In an attempt to modernize our SSH infrastructure, we’ve made some changes to SSH keys on our Linux computers. We’ve disabled DSA host keys, and enabled new ECDSA and ED25519 host keys. This process took a few days, and during that time a few hosts had their keys changed. If you are experiencing problems trying [...]
As seen in recent headlines, institutionally targeted ransomware attacks are on the rise. The initial entry for these attackers seem to use many of the same techniques that we have seen in the past so it is becoming very important, as frequent computer users, to keep our guard up. This is particularly important for faculty, [...]
Virtual Network Computing, or VNC, allows you to create a remote graphical session on another computer . You will be able to observe a remote Linux desktop environment and interact with it using the mouse and keyboard from your own computer. Using VNC is attractive to many Linux users because you can temporarily disconnect from [...]
Recently, web site maintainers in MCECS have been receiving phishing emails disguised as complaints about the misuse of copyrighted images on their sites. The emails are often submitted through a contact form or to published contact email addresses. They often have a title that looks like: You have no legal rights to use my images [...]
Web Servers and File Permissions In order to create webpages using your MCECS account, it is important to know how web servers and file permissions work in a Linux environment. This guide is intended for novice Linux users and gives a brief overview of: How Web Servers Work File Permissions in Linux Changing Permissions [...]
The following is a table of commonly used Linux systems that can be remotely accessed by MCECS users. Be aware of the following attributes: Certain systems are restricted by departments. You can tell which department can access a system by the subdomain component of the hostname. linux.cecs.pdx.edu - All MCECS users linux.cs.pdx.edu - CS users [...]
If you actively make use of IPv6 routing over the MCECS OpenVPN, this may affect you. Otherwise, please ignore. On Thursday, November 12, 2020, our OpenVPN servers will stop setting IPv6 addresses and advertising IPv6 routes. We are making this change due to issues some users have experienced with unusual IPv6 conditions on their home [...]
Greetings from the Computer Action Team! Fall 2020 is going to be a remotely-accessed experience for most MCECS users. Whether you’re a student, faculty, or staff, you can learn more about your MCECS account by following this link: https://cat.pdx.edu/users/getting-help/ We have built a resource that catalogs many of the most commonly asked questions we encountered [...]
Logins to most CAT supported Linux systems are moving to a different underlying authentication system (known as “kerberos”). Here are the potential side effects of that change. 1) Login using password This is the most common method used for logging in. With a few exceptions, users will not notice any change. If you are unable [...]
MySQL and Postgres users, As a security measure, we are putting the externally available web interfaces for our user based MySQL and Postgres database servers on db.cecs.pdx.edu behind MCECS authentication. This means that users who want to get to those interfaces will have to first authenticate with their MCECS credentials (login/password). For MySQL details, see: [...]