This is an old revision of the document!
Computer Science Computing Information
These pages have information on the computing services provided by the UVA Computer Science Department. There are also answers to the most common issues you may experience.
When you start at UVA, you get a userid (something like “abc1de”), which you use to access general UVA sites like Collab or Netbadge systems. When you get a CS Dept. account, you will have an identical userid (“abc1de”), but a different password than the one you use for general UVA systems. When the CS account is created for you, you are sent an email with a temporary password that needs to be changed upon first login. See New Account Information below.
New Account Information
Welcome! Your account for the Computer Science network has been created, and you have been emailed the account information.
This account is for logging into servers and desktops within the CS Dept. It is NOT for CS websites or general UVA systems like Collab or other general UVA systems. Even though your user id is the same as your NetBadge user id used for UVA systems, your CS account password is only for CS Dept. systems.
You have been issued a temporary password, so the first time you log in you will be asked to set a new password. The easiest way to change your temporary password is to open a “terminal” window on your laptop or desktop, and use ssh to portal.cs.virginia.edu, for example “ssh abc1de@portal.cs.virginia.edu
”. You will then be asked for a new password, which you should set to a password you typically use. You will then use this password to login to all CS network systems. See Linux SSH Access for more information.
Note: if you want to use the NX/Nomachine cluster to get a graphical desktop (see: NX Linux Remote Desktop Cluster) you should FIRST login to portal to change your temporary password. NX will not let you login with that temporary password.
If you set your CS password, then forget it, you can reset it below.
Regular accounts vs. mysql accounts
Please view this video for important information about mysql accounts. One thing not mentioned in the video is that your regular account and your mysql account are two different accounts with two different initial passwords, keep that in mind!
Popular Information
Reset your Computer Science Department account password: Use the Password Reset Tool
Most common Linux software is already available on our systems! There is no need to install it. See Software Modules for more information.
News and Updates
Computing Support Center personnel will resume their in-house support starting August 2nd, 2021. One or more staff will be in Rice Hall each day of the week for in person support of your computing needs. This includes desktop, printer, and server support, as well as laptop loaner and other support.
CS Firewall We are blocking SSH connection attempts from outside of the UVA network, with one exception. You are not able to SSH directly into CS hosts from outside of UVA, except for connections to portal.cs.virginia.edu
, from which you can ssh to other CS servers. See here for more information. (Side note… this change effectively blocks 1.2 million intrusion attempts per day).
General Information
- Password Reset Tool - Reset your CS account password (this is NOT your UVa NetBadge password!)
- Scanner/Copier use Instructions on scanning to your home directory
Quick Links
- CS Computing Support Help Desk: cshelpdesk@virginia.edu
- CS Front Office Help Desk: cs-office@virginia.edu
- ITS Main UVA Help Desk: Web 4help@virginia.edu
- SEAS-Techs Audio/Visual Support: seas-techs@virginia.edu
-
Accounts
When you receive a Computer Science user account you get an account that allows you to login to Windows or Linux systems in the CS Dept. This is a unique account, and should not be confused with the accounts you use to login to NetBadge, Collab, SIS or other UVA systems.
Your userid is identical to your UVA “NetBadge” userid, but your password is different. When your account is setup, you will receive an email with your account information.
Upon separation from UVA CS, your account will be closed one month after that separation, and your home directory will be removed. No backup will be provided, so it is important for you to save any files you wish to take with you onto other storage.
Using the CS Dept computing environment
The CS Dept provides extensive computing resources running on its own wired network. The wireless network is managed by the main UVA Information Technology Service (ITS). Systems with wired connections to the CS Dept network need to be registered with the Dept for the device to get an IP address and thus connect to the network and internet. This is done by sending the device's MAC address to cshelpdesk@virginia.edu, and including the system's name.
Computing Resources
Using Linux computers
- Software Modules - Available Linux Software