail usage
- Internet usage
- Viruses
- Software Piracy
- Here is the link to download Georgia Tech's site-licensed Anti-Virus software. You will be asked to identify your operating system and your affiliation with Georgia Tech. After that, you should download the software that is appropriate for your home system. If you already have Anti-Virus software installed, that's ok--instead of downloading the software download any updates available for the scanner that you have installed.
- After installing this
software, scan your system for viruses. If your system has a virus, then
using the Internet or any information inside the scanner (McAfee has a
"Virus List" button), give a 3-5 sentence writeup about: the symptoms of this
virus, how it spreads and how you think you might have gotten it.
If your system does not have a virus, then go to This
web site and give a 3-5 sentence writeup in your own words about one
of the top 10 viruses on the list. It's not ok to copy/paste the
information, you must read the information and give your own summary.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Send an email to your TA containing your writeup on your virus. Mark the subject [LAB0] WRITEUP SUBMISSION
. (You can find information on your TA in Webwork once recitations have been assigned). - OPTIONAL PART FOR WINDOWS USERS: OIT provides personal firewall software for Windows users. A firewall is a piece of software that monitors network traffic and decided to allow or stop the traffic based on a set of rules (often called policies). On the page is a link called "Personal Firewalls." Follow this link. The first description is about a firewall called ZoneAlarm. Follow the link to download the software. Read the online help available in ZoneAlarm and configure the firewall rules to your liking. NOTE: At this time OIT does not currently have firewall software available for Apple platforms, but it is built into OS X. Look in the settings application under "Network"
ACME: the computing resource you didn't know you had
Although you may be sitting in
front of a Windows or Macintosh machine, school computing resources are
networked on UNIX machines. This means, for example, that the email you send
out from your computer travels though a network of UNIX machines before it
arrives at its destination. Similarly, email that is sent to you travels though
a UNIX network and ends up on a Unix-based computer system called
"acme". If you wish to read your email or work on one of these UNIX
machines, you need to log in to them. This is accomplished by running the SSH
program (this is a secure connection, that is, your network traffic is
encrypted so other people can't spy on it). You MUST use SSH to access acme
from on-campus as well as off-campus (OIT won't allow you to telnet). For
information about an SSH client we prefer a port forwarding program called SecureCRT
Using SSH
What is SSH?
SSH is an application that lets
you log into and use a remote computer. Simply put, this means that you are
going to access applications, information, and resources on a remote computer
that is connected to yours by a network connection. (By remote computer we mean
a computer that could be located anywhere from the next room to the other side
of the globe.) For all intents and purposes, it is just as if you were sitting
at a keyboard in front of the computer, interfacing with it directly. Moreover,
SSH lets you connect to this computer securely.
All SSH sessions are completely textual and
command line driven, so there are no pretty pictures that graphically represent
what is going on.
Starting SSH with SecureCRT:
We will teach you how to use the SecureCRT
program. You may start SecureCRT by clicking on its icon on the desktop.
The following window should appear
on your screen:
Connecting to Acme
Special
Notes: Be sure to pick "SSH" from the startup menus in
SecureCRT, and then enter acme.gatech.edu as the host address.
"Acme" is actually three computers:
acmex, acmey, and acmez. The three computers all share the same resources, so
it does not matter which one you use.
To connect to the acme systems:
·
Fill up the hostname:
acme.gatech.edu
·
Username is your GT-Number
·
Press connect
You will now be prompted for your password, which
is case sensitive, so do not use caps unless your password really has them.
If your information is correct,
the screen will display some information regarding the amount of time until
your password expiration, and possibly a "Message of the Day" from
OIT, Georgia Tech's Office of Information and Technology.
You will then be prompted to choose a default
editor to use in your sessions. Choose pico. It is the easiest editor to use,
and you can change it later if you want.
Now you should see a command prompt where you can
type in commands. The first thing you should do is change your password. It
should be something that you can easily remember, but something that no one
else will be able to guess. Never use an English word as a password, and always
have one or more punctuation marks and/or numbers in it. If someone finds out
what your password is and does malicious things with your account, you are
still responsible for the things done with your account!
To change your password, type passwd at the
command line prompt and then follow the instructions. When you are ready to
exit, type exit and press Enter.
File Transfer with WinSCP
At Georgia Tech, your prism account comes with a allotment of disk space on acme. You will need to store files to this remote system for this class to backup your data, or create a webpage. To be able to get your files from your home computer to the GT account, you will find having a SSH file transfer protocol (SFTP) in handy. Simply put, the SFTPs allow you to securely copy files from a local computer to a remote computer and vice versa. WinSCP is one such protocol, and the one we recommend you use.
You can download WinSCP from OIT's software distribution page. You only need to download the winscp367setup.exe file and install it. Choose the full installation and the Norton Commander Interface. To connect to acme, please refer to this page for detailed instructions.
WinSCP can do all basic operations with files, such as copying and moving (to and from a remote computer). It also allows you to rename files and folders, create new folders, change properties of files and folders, and creating symbolic links and shortcuts.
File Permissions
The files you put onto acme will be given default permissions for the users that may try to access your files. File permissions allow you to control who can view, edit, and execute the files and directories you own. You can make some of your files available to other Georgia Tech students or anyone in the world, and it is also possible to ensure your files are private. The r means that the file or directory is Readable by whoever it applies to, the w stands for Writeable, and x means eXecutable. To access files, both file permissions and directory permissions must be set correctly. For example, you may choose to upload an html file. In order for other people to view this page, you will need to set permissions for people besides yourself to Read and eXecute this file, but not Write to this file. Additionally you will need to make sure that the directory that the html file is uploaded to has Read and eXecute permissions.
It is extremely important that you know exactly who has permission to view, change and execute your files. In fact, it is your responsibility to ensure the security of your files. There have been an innumerable number of academic misconduct cases that involved a student copying files directly from another student's directory simply because he or she had access to them, regardless of whether or not the thief even knew the victim. Protect your files!
Setting permissions for files is easy using WinSCP:
- You can set the default permissions given to the files you transfer via WinSCP by going to the "Options" menu and selecting "Preferences." Click on "Transfer" and make sure your configuration matches those shown below in figure 1.
- You can right click on each file, select "Properties" and adjust file permissions by checking off the permissions you want to grant.
Figure 1: File Transfer Setup