How to Activate An Athena Account (AC-04.6)

To activate an Athena account, you usually just need to register for your MIT Kerberos identity -- that is, you specify a username and password you would like to use for your primary user account at MIT. This process then automatically creates your Athena file space and otherwise activates your Athena account (in addition to establishing your MIT Kerberos identity, which you'll use in a number of other contexts as well as for logging into Athena).

If you have already registered (i.e., you have established an MIT Kerberos identity) but your Athena account still seems not to have been activated (even after a full day), please contact User Accounts at 617.253.1325 to have them activate your Athena account manually. (This may be the case, for instance, with staff members who have been at MIT for a number of years. At one time, you could establish Kerberos identity for use with email and certificates, without activating your Athena account.)

Who's Eligible?

Every MIT student, faculty member, and on-campus staff member is eligible for an Athena account.

Registering for Your Kerberos Identity

To register, staff and faculty need only supply their MIT ID number -- students also need an Account Coupon that contains personalized keywords. Freshmen should receive an account coupon via postal mail several months before the start of their first semester. Graduate students will usually receive a coupon from their department. Students who have misplaced their coupon or never received it, can pick up an account coupon from the Student Services Center, Room 11-120 (you must present your MIT ID to pick up your account coupon). You can also contact accounts@mit.edu to clear the coupon requirement if you need to register for your Kerberos identity before arriving on campus.

Only students need an Account Coupon to register. All others who are eligible for an Athena account need only their MIT ID.

Registration is easy:

1. Go to the web page http://web.mit.edu/register on any browser that supports Java applets.
   OR
   Go to any Athena workstation that displays the words "Welcome to Athena" and make sure the login window appears.

2. Using the mouse, select and click on the "Register for an Account" button at the bottom of the login window. The registration window soon appears.

3. Enter your first name, middle initial, last name (i.e., "family" name), and MIT ID number, as prompted. Enter your information exactly as it appears on your MIT ID card or account coupon. If there are mistakes in the information as it appears on your MIT ID card (you may need to enter the "incorrect" information to register for your Athena account), report the errors to the appropriate campus agency later, and tell Athena User Accounts when the information has been updated.

4. Enter the username you would like for your Kerberos identity. (This username is sometimes referred to as your "Kerberos principal".) Your username is a unique sequence of characters that identifies you to many electronic services at MIT -- and to other users. You use your username to login to Athena, send and receive email, and identify yourself on MITnet and beyond. The registration program suggests a name based on your real name, but you can pick any valid name. Choose well: once you set your username, you cannot change it!

   Choosing a Username A Kerberos username must be 3-8 characters long, containing only lowercase letters and/or numbers. A good username readily identifies you; usually an abbreviated form of your real name is best. For example, it is customary to use your first and middle initials, and as much of your last name as will fit (thus, William Jefferson Clinton might use wjclinto or wclinton). Pick a username you can live with -- you will have to use this name for as long as you have an account at MIT!

5. Enter a password you would like to use as the key to your Kerberos identity. Your password is a secret sequence of characters that only you (and the Kerberos authentication servers) know. Each time you log into Athena, for example, you first enter your username to tell the system which particular user you are, then you enter your password to prove to the system that you are that user (and not someone trying to break into the account).

   If the password you select is "insecure" (easy to break), the registration program makes you choose another. Once you have entered an acceptable password, the system prompts you to type in the very same password again to confirm that you know the password.

   Note: Whenever you enter your password (even in the registration process), none of the characters you type are displayed on the screen. This is to protect your password -- Kerberos knows what you are typing even though you can't see it. When you're done, remember your password!

   Choosing a Password A Kerberos password must be at least 6 characters long, and can contain any combination of characters that appear on the computer keyboard. It must contain at least two types of characters (such as letters and numbers, or upper and lower-case letters, or letters and punctuation marks). Choose something that's easy for you to remember, but hard for others to guess. For example, don't use: variations on names (yours, your sweetheart's, your pet's) your phone number, birth date, or social security number names from popular culture (film stars, rock bands, etc.) any word in any dictionary Never let anyone else know your password -- including friends or even the administrators of Athena or other systems that use your Kerberos identity. You can be held responsible for anything done in your username. Sometimes it may seem that you need to let someone else know your password (to share a file, for instance), but there are always workarounds. Don't give away the key to your account! Finally, change your password frequently -- every semester at least, and any time you think someone else may have learned it.

Activating Your Athena Account

Once you've registered for your Kerberos identity, you have only one step left:

6. Wait a while (usually less than a day)! Once you have registered, Athena needs to create your personal file space and take other steps to activate your account. This process takes place automatically, but can take overnight, so your account may not be ready to use until the day after you register. (If it's not ready after a whole day, check with User Accounts.)

Problems?

If you have any trouble registering, please contact User Accounts at 617.253.1325.

Last modified: Mon May 6 14:23:02 2002