Logging In And Logging Out Using Terminal Console

Logging in

Logging in to a UNIX system requires two pieces of information: The same username, and password a user would use to logon into prime on a Sun system.. When users sit down for a UNIX session, they are given a login prompt that looks like this:

login:

Type your username at the login prompt, and press the return key. The system will then ask you for your password. When you type your password, the screen will not display what you type or rather the characters will not be echoed onto the screen.

Your password
When your account is created, a password is assigned. The first thing you should do is change your password, using the passwd utility. To change your password, type the "nispasswd"at the prompt as shown below,

<machine>% passwd

The system will ask for your old password, to prevent someone else from sneaking up, and changing your password. Then it will ask for your new password. You will be asked to confirm your new password, to make sure that you didn't mistype. The sequence of prompts and statements which you will see when you attempt to change your password will look like this.

<machine>% passwd
passwd: Changing password for <user_name>%
Enter login(NIS+) password:
New password:
Re-enter new password:
NIS+ password information changed for user
NIS+ credential information changed for user

It is very important that you choose a good password, so that someone else cannot guess it. Here are some suggestions for selecting a good password:

Do not use any part of your name, your spouse's name, your child's name, your pet's name, or anybody's name. Do not use any backward spellings of any name, either.
Do not use an easily-guessable number, like your phone number, your social security number, your address, license plate number, etc.
Do use at least six characters.
If you have accounts on multiple machines, use a different password on each machine. Do not choose a password that is so difficult to remember that you must write it down.

Logging Out:

Press Ctrl-D to logout from the server. You can also type "exit" or "logout" at the command prompt.

Before you leave your terminal, make sure that you see the login prompt, indicating that you have successfully logged out. If you have left any unresolved processes, the UNIX system will require you to resolve them before it will let you log out. Some shells will recognize other commands to log you out, like "logout" or even "bye".

It is always a good idea to clear the display before you log out, so that the next user doesn't get a screenful of information about you, your work, or your user account. You can type the command

clear

right before you log out, or you can press the return key until all the information is scrolled off the screen.

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