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By John Kemp
kemp@ns.uoregon.edu
The old "modem account" system is being eliminated, making way for a simpler and more secure method of accessing the UO modem pool.
If you have an account on any of the central computing systems (Gladstone, Darkwing, or Oregon), you have access to the modem pool. The username and password for your Gladstone, Darkwing, or Oregon account are now essentially the same as the ones you'll use for dialin access.
If you know your password on the central system, it will be exactly the same for dialin. If you change your password on the central system, the change will work immediately and will automatically become the dialin password as well.
However, when configuring your dialin settings, you must observe one very important difference: the username in your dialin configuration must include the machine name (e.g., @gladstone, @darkwing, @oregon). Otherwise, the dialin authentication mechanism won't be able to find your account. The easy way to remember this is to simply use your UO email address as your dialin username.
For example, if users susie, billy, and bobby have accounts on Gladstone, Darkwing, and Oregon respectively, this is the way they'd enter their usernames in the dialin settings:
susie@gladstone.uoregon.edu
billy@darkwing.uoregon.edu
bobby@oregon.uoregon.edu
(Note: the unqualified form of the machine name is also acceptable, so susie@gladstone, billy@darkwing, and bobby@oregon would work as well.)
One important repercussion of the new system is that you MUST have an account on Gladstone, Darkwing, or Oregon to use the UO modem pool. So...how do you get it?
If you're a new student... you will already have an account on Gladstone assigned to you. If you haven't yet accessed Gladstone, you can find your initial Gladstone account username and password by checking http://duckweb.uoregon.edu/
If you're not a new student...you can establish an account on Gladstone by using AUTHORIZE, an online method to create accounts or change passwords. To use the AUTHORIZE program, you must know your personal access code (PAC), which is the same number you use to register for classes. For complete instructions for accessing and using AUTHORIZE, see http://micro.uoregon.edu/get_started.html
If you're UO faculty or staff... you'll need to bring your photo ID to the Microcomputer Support Center (151 Grayson Hall) and fill out an account request form in person.
This new modem access mechanism is currently active and running, but the old modem account authentication will also continue to work for the first four weeks of fall term (until October 23). This interim period was designed to allow users time to switch their username/password in their dialin settings from the old configuration to the new configuration. After the October 23rd cutoff date, however, modem accounts will no longer be used for dialin access.
Note: In a very real sense, your dialin access will be a reflection of the state of your central computing system access. The policies and procedures used to maintain the central system account transparently flow through to dialin access as well, so it's important to review these policies and understand them. Copies of the "Password Policies and Procedures" document are available from the Computing Center Documents Room Library (175 Grayson) and online at http://cc.uoregon.edu/docs/passwd_policy.html
Very little effort will be required for students to adapt to the new dialin authentication system. Since most students already have an account on one of the required central systems (i.e., Gladstone/Darkwing/Oregon), they will simply change their dialin settings so that the username is their email address, and the password is their central system account password. Students will likely be entering the new modem phone number 225-2200 at the same time. But for a number of faculty and staff, the change may require a bit more effort.
An account on Darkwing, Oregon, or Gladstone is now a prerequisite to using the modem pool. Faculty and staff who do not currently have an account on one of these systems will have to apply for a new account. Faculty and staff who require new accounts may proceed directly to the Accounts desk in 151 Grayson Hall. They must present a valid photo ID and select a username and password while applying for new account. New accounts for faculty or staff will be created on Darkwing and Oregon. Once an account is active, the account information can then be used for dialin, as described above.
After October 23rd, the old Modem Account information will go away, and anyone still using the old information will not be able to connect to the modems. Your patience and understanding is appreciated as we migrate to this new, more secure, and ultimately less confusing system for modem access.