Login

Finding Your Username

If this is your first time logging in, you must first activate your account. To do so, go to http://www.usc.edu/go/firstlogin. If you experience trouble activating your account, contact the Customer Support Center at 740-5555, or via email at consult@usc.edu.

Passwords

Your initial password will be the one which you created when you activated your account.

If you get a Login incorrect error message, you may have made a typing error. Try typing your username and password again. Make sure that you are typing your username in all lowercase characters. Passwords are case sensitive. Additionally, make sure that the Caps Lock key on your keyboard is not depressed. If you still have problems, you can contact the Customer Support Center for help, using the contact information given above.

Changing Your Password

You can change your password at any time by typing passwd at the UNIX prompt.

You may also change your password by using the Password Change Webpage.

Once you change your password it takes about an hour for the change to take effect on the entire system. During that time you will still be able to login using your old password.

Having Your Password Reset

If you forget your password, you can have it reset by contacting the Customer Support Center, using the contact information given above.

The UNIX Prompt

Once you successfully login to your UNIX account by typing in your username and password, you will see some systems messages followed by a system prompt (sometimes called a UNIX prompt or a command line prompt) which will look something like this:

aludra.usc.edu(1):

At this point, the system is ready to accept commands.