[ISyE Support Center] Recently Updated Articles

Password Protecting an Area of your Web Site

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:50:34 GMT

Problem:

How can I password protect an area of my website?

Solution:

Create an .htaccess File

An .htaccess file must be created in the directory that the user wants to secure. (Multiple directories can have .htaccess files, but there can only be one .htaccess file per directory.)

Important:Access restriction applies to a certain directory, not a certain file or HTML document. Documents that are to be restricted should be put in directories separate from those you want unrestricted.

While in the directory you want to secure, create/edit a file called .htaccess using your favorite text editor.

AuthUserFile /www/users/andyh/private/.htpasswd (path to .htpasswd file) AuthGroupFile /dev/null (path to .htgroup file) AuthName "Secure Area" (title for dialog box) AuthType Basic require valid-user

(Access alternatives)

Create an encrypted password

The .htpasswd file should contain a list of usernames and passwords. The format of the password file is straightforward, one line per user, with the line containing the user name, followed by a colon, followed by the user's password encrypted with the standard Unix password encryption.

In other words, an .htpasswd can look like this:

testuser1:jKXVnZH6eXR7 testuser2:taeWr6tbTZKO6

with one line for each user.

To generate an encrypted password, visit https://www.isye.gatech.edu/intranet/modules/encrypt/
- Type in a username and password to use.
- Copy the DES encrypted password into your .htpasswd file
- For additional users, use the form again and add a line for that user to the .htpasswd file.

Check File Permissions

Make sure both the .htpasswd and .htaccess files are readable by the web server (chmod og+r .htaccess .htpasswd)

Additional Sources of Information

Apache HTTP documentation (http://httpd.apache.org/docs/howto/auth.html)
ApacheWeek article (http://www.apacheweek.com/features/userauth)
Zend article (http://www.zend.com/zend/trick/tricks-august-2001.php)

The "Limit" Statement

The set of instructions that are placed between the and statements determine how the directory can be accessed.

Here are some example situations that require different sets of instructions:

Allow access to a single user: require user [username] where username is an entry in the .htpasswd file.
Allow access to a group of people: require group [groupname] where groupname is the name of a group in the .htgroup file.
Allow access to any user inside a certain domain:
order deny,allow deny from all allow from [domain name]
where domain name is the name of the domain to allow access to (e.g. isye.gatech.edu)
Deny access to any user inside a certain domain:

order allow,deny allow from all deny from [domain name]

where domain name is the intended domain name to deny access to.

Text Editors

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 21:03:34 GMT

Problem:

How do I edit text files on a UNIX machine?

Solution:

pico

Pico is a simple, display-oriented text editor based on the Pine message system composer. As with Pine, commands are displayed at the bottom of the screen, and context-sensitive help is provided. As characters are typed they are immediately inserted into the text.

vi

vi (pronounced v-i, as two separate letters) is a display-oriented text editor based on an underlying line editor ex. For first time or casual Unix users, vi is not recommended to use. It is very powerful for search/replace type functions, and is recommend for advanced Unix users.

The ISyE version is actually vim, and can be configured with a .vimrc file in your home directory.

emacs

emacs is another text editor for advanced Unix users. There is also a GUI version, called xemacs.

Outlook 2010 Setup Instruction for the New IMAP Accounts

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 18:06:51 GMT

Problem:

How do I set up my new IMAP email account on a new or existing installation of Outlook 2010?

Solution:

In Outlook 2010, click the File tab and click the Account Settings button.
It will display the Account Settings window with Email tab open.
Click New option to open the Add New Account Windows. Select Manually configure server settings or additional server types. Then click Next button.
Select Internet E-mail, then click Next .
- Enter your full name as "Your Name".
- Enter your Email Address (such as "allen.belletti@isye.gatech.edu".)
- Select IMAP as Account Type
- Set the Incoming mail server (IMAP) to "imap.isye.gatech.edu".
- Set the Outgoing mail server (SMTP) to "mail.isye.gatech.edu"
- Enter your ISyE account name for the User Name (for example, "allen".)
- Enter your ISyE account password.
- It is recommended that you uncheck "Remember password".
- Make sure that "Require logon using Secure Password Authentication (SPA)" is not checked.
Click "More Settings" tab to open the Internet Email Settings window.
- Click the "Outgoing Server" tab.
- Check "My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication."
- Ensure that "Use same settings as my incoming mail server" is selected.
Click Sent Items tab.
- Check "Save sent items in the following folder on the server" .
- Select Sent folder in the ISyE email list.
Click Deleted Items tab.
- Check "Move deleted items to the following folder on the server"
- Select Trash folder in the ISyE email folder list.
- Uncheck Purge items when switching folders while online
Click Advanced tab.
- Select port 143 for incoming server (IMAP) and 587 for Outgoing server (SMTP)
- Select TLS as the encrypted connection for both Incoming and Outgoing server.
Click OK to close Internet E-mail Settings window.
Click Next in Add New Account window, then click Finish to close the window.

Installing the GT Root certificate (fixes intranet errors)

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 17:24:58 GMT

The ISyE Intranet is now encrypted with a Georgia Tech SSL certificate. This means that "out of the box" most browsers will show an error message when you try to visit the Intranet.

Installing the GT certificate should prevent this problem. To install the GT certificate, visit ca.gatech.edu.

The web page there should automatically detect your browser and operating system, and give you the instructions to install the certificate.

NOTE: this will only work for the browser you are using at the time. If you use Firefox and Chrome, you may need to install it for each browser. If you have more that one computer, like a desktop and a laptop, you will need to install it on each system.

Modifying Template Files in Your Personal Web Page

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 16:23:10 GMT

Problem:

What are these files mainmenu.php, personal_vars.php, and index.php in my home directory? How do I use them to modify pages on my ISyE home site? How do I add new pages?

