Unix account

open an account

Please email the following information to support-neuro@berkeley.edu:

  • full name: what name do you use in the lab?

  • email address: We use email for system outage notifications and disk quota reminders. You don’t need a .berkeley.edu email address; however, I may request a .berkeley.edu address to confirm your account.

  • username: choose a username that is 8 characaters or fewer. Use only letters and/or numbers.

  • position: what is your position in the Berkeley lab? Collaborator, Graduate Student, Postdoctoral Fellow, Undergraduate Research Assistant, or Staff Research Associate.

  • contact: designate a lab member who you can relay your temporary password, either in person or by video/phone.

  • mobile number (optional): if you provide a phone number, then I can contact you if you need to reset your password.

change password

I recommend that you install and configure X2Go (remote desktop) session first. Alternatively, you may login with a secure shell client.

  1. In X2Go, you will see a menu in the upper left corner. click on:

    Applications -> Terminal Emulator

  2. In the terminal window, type the ‘passwd’ command

    $ passwd

You will be prompted for your old and new password.

password security

A good password:

  • Contains at least 8 characters

  • Is unique, not derived from a dictionary word nor your username

  • Contains at least one of the following:

    • uppercase letter

    • lowercase letter

    • number

    • special character

To ensure data integrity, don’t share nor re-use passwords. This xkcd comic is a fun reminder to think about password security.

troubleshooting

If you type your pasword incorrectly 3 times, then the server will block your IP address for 10-15 minutes. You may still login in! Just try a different server (nx1-nx6 are all available). Alternatively, email support-neuro@berkeley.edu or wait for the block to clear.