Prepare to Log In


Now that we have learned a little history and current presence of Unix, we should prepare to log in. Before we do, however, it's important to remember the following: To log in to a Unix system, you will need to log in with credentials. Credentials are tied to accounts on the system and supplied by a system administrator. For example, with a Microsoft Windows desktop operating system such as Windows XP Professional, you would log in to the system with the Administrator account and use an assigned password configured by the administrator of that system to gain access. In Unix, the logistical setup for logging in is essentially the same. Other things to remember about the Unix login process are as follows:

  • In Unix, there are different types of accounts. Some are more powerful than others, allowing you to do more or less depending on the rights and privileges assigned to them.

  • The root account and generic user accounts are the most common accounts seen on Unix systems. Root is the administrator's user account. It has the most privileges available to the system and can do the most harm as well. Putting too many privileges in the hands of users who do not need them can be dangerous and is strongly discouraged.

  • Try to create individual user accounts so that each user can be tracked by security measures such as auditing and logging. These new accounts would have far fewer privileges and would be able to do far less than the root account. (On a related note, if you are using Unix at work and have such an account assigned to you, think about the ramifications of practicing at work without permission.) You can also control access to many user accounts at once by assigning users to groups. Generally related to security, groups are categories of users who have access to certain data or have a category of privileges specific to their assigned permissions.

  • Unix is a multiuser platform. This allows for multiple users to log in to the system simultaneously, set up their own environments, and so on. Because Unix enables multiple users to access the system simultaneously, you can be working on a large calculation on a spreadsheet while another user on the system is running another type of calculation of some sort. Many different processes can run simultaneously on a single computer by hundreds of different users. Lesson 11, "Managing Processes in Unix," will continue to build on the concept of processes and how you can learn to use and manage them.

  • Unix is case sensitive. Typing commands in Unix can be confusing to operators of Windows because Windows is for-giving with case sensitivity; for example, typing a command in the Windows command prompt in lowercase and in uppercase produces the same results.

Usernames are tied to accounts; the account name is usually the username used to log in, whereas the password is the challenge, or the response to trying to use that set of credentials. In other words, the password is the information you must enter to gain access to the system. It's a security measure used to prove that you are who you say you are; if you can supply the password, you are able to connect to your system and work within the environment configured for you by your administrator. A Unix system administrator is the person who would configure an account on the system for you, supply you with credentials, and get you started. Don't forget: Usernames and passwords are assigned to accounts on the system, and your credentials are your username and the password you use to access the system once prompted. Let's use these concepts now to begin our login process.

Prepare to Log In Now that you know the gist of getting started with Unix, before you start the next section, take a look at your keyboard and ensure that your Caps Lock key is not selected. This will cause many mistakes with the login process if overlooked! Remember, Unix is case sensitive, and this is a common mistake that causes headaches for many new Unix users.




    SAMS Teach Yourself Unix in 10 Minutes
    Sams Teach Yourself Unix in 10 Minutes (2nd Edition)
    ISBN: 0672327643
    EAN: 2147483647
    Year: 2005
    Pages: 170

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