Solution:

Note: These instructions apply only to ISyE faculty and staff interested in hosting a personal website on ISyE's web server. If you are ISyE faculty or staff and would like to find out more relating to setting up and using your personal web space, please refer to this Knowledgebase article. The ISyE IT group is happy to assist you in getting you started, or, if you wish to set up your web space by yourself, please download the template files and put them into your home directory.

If you have questions or comments, please feel free to contact Andy Haleblian.

This tutorial assumes that

You have a basic understanding of HTML.
You know how to retrieve and put web files to and from your personal web space. For information relating to file transfer and available software, the ISyE Knowledgebase contains articles on using FTP Voyager and WinSCP.
You have access to and know how to use a chosen webpage editor. Popular choices include
- Microsoft FrontPage (freely available for download from OIT)
- Macromedia Dreamweaver (~$64 a copy. Order licenses through the ISyE HelpDesk)
- Mozilla Composer
- Windows Notepad
Note: We strongly suggest against using Microsoft Word to edit your web pages. Microsoft Word has a tendency to write bloated, poorly formatted, and sometimes poorly supported code.

These instructions were developed using Macromedia Dreamweaver as a reference, but are applicable to other webpage editors. Please note that these instructions are not meant to be a guide relating to using any particular piece of software.

What are Templates and How Do They Work?

A template is a standard design or method of carrying the same web page elements across multiple web pages with minimal effort. Our application concerns including a standardized ISyE header, footer, navigational menu, and html style (using CSS) across multiple ISyE faculty and staff pages. Please note we are employing the use of PHP (PHP Hypertext Preprocessor) for this purpose. This web scripting language is supported by ISyE's web server and is a straightforward solution for our application.

Each page within the user's web space using the ISyE template is based on the index.php file (usually named index.php if it is the only file in that directory â€“ the default document, or a different filename if multiple files are located in same folder). For our purposes, we will refer to the template file as index.php. This file includes PHP code that dynamically pulls in the header, footer, menu, and styling from external files located elsewhere on the web server. This template file can also contains individual content specific to that page that the user can edit. Usually, this is the only part of the file that the user will have to modify.

To Edit an Existing Page on Your Website:

To find the folder on the server that contains the page that you wish to edit, look at the page's URL in the address bar of a web browser. Using your home directory as a base reference, the relative location of the folder on the server is identical to the relative location of the page in the URL.

For example, if the URL of your home page is

http://www.isye.gatech.edu/~andyh/

and the page that you wish to edit is your Research page located at

http://www.isye.gatech.edu/~andyh/research/

and your Home page is located on the server at

/home/net/www_users/andyh

(where the public_html soft link points to in your UNIX home directory) then your Research page is in the folder located on the server at

/home/net/www_users/andyh/research

Note : Filenames within our UNIX system are case sensitive. When editing and reference files in html code, please ensure that this is taken into consideration.
Find the folder on the server that contains the page you wish to edit (according to Step 1). Open the file in this folder using your favorite webpage editor.
To edit the content of your web page, edit the code between the lines

and
When you are done, upload the file back to the server to the directory you downloaded it from.

To Create a New Page within Your Personal Web Space:

In your home directory, create a folder to contain the files for your new page(s). Note that your folder name cannot contain any spaces.
Copy the index.php file from your home directory and paste it in your new folder.
Open this file up in your editor and delete the lines

include("isyeinternet/includes/contactinfo.php"); ?>

Between the lines

and

,

write the HTML code for your new web page. Note that the and tags, as well as any HTML code that would normally go between the and tags, are not necessary.
Go to the line

require_once('personal_vars.php');

at the top of the file and add ../ in front of personal_vars.php as many times as there are subdirectory levels between the newly created index.php file and top level of your web page directory.

For instance, the index.php file in the biography folder is one subdirectory level below the top level of my web page directory. To relate this and have the path render correctly, I add ../ in front of personal_vars.php.
Save the file and upload it to the server.
If you wish to add a link to this page within the navigational menu on the left side of the page, open up the file mainmenu.php in the top most level of your web directory and alter the menu accordingly (we have included the most frequently used menu structure, so use this code as a reference, and feel free to modify it for your needs).
If you see a commented-out line that contains the name of the folder you created in Step 1, delete the on either side of that line. If not, copy a line of code beginning with · that is not commented out and paste it on the line below.
Change the folder name to the name of the folder you created, and change the text between the anchor tags to the name of your new page.
Save mainmenu.php, upload it to the server, and view it in a web browser.

How do I perform a Windows Update?

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 16:21:21 GMT

Problem:

I was informed that it would be a good idea to run a Windows updates on my computer. How do I go about doing this?

Solution:

Windows Update downloads and installs the latest updates/patches available for your computer's operating system, software, and hardware. Since new computer security vulnerabilities are emerging everyday, it important to keep your Windows computer current and protected.

Please note that you must have Administrator rights on the local machine to use Windows Update. These directions are geared towards individuals who own laptops or equipment not frequently located on the premises. We strongly suggest that you run Windows Update when on a highspeed connection. Otherwise, it could take several hours to downloads a larger update from the Microsoft site.

Open Internet Explorer and look under the Tools menu item for Windows Update. If you cannot locate a Windows Update link there, type http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com into the browser address bar (please not that windows update may not work with older version of IE or other web browsers).
After successfully accessing Microsoft's website, you will be notified that the system is "Checking for the latest version of the Windows Update software... This may take a while". You may be notified via a pop-up message that the Windows Update V4 Control is required. Click Yes and proceed.
"Welcome to Windows Update" will be noted at the top of the webpage. Below you should see a Scan for updates link. Click it.
The page will now note "Looking for Available Updates" followed by a progress meter. After the meter reaches 100%, the webpage will note "Pick updates to install". Below you should see a Review and Install updates. Click it.
There will be a list of updates, each with a Remove button after it. It is usually recommended to install all of the updates, unless IT has notified you of a special situation (e.g. PeopleSoft not working with a new Windows patch). Choose Install Now.
The chosen update(s) will automatically download and install. You will be given the choice to not restart your computer, otherwise Windows Update will restart your computer for you. TheuUpdates will not take effect until you have restarted your computer..
If you did not install all of the updates (e.g. you had to install an exclusive update), go back to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com and get the rest.
Run Windows Update one more time to make sure there are no more updates.

