Help For Athena Account Registration

Is it safe?
I see a big gray box
It says it couldn't start Java
It could not connect to the server
It got interrupted in the middle
I was not found in the database
It asks for six secret words
It asks for a PIN code
What do I do with my account?
How do I get more help?

Is it safe?

What you type will be protected with encryption. The Java applet makes a secure connection to a registration server at MIT.

Big gray box / Couldn't start Java / No "Start" button

The registration page needs a reasonably recent version of Java⁽¹⁾. If you see a big gray box, or an error message about not finding Java, it probably means that your computer has a very old version of Java, or no Java at all.

To solve this, you can get Java from www.java.com, install Java, and try the registration page again.

Other options: you could borrow someone else's computer for a few minutes, and register from their computer. Or, if you are on campus, you can go to any Athena computer, and click the "Register for an Account" button on the computer's login screen.

⁽¹⁾Requires Java version 1.2 on Windows and Linux, or Java version 1.4 on Mac OS X.

Could not connect to server

If your computer gets to the "Connecting to Server..." step, but doesn't ever connect, you might be behind a firewall. The registration page requires your computer to be able to connect to port 443 of a server at MIT⁽²⁾, and you might have a firewall on your personal computer or on your company network that is blocking this.

Can you turn the firewall off, or find a way around it (talk to you local network administrators), or find another computer to use?

⁽²⁾The server it connects to is moira.mit.edu. The connection is a raw socket connection to port 443. It is not a http or a https connection, and cannot use a proxy server.

It got interrupted in the middle

If you got interrupted in middle, that's okay. Just go back to the account registration page and sign in again. It will look you up, and pick up where you left off.

Not found in database

Accounts are automatically created only for enrolled students and for direct employees of MIT. The registration page is particular about spelling, and needs you to capitalize your name in the same manner that is stored in the central system. If you know that you are a student or an employee, but the system can't find you, contact the Athena User Accounts office for help.

If you are at MIT but not currently enrolled in courses nor a direct employee of MIT you will need to have a faculty or staff sponsor. Please have the faculty or staff member with whom you're working email accounts@mit.edu, telling us they'd like to sponsor an account for you, and telling us:

Your full name, and Your MIT ID number, if you have one, or Your birthday (MM/DD, not year) if you don't yet have an MIT ID number.

It asks for six secret words

If you are an incoming student, you will be asked to type six security key words from an account registration coupon. If you don't have a coupon and you are on campus, you can pick up an account registration coupon from the Student Services Center in room 11-120, or you can come to the Athena Accounts office in N42 (see map).

It asks for a PIN from my Sloan/MBA application

If you are an incoming Sloan or MBA student, you will be asked to enter your ApplyYourself PIN code into the registration applet. If the PIN code you enter doesn't work, the applet will print a Sloan email address that you can contact for assistance.

What do I do with my account?

Keep in mind that you have to wait overnight for your account to become fully active.

Your account gives you access to a variety of computer services. A partial list:

MIT's central email services.
Online services based on web certificates
Login access to Athena and win.mit.edu computers.

IS&T's Getting Started guides have more information about services at MIT.

How do I get more help?

Contact the Athena User Accounts office via email (accounts@mit.edu) or telephone (+1 617-253-1325).