Running Windows Update Automatically in Windows XP

Choose Start, then Control Panel.
Double-click on System.
Choose the Automatic Updates tab. Make sure that the Keep my computer up to date box is checked.
Choose an appropriate process from the Settings area based on your computer use. We suggest Download the updates automatically and notify me when they are ready to be installed.
Choose the OK button.

Protecting Your Computer From Viruses

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 16:19:07 GMT

Problem:

What software protects my computer from viruses, and how do I use it? What should I do if I encouter a virus on my machine?

Solution:

Note: if these instructions do not match the Virus Scan on your computer, you may have an older version. Please contact the helpdesk at helpdesk@isye.gatech.edu for an upgrade.

The McAfee Virus Scan software is installed on all computers on the ISyE network. It appears as a small shield with a V in the taskbar:

This program is running in the background the entire time the computer is switched on, conducting continuous scans of the files on the user's machine. DO NOT CLOSE VIRUS SCAN, or the PC will become susceptible to viruses.

Conducting a Manual Scan:

If you wish to run a manual scan, right click on the Virus Scan icon and select On-Demand Scan.

The On-Demand Scan Properties window will open. Be sure that All Local Drives is highlighted, and then click on Scan Now.

The On-Demand Scan Progress window will open and list all the files being scanned. If you wish to stop or pause the scan, press the Stop or Pause button, respectively.

Detecting a Virus:

In the event that Virus Scan detects an infected file, it will automatically try to delete the file:

If the deletion succeeds, Virus Scan will produce a pop-up message informing the user of its actions. Simply close the message.
If the deletion fails, Virus Scan will inform the user of this failure. Please send a message to helpdesk@isye.gatech.edu in this event.

Upgrading the Virus Definitions:

Virus Scan software updates occur automatically at 9:00 every morning. If you have a laptop or you usually shut down your machine before you leave in the evening, then you can manually update your virus scan by right clicking on the virus scan icon and selecting the Update Now menu.

Mapping a Network Drive

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 16:18:06 GMT

Problem:

I am working on a Windows machine and need access to a SAMBA share.

Solution:

What is SAMBA?

Samba is a suite of Unix applications that speak the SMB (Server Message Block) protocol. Many operating systems, including Windows and OS/2, use SMB to perform client-server networking. By supporting this protocol, Samba allows Unix servers to get in on the action, communicating with the same networking protocol as Microsoft Windows products. Thus, a Samba-enabled Unix machine can masquerade as a server on your Microsoft network and offer the following services:

Share one or more filesystems
Share printers installed on both the server and its clients
Assist clients with Network Neighborhood browsing
Authenticate clients logging onto a Windows domain
Provide or assist with WINS name server resolution

Specific to ISyE, UNIX account holders can use SAMBA to access their UNIX home directories and file shares from various Windows PCs on the ISyE network. Also, please note SAMBA is only available from within the ISyE network.

Mapping a UNIX-based directory to a Windows computer via SAMBA and Windows Explorer:

1. Open Windows Explorer on the local machine.
2. Select Tools->Map Network Drive
3. Enter \\[server name][share name]. Share name is the directory that you want to map to, server name is the name of the samba server. To map to your ISyE UNIX home directory, either use your UNIX account name or the word "homes".

e.g. \\samba.isye.gatech.edu\homes

4. Click Finish.

NOTE: If you used the same password on your PC that you use for your email, it will map the drive immediately. Otherwise, you will have to enter a password and then it will map the drive.

View the Video

Printer and Toner Management

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 16:17:21 GMT

Problem:

I need to have the toner in my printer replaced.

Solution:

ISyE has entered into a relationship with Bobby Dodd industries to maintain and service onsite ISyE-owned black and white laser printers (see below for home printers). Printers included in this program have a BDI sticker affixed in an easily viewable area. If you need service or toner replaced, either call BDI at the provided number (mention your printer ID number) or submit a request via an online form located at http://www.isye.gatech.edu/printerhelp/.

About Home Printers

Black and white laser printers for home use will not have a BDI sticker on them. These units are maintained by Lawrence Sharp. Toner and repair requests for ISyE-owned home black and white laser printers must be handled through the ISyE HelpDesk. The department policy is one toner per calendar year for home printers. Anything beyond that needs to be bought by the printer owner.

Thunderbird 2 Setup Instructions for the New IMAP Accounts

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 16:13:42 GMT

NOTE: Thunderbird 2 is no longer current. For information on obtaining and installing Thunderbird 3 read this entry.

Problem:

How do I set up my new IMAP email account on a new or existing installation of Thunderbird?

Solution:

Configuring Thunderbird 2.0.0.4

New Installation

1. Download thunderbird from http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird/
2. Install using all the default setup options. Then close the application
3. Start up thunderbird and when select the option that says dont import anything on the import wizard

4. Select "Email account" and click "Next".

5. Enter your full name and preferred email address (for example, allen.belletti@isye.gatech.edu), click "Next".

6. Select server type "IMAP", enter "imap.isye.gatech.edu" as Incoming Server.
7. Enter "mail.isye.gatech.edu" as the Outgoing Server, click "Next".

8.Enter your ISyE account name (for example, "allen") as the Incoming User Name.
9.Enter the same account name as the Outgoing User Name, click "Next".

10.Choose a name for this account such as "ISyE IMAP Mail" and click "Next".

11. If everything is correct, click "Finish".
12. When prompted for your password click on cancel since setup is not complete

13. Then click on Tools then Account settings from the menu bar.
14. Click on "Server Settings" located beneath the name of your new account, in the left-hand portion of the window.
15. Under "Security Settings" on the right side, select "TLS"

16. Click on "Outgoing Server (SMTP)" at the bottom of the leftmost portion of the window.
17. Make sure that "Use name and password" is checked, and enter your account name next to "User Name".
18. Click the button next to "TLS" (not "TLS, if available")
19. Set the Port to 587

20. Click OK , then OK again.You are now ready to read and send email using Thunderbird.

How to setup and use spam filtering

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 16:09:58 GMT

Problem:

How can I setup and use spam filtering?

Solution:

I. Introduction

Maia Mailguard is part of a solution that the ISyE IT department has implemented to reduce the amount of junk email (spam) reaching customers. It includes a web-based interface as well as various server components which actually perform the filtering. By using the Maia system, you will be able to adjust the sensitivity of your mail filtering as well as choose how messages identified as spam are handled. Options include holding suspect messages in a "quarantine" area, marking as spam but delivering normally, deleting immediately or no filtering at all.

II. Signing up for the first time

By default, all incoming mail to the isye.gatech.edu domain is filtered for spam and viruses. In order to minimize the risk of lost mail, this filtering has been done with a high degree of tolerance for "questionable" pieces of mail. By registering yourself, you will gain the ability to tailor the filtering to your needs through adjustable thresholds and the use of white and blacklists (see the FAQ) to control who is allowed to send mail to you.

To register, browse to https://mail.isye.gatech.edu/maia. You will be asked for your username and password (Figure 1). These are the standard ones that you use to access other ISyE resources and not your GT-account.

Figure 1

Once logged in for the first time, you should see a "Welcome to Maia Mailguard!" banner along with some introductory text (Figure 2). You may ignore the "Current protection level:" options as we have already set this to Custom.

Figure 2

Please perform the following steps to get set up:

Click the "Settings" icon midway down the left side of the page.
Near the top of the page next to "Primary Address", click your email address (Figure 3).
Choose a spam threshold and enter it next to "Consider mail 'Spam'..." and "Quarantine Spam when..." We recommend 5.0, but you may use a higher value (which will miss spam more often) or a lower value (which will occasionally mark a legitimate message as spam.)
Next to "Mail with bad headers..." please choose "Labeled".
Click the "Update This Addresses' Settings" button at the bottom of the page (Figure 4).

Figure 3

Figure 4

That completes your initial setup process. If you have questions about the many options that are available to you, please feel free to ask one of us. Now proceed to the next section to learn what to do with Maia on an ongoing basis.

III. Using Maia Mailguard on a regular basis

Over time, you will receive many email messages which are spam. Most of these will be "obvious" to the system and are discarded automatically. Occasionally, a message will look like spam, but Maia will not be confident enough to delete it immediately. These messages are held in your "Suspected Spam" quarantine, also known as your "spam cache".

To check your spam cache, click on the icon that looks like a white 'X' with "Report/Rescue" beneath it (Figure 5). If any items have been held, you will see a list of them now. The recommended way to deal with these is as follows:

Figure 5

Sort the spam cache by score, in ascending order. Do this by clicking on the "Score" header. You will only need to do this once after which it will be remembered.
Glance through the various messages to see if there is anything you want to keep. Note that the lowest scores are the ones most likely to be legitimate messages.
To keep a message, click on its subject and press the "Confirm this Non-spam" button at the top of the page.
When you have removed all of the legitimate messages please click "Confirm the States of these Items" to mark the rest as spam (Figure 6).

Figure 6

Occasionally, Maia will miss a spam message entirely and allow it to be delivered to you. When this happens, you may log in and notify the system so that it will learn what types of messages you don't want to receive. Use the following steps to accomplish this:

Click on the green check mark icon labeled "Report/Confirm"
Locate the offending message and click on its subject.
Click the "Report this SPAM" button at the top of the page.
Once you have reported any spam, please click "Confirm the Status of these Items" to let Maia know that the other messages are legitimate email.

IV. FAQs

Q. Can I change the number of messages displayed on one page while viewing a cache?

A. Yes. The default of 50 messages is often too small, especially if you receive a large amount of spam. You may change this by clicking "Settings", then changing the value next to "Mail items to be displayed on each page?" and then clicking "Update Miscellaneous Settings" at the bottom of the page. I find that "1000" works quite well here as it typically allows all of the messages to be displayed on one page without becoming too slow.

Q. This is a lot of trouble. Do I have to do anything with Maia at all?

A. Almost nothing. We do strongly recommend that you log in and check your Suspected Spam cache once per week for legitimate messages. Please follow the instructions in section III, "Spam cache" to do this. Once you have verified that everything in the cache is spam, please click the "Confirm the Status of these Items" button. This helps to ensure greater accuracy for everyone and will empty your cache as well.

Q. I would like to always accept or always block mail from certain addresses.

A. This is called whitelisting (always accept) or blacklisting (always reject). You may add items to these lists by clicking the "W/B List" icon on the left side of the page. Then enter the email address (such as allen@isye.gatech.edu) or an entire domain (such as @caltech.edu) that you wish to add. Finally, select either the Whitelist or the Blacklist button and click "Add to List". To remove an item from the list, click next to it under the "Remove" heading and then click the "Update" button at the bottom of the list (Figure 6).

Figure 7

Q. I've already created white/blacklists on the existing systems. Do I need to enter my entire list again?

A. No. These have all been transferred to Maia.

Q. I have begun receiving "Quarantine Reminder" messages. What does this mean?

A. The system will begin sending these messages once per day after you have accumulated 25 messages in your "Suspected Spam" cache. Please follow the procedure in section III, "Suspected Spam cache" to empty it.

Q. I have a question which is not answered in this document. What shall I do?

A. Please send a message to helpdesk@isye.gatech.edu, and we will be happy to clarify anything you would like to know about this system.

Using FTP

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:58:40 GMT

Problem:

I need to use FTP to access/manipulate files between FTP-capable machines.

Solution:

FTP (or file transfer protocol) is the old standard means of transmitting and receiving files from one host to another. A client program gives you the ability to connect a computer to an ftp server to send or retrieve files. Some systems on the GT and Internet networks provide support for anonymous access (i.e. the system does not require that you have an account in order to connect and retrieve information).

ISyE Systems and FTP

FTP programs transmit passwords without encryption and thus is a security risk. As a result, ISyE does not provide support for "authenticated" FTP.

ISyE does provide an anonymous FTP service through ftp.isye.gatech.edu for the purpose of publicly sharing files with the outside world and for allowing collaborators to upload files to special secured locations.

To make files available to the outside world via anonymous FTP, either ssh into ftp.isye.gatech.edu and copy the files into the appropriate sub-directory of /ftp/pub or use scp to directly copy the files. Please be certain that the files are truly for public consumption as anyone on the Internet will be able to download the files.

If you are a faculty member of ISyE and want external collaborators to be able to upload files into a secured location, a directory must exist for this particular project or faculty member under /ftp/incoming. Once the files are uploaded, ONLY the faculty member for whom the directory was created can ssh to ftp.isye.gatech.edu and move (mv command) the files to another location, or use scp to copy them off to a remote host.

To request an incoming directory, please email helpdesk@isye.gatech.edu with the details of the request.

Students who need an upload directory for research purposes should ask their adviser to request a directory. Note that the adviser will have to copy off the files once uploaded.

Anonymous FTP via UNIX

At the UNIX prompt, type ftp [hostname] (remember to use the full hostname). You can also use xftp if you are working in a windows environment.

Enter anonymous as the login name, and your email address as the password.

Anonymous FTP via Windows

Start FileZilla, WinSCP (or your favorite FTP client) from the local machine. You will usually need the following information to access an FTP-capable machine.

host/server (e.g. ftp.isye.gatech.edu)
user name (anonymous)
password (your email address)
default directory (when logging in, the ftp client will drop you into the "pub" directory.

Using SCP

When you connect to a normal FTP server, your username and password are sent in clear text. This data can be read by someone using a packet sniffer that is "plugged in" anywhere in between you and the remote server. Be sure to change passwords regularly, but specifically, try to avoid FTP when a better alternative is available.

One alternative to using FTP is using secure FTP or secure Copy. Visit the WinSCP knowledgebase article for more information.

Copying files from your incoming ftp directory

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 19:55:52 GMT

If you have had files placed in an incoming ftp directory, here is the method for retrieving those files.

ssh to castle.isye.gatech.edu using SecureCRT or another ssh client
ssh from castle to ftp.isye.gatech.edu
copy the files using cp

See the transcript below as an example:

zero:~ lsharp$ ssh castle.isye.gatech.edu

Unauthorized system access is prohibited.

System use is governed by the GIT Computer and
Network Usage, Security and Data Access Policies.

Warning: untrusted X11 forwarding setup failed: xauth key data not generated
Warning: No xauth data; using fake authentication data for X11 forwarding.
Last login: Mon Jan 24 14:36:21 2011 from adsl-074-244-119-076.sip.asm.bellsouth.net

----[ 10/29/2010 ]---------------------------------------------------------

Castle is now enforcing limits on CPU time and memory for all users.  You
may run for up to 60 minutes of CPU time and use up to 4GB of memory.  If
either of these are exceeded, the job will automatically be killed by the
system.

This machine is intended for general use and development, so these limits
should not pose a problem for anyone and will ensure that the system
remains responsive for all.  Please contact us via helpdesk@isye.gatech.edu
if you have questions or concerns.  Long running and/or large jobs should
be run via the ISyE Compute infrastructure.  Please contact Trey Palmer
(trey@isye.gatech.edu) for additional information.

Also please note that keep.isye.gatech.edu is available to everyone as an
alternate to castle, should the latter become unavailable at any point.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

-bash-3.2$

-bash-3.2$ ssh ftp.isye.gatech.edu

Unauthorized system access is prohibited.

System use is governed by the GIT Computer and
Network Usage, Security and Data Access Policies.


lsharp@ftp.isye.gatech.edu's password: 
Last login: Thu Oct 23 10:53:35 2008 from argo.isye.gatech.edu
-bash-3.2$

-bash-3.2$ cd /ftp/incoming
-bash-3.2$ cd lsharp
-bash-3.2$ ls -l
total 22020
-rw-r--r--+ 1 ftp ftp      131 Jan 12  2010 callhome.sh
-rw-r--r--+ 1 ftp ftp 24145004 Jan 12  2010 vlc-0.8.6b.dmg
-rw-r--r--+ 1 ftp ftp    42387 Sep  1 09:13 z5b9J.gif
-bash-3.2$ cp z5b9J.gif ~lsharp

Using the ISyE Virtual Private Network (VPN)

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 20:33:52 GMT

Problem:

I am a faculty or staff member and need access to the ISyE network (VPN access is not available to students).

Solution:

We all owe TLI a debt of gratitude for funding a departmental VPN remote connectivity solution for ISyE! Now you might ask, what is VPN and what can it do for you......VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. For anyone connecting to the internet, through any means and from any location, running the VPN client software provides a secure virtual connection between your computer and the ISyE computer network. This technology allows you to take advantage of all network related services offered within the department from any location. Please note that VPN accounts are available for ISyE faculty and staff only.

Receiving and sending email is easier (with no 'server' configuration changes as are required currently), SAMBA (remote file sharing services) will now be available from remote locations as well as a number of other services coming on line over the next year. One last significant benefit is that VPN encrypts all data transferred between your computer and the ISyE network. This helps to protect your passwords, email and any other sensitive data that might be transmitted. If you would like more information on VPN, or are interested in getting setup to use VPN from home or from a laptop, please read the following.

ISYE VPN Installation Instructions

1. Before proceeding, please contact Allen Belletti @4-6221 to obtain a username and ask to be added to the system. Without this step, you will not be able to access the ISyE network using the software. If you have a previous version of the VPN Client already installed, please remove it using add/remove programs under the windows control panel before installing the new version. Also, if this is the case, use the password assigned to you, not the initial password as noted below.

2. Download and run the file named VPN_Client_4_91_021.exe (3.3MB). Please note that you must have administrator rights on the local machine to install the software.

3. Accept all the installation defaults by clicking on the YES and NEXT buttons.

4. When the installation has completed, restart the computer.

5. After restart, run the Contivity VPN Client program located on the desktop or in the Nortel Networks Program Group within the Start Menu.

6. Click on NO when asked to use the Connection Wizard to create a connection.

7. Enter the following information into the appropriate fields:

Connection: Georgia Tech ISyE VPN
Description: Georgia Tech ISyE VPN
Dial-up: (None)
User Name: (Enter your current ISYE User ID)
Password: gtisyevpn (initial password only - should be changed on first connection)
Save Password: (Click on the box to place a check inside it.)
Destination: 130.207.91.149

8. Click on the SAVE button.
9. Click on the CONNECT button.
10. Change your password on first connection. To change the password, right-click on the VPN icon in the lower right corner of the screen and choose "Change Password".

***Please do not set the Contivity software to automatically load every time Windows is started. This would be quite detrimental to a laptop that was brought back onto campus, because it would needlessly route all network traffic through the VPN server.

Web Server Migration

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 20:28:53 GMT

ISyE Web Server Upgrade

ISyE is moving our web servers to new hardware in the coming weeks. We are using this opportunity to make some security fixes to the server software. For the majority of ISyE users this will have no impact on your web pages. A few users may have to make some changes to their code to work with the new security settings.

How Can I Know If My Web Page Will Work?

Our current web server uses the url http://www2.isye.gatech.edu. The new web server is using the url http://www3.isye.gatech.edu.

So if your current web pages are located at http://www2.isye.gatech.edu/workforcecom/ you can see them viewed on the new server by changing the url from www2 to www3: http://www3.isye.gatech.edu/workforcecom/.

There are two main groups of users who should check their code: Users who have web forms, and users who connect to databases.

Database users

In the past, the web server and the database server were both on the same hardware. Database connections to 'localhost' would work. The new web server is separate from the database server, so localhost connections will no longer work. If you have a page that connects to a database as localhost or ballista.isye.gatech.edu, you will need to change the connection to mysql.isye.gatech.edu

Web Form users

The old web server had the php setting Register Globals turned on. This meant that in web forms, each field you submitted would be converted to a php variable. For example, if you had a form that requested the field "firstname" it would be automatically converted to a php variable $firstname. On the new server this setting is turned off, so variables will not be automatically created.

If you have a web form that requests the field "firstname" now you will need to either address the POST variable directly, as $_POST['firstname'] or copy its value with the following line of code:

$firstname = $_POST['firstname'];

Having problems?

If you have any problems with your web pages or have any further questions about these changes, email us at helpdesk@isye.gatech.edu and we will be glad to help you.

How to run Unix/Linux compute jobs using Condor

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:45:56 GMT

Problem:

How do I use the ISyE Unix/Linux computational resources?

Solution:

Instructions for the use of ISyE's computational Linux cluster:

Initial requirements

You need an ISyE Unix Account.

Logging in

The central 64-bit compute server is wren.isye.gatech.edu (or just "wren" if you are on ISyE's subnets).

You should be able to access wren via ssh using your usual ISyE Unix account and password. Your Unix home directory will be mounted and accessible.

Compute cluster hierarchy

The central server, Wren, is called the "head node." When compute jobs are ready to be run, the head node assigns execution of them to subordinate servers which are called "compute nodes."

Users only need to log into the head node. The compute nodes do not support direct logins, and they cannot mount home directories. Compute jobs must be submitted to them through the Condor batch queue scheduler.

Development

Development for 64-bit Linux compute jobs should be done on wren, and interactive test runs can be performed there.

Long-running compute jobs and large batches of unattended short-running jobs are not allowed on the head node.

GUI development interfaces can be exported to the local X Windows desktop via ssh X forwarding (the ssh -X option).

Condor commands

Condor's executables are located in /opt/condor/bin, which should be in your default command path on wren, with man pages available for most important commands.

Generally the most useful Condor commands are:

   condor_submit -- submit jobs to the condor batch scheduler.

   condor_status -- show overall cluster status.

   condor_q      -- show current job queue and status of jobs.

   condor_rm     -- remove jobs from the condor queue.

Job submission

For most compute jobs, you will need to create a condor submit description file (a ".cmd" file) and then run "condor_submit .cmd".

An example .cmd file is listed below. Other examples can be found in /opt/condor/examples, and the syntax for .cmd files is documented in the condor_submit man page.

In the simplest cases, you can submit a job to condor by running "consub filename". This will work for a simple program that has no options, no input and output files (so if run locally, output would go to the screen). consub will create a simple filename.cmd file, copy the executable to a compute node and run the job, and then copy the output back to filename.out.

File accessibility on the compute nodes

You can run jobs directly from your Unix home directory tree, and they will be accessible to the compute nodes.

If you need more space than currently allocated, request it from IT. There is also a global scratch space available for users who are generating very large amounts of output (> 100GB).

It is possible to transfer files to the nodes, and then back to wren upon completion (should_transfer_files). On dedicated compute clusters like ours this is generally not the desired method.

Log files

The Condor log file should be written to /tmp, rather than to your home directory tree. Any user can create a directory in /tmp. Typically just create /tmp/ and use that as an output path for the "log" directive (see example below).

Condor universe

You must specify a "universe" to run a condor job in. For basic compute jobs written in any language, add a line to use the "vanilla" universe. If you do not explicitly specify the universe, it will default to "standard" universe which will not work without special compile-time options.

Example .cmd file

    universe        = vanilla
    executable      = foo
    output          = foo.out
    error           = foo.err
    log             = /tmp//foo.log
    arguments       = 10 20 30
    queue

This command file should be called "foo.cmd" and placed in the same global scratch space subdirectory as the program "foo". You will then type "condor_submit foo.cmd" to run this compute job. Normal screen output will go to to "foo.out" and stderr will go to "foo.err". The program expects three command-line arguments which are "10", "20", and "30".

Note that the log file is placed in /tmp! This is very important! Log files written to NFS-mounted home or scratch directories will often break condor due to NFS locking problems. So, once again, create a directory for yourself in /tmp, and write your log files there.

Any other input and output files generated by the program will be accessed normally, as long as the path is accessible to the program (normally, this means in your home or scratch directory).

In many cases you may also need to run jobs that won't work correctly without your login environment variables (such as PATH, LD_LIBRARY_PATH, or software-specific environment variables). Since these won't be available by default on the compute nodes, you need to explicitly add them via the submit file using this line:

     getenv = true

Notification

The cluster will not normally notify you of job completion. If you'd like notification, you should add one of the following lines depending on the level of notification you would like:

    notification = error        
    notification = complete
    notification = always

The default email address for these notifications is the ISyE email address of the user submitting the jobs. If you'd like mail sent to an alternate address, add the following line:

    notify_user = my.email@domain.com

More on Condor

For further documentation, please see the Condor User's Manual.

Using SecureCRT

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:12:17 GMT

Problem:

I need to use an SSH client to access an ISyE server. Do you have any suggestions? I heard SecureCRT is available at ISyE.

Solution:

Access to ISyE UNIX servers is available from anywhere in the world via the ssh2 protocol. There are free and commercial ssh clients available for most platforms (UNIX/Linux, Windows and Macintosh). SecureCRT is available on most all ISyE supported computers.

Using SecureCRT to connect to an ISyE UNIX server

There are many advanced options available with ssh, but to connect to an ISyE server (e.g. castle.isye.gatech.edu) for a simple interactive login, fill in the information as shown below.

You may wish to save the session as "castle" or "ISyE" so you don't need to configure it each time you use the program. The first time you connect, the program will prompt you with this message:

If you select Accept & Save, you will not be prompted again.

NOTE:

SecureCRT supports secure file transfers, from the windows command line which can be used as a substitute for FTP. See SecureCRT-VCP File Transfer Utility for specific information on VCP.

WinSCP can also be used for secure file transfers. See WinSCP for specific information on WinSCP.

Georgia Tech Faculty & Staff can download SecureCRT and WinSCP at https://software.oit.gatech.edu/.

Vacation Message Activation

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 21:55:47 GMT

Problem:

How do I activate an "away from office" email auto-reply.

Solution:

To set an "out of office" message for your ISyE email address, it is now possible to do so yourself. The following instructions provide a simple procedure for enabling and later disabling your message

Please think about the need for the message before activating such a service. It is possible for a malicious individual who receives such a message to use that information in a negative fashion. It is, after all, notification that you are on vacation and thus away from your home. Though the incidents are few, it is worth being aware of the possibility.

To begin sending an "out of office" auto-reply message please follow these steps:

Browse to https://mail.isye.gatech.edu/ and log in using your ISyE account and password.
Click the "Options" link along the top of the screen (between "Folders" and "Search").
Click on "Manage Vacation, Forwarding and Filtering" in the bottom right.
To begin your vacation message, check the box next to "Send auto-reply to sender?"
Enter the subject that will be sent with your response under "Vacation subject".
Enter the text of your vacation message beneath "Vacation message".
Click the "Submit" button at the bottom of the page.
Click the "Sign Out" link in the upper-right corner of the page.

When you are ready to stop automatically replying, please do the following:

Browse to https://mail.isye.gatech.edu/ and log in using your ISyE account and password.
Click the "Options" link along the top of the screen (between "Folders" and "Search").
Click on "Manage Vacation, Forwarding and Filtering" in the bottom right.
To stop sending your vacation message, un-check the box next to "Send auto-reply to sender?" Note that you may leave your subject and message in place for next time.
Click the "Submit" button at the bottom of the page.
Click the "Sign Out" link in the upper-right corner of the page.

That's it! If you have any questions or comments about this procedure, please send a note to helpdesk@isye.gatech.edu or contact any member of the IT staff.

Thunderbird 3 setup instructions

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:18:13 GMT

Problem:

How do I set up my new IMAP email account on a new or existing installation of Thunderbird 3.0?

Solution:

Configuring Thunderbird 3.0

New Installation

1. Download thunderbird from http://getthunderbird.com

2. Install using all the default setup options. At the end of the install you will be able to launch Thunderbird.

3. When Thunderbird starts, you will be presented with the Mail Account Setup window. Enter your name, your ISyE Email and your ISyE password.

4. Thunderbird should autodetect the settings for ISyE mail servers as follows:

5. The Incoming setup is correct, but the outgoing setup is not, so click on the Manual Setup in the lower left corner of the window

6. The Account Settings window will appear. Click the "Outgoing Server (SMTP)" option at the bottom of the list on the left

7. When the Outgoing Server settings appear, click the Edit button on the right side.

8. When the SMTP Server window appears, go to the "Connection Security" pulldown at the bottom and select "STARTTLS"

9. Click OK in the SMTP Server Window.

10. Click OK in the Account Settings window.

11.Click OK in the Mail Account Setup window.

Thunderbird should now successfully connect to the ISyE Mail servers and download your messages.

Install lightning and Create ICS calendar

Thu, 28 May 2009 18:11:04 GMT

Part I: Install Lightening Add-on in Thunderbird

Follow the instruction online by click the link below.  
http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/lightning/download.html

Part II: Create ICS calendar in Thunderbird to sync with My Gatech Calendar

Open the calendar in Thunderbird.
Go to Calendar, click New Calendar to open the window.
Select on the Network and click Next
Select iCalendar (ICS). For the location, input https://mail.gatech.edu/home/@mail.gatech.edu/Calendar
( is your GT Unix account. ) Then click Next.
Give a name to the calendar you created. Leave E-mail as none. Click Next.
You may be asked for the user name and password for your GT account.
Click finish.
After the calendar is created, right click it to open its properties setting. Uncheck Read Only property.

Note PHD students only: Printing from a personal computer to ricphd

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:57:40 GMT

There is no way to directly print to that printer from a personal machine, however you can print by:

Using winscp, (or similar scp application) copy the files you want to print from your computer to one of the
ISyE unix computers, say castle.isye.gatech.edu

Then log into castle.isye.gatech.edu using SSH.

From the console type: lp -d ricphd "filename"

http://herald.isye.gatech.edu/helpdesk/index.php/kb/article/000009

Setting file permissions for web files

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:04:16 GMT

Files must be made world readable to be accessible on the web.

From the command line:

chmod a+r filename

From Fugu on a Mac:

Bring up the file info window by:

a) selecting the file and pressing Command-I on the keyboard, or
b) selecting the file and clicking the Info button at the top of the window, or
c) right clicking on the file and selecting "Get Info" from the menu

then in the permissions section, make sure the "Read" box is checked for the Owner, Group and Others, then click the Apply button.

From WinSCP on a PC:

Bring up the file info window by:

a) selecting the file and pressing F9 on the keyboard, or
b) selecting the file and clicking the Properties button at the bottom of the window, or
c) right clicking on the file and selecting "Properties" from the menu

then in the permissions section, make sure the "R" box is checked for the Owner, Group and Others, then click the OK button.

Directories need to be world readable and executable to be accessible on the web. The process is very similar to files:

From the command line:

chmod a+rx filename

From Fugu on a Mac:

Bring up the file info window by:

then in the permissions section, make sure the "Read" and "Execute" boxes are checked for the Owner, Group and Others, then click the Apply button.

From WinSCP on a PC:

Bring up the file info window by:

then in the permissions section, make sure the "R" and "X" boxes are checked for the Owner, Group and Others, then click the OK button.

Using WinSCP

Wed, 21 May 2008 20:39:26 GMT

Problem:

I need to use a secure client to access an ISyE server. Do you have any suggestions? I heard WinSCP is an alternative.

Solution:

What is WinSCP?

WinSCP is a freeware SCP (Secure CoPy) client for Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP/ME using SSH (Secure SHell). Its main function is safe copying of files between a local and a remote computer. Beyond this basic function, WinSCP manages some other actions with files.

How do I use WinSCP to connect to an ISyE UNIX server?

There are many advanced options available with WinSCP, but to connect to an ISyE server(e.g. castle.isye.gatech.edu) for a simple interactive login, fill in the information as shown below. Click Save if you'd like to save this connection for later use.

Verify the connection and choose Yes or No accordingly.

Once you enter the program, drag and drop files between your local computer and the remote machine.

For more information or to download the software, please visit the WinSCP Sourceforge area located at http://winscp.sourceforge.net/eng/. WinSCP can also be downloaded from the Georgia Tech OIT Software Download page.

Editing your .profile.local to use TeX or LaTeX

Thu, 01 May 2008 20:34:59 GMT

Problem:

I want to use TeX or LaTeX, but am told that I need to set a PATH in my UNIX local profile.

Solution:

If you don't want to use TeX (including LaTeX), then you're probably fine with the default UNIX account as it is. If you want to use TeX, you need to add a line to one of your configuration files. Specifically, the default account setup doesn't include the TeX directory in your path (the set of locations that are checked for programs).

To remedy this, add the following line to the file called .profile.local in your home directory:

PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/teTeX/bin/sparc-sun-solaris2.8.

For more information on using configuration files like .profile.local, try one of the tutorials linked to from the article on Feeling Comfortable with the Command Line.

Outlook 2003 Setup Instructions for the New IMAP Accounts

Thu, 01 May 2008 20:13:29 GMT

Problem:

How do I set up my new IMAP email account on a new or existing installation of Outlook 2003?

Solution:

Configuring Outlook 2003

New installation

1. Start up Outlook 2003 and when the outlook 2003 startup wizard appears click Next

2. When asked about configuring an email account, select Yes and click next

3. For the Server Type select IMAP and click Next

4. Enter your full name as "Your Name".
5. Enter your Email Address (such as "allen.belletti@isye.gatech.edu".
6. Set the Incoming mail server (IMAP) to "imap.isye.gatech.edu".
7. Set the Outgoing mail server (SMTP) to "mail.isye.gatech.edu"
8. Enter your ISyE account name for the User Name (for example, "allen".)
9. Enter your ISyE account password.
10. It is recommended that you uncheck "Remember password".
11. Make sure that "Log on using Secure Password Authentication (SPA)" is not checked.

12. Click the More Settings button
13. Click the "Outgoing Server" tab.
14. Check "My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication."
15. Ensure that "Use same settings as my incoming mail server" is selected.

16. Click the "Advanced" tab.
17. Beneath "Incoming server (IMAP)", check the box for "This server requires an encrypted connection (SSL)".
18. Do not check the second box beneath "Outgoing server (SMTP)".

19. Click "OK".
20. Click "Next".
21. Click "Finish".