Username and password information for Moodle

Note

If you have arrived at this page after being repeatedly redirected from the School's Moodle service, there may be a problem with your password. Please check your password hasn't been recently changed to one that is blacklisted, as discussed here.

Login information for staff and students belonging to the School of Computer Science

This page contains information specifically for students and staff belonging to the School of Computer Science.

 

 

I'm new to the School of Computer Science. How does moodle authenticate users?

Moodle authenticates users from the School of Computer Science using their UNIX login ID and password. The set up of School UNIX accounts is managed by the duty office. When you became a member of the School of Computer Science you should have received your School login details. You username is usually the first 6-7 characters from your last name, plus you first name initials appended to the end or front. Student also often have a number tagged on to the end to represent the year they joined the School.

Typically all new accounts are set up so that the initial password is your date of birth in the format YYYYMMDD, for example if you are born on 2nd September 1974, you would enter "19740902". It is strongly recommended that you change your initial password to something more secure.

If this fails to work, and you are sure that you are using the correct username, please contact dutyoffice@cs.man.ac.uk as this is not a problem that moodle admins will be able to solve.

 

I've forgotten or don't know what my moodle username is, how can I find out what it is?

Although duty office are responsible for creating and managing School UNIX accounts, you may be able to save time (theirs and yours!) by finding out what your username is for yourself. To do this, you will need to find a friend/colleague whom can already successfully log into a LINUX or Sun workstation. Ask them to type the following:

-> csinfo <your last name>


Where <your last name> should replaced by your last name. You can also search by first name too, but you will most likely get too many results. You may get back a list of possible matching records. In most cases you should be able to work out which record represents you, but if not just select each number one-by-one until you see your own record. Within the information of each record look for the field "UNIX account". Immediately after that is your UNIX account ID.

Failing this contact dutyoffice@cs.man.ac.uk letting them know your full name and degree programme if applicable.

 

I've forgotten or don't know what my moodle password is, how can I get it reset?

If you are very new to the School of Computer Science your password might never have been changed from that it was initially assigned with. Typically all new accounts are set up so that the initial password is your date of birth in the format YYYYMMDD, for example if you are born on 2nd September 1974, you would enter "19740902". It is strongly recommended that you change your initial password to something more secure.

Passwords are not directly handled inside moodle. Instead passwords are checked via querying the Schools mail IMAP server, which in turn uses your UNIX username and password. This essentially means that you/moodle admins cannot get your password reset from within moodle, but must instead ask a School UNIX system administrator to do this for you.

To get your password reset, in the first instance ask someone in the Resource Centre on the lower floor to do this. If they are busy or unable to do this for you, contact dutyoffice@cs.man.ac.uk letting them know your full name and degree programme if applicable.

 

Changing your password

Passwords are not directly handled inside moodle. Instead passwords are checked by using the login credentials you supply to try and open a secure shell connection to a machine in the school. This essentially means that you/moodle admins cannot change your password from within moodle. Instead this can be done from any LINUX or Sun workstation or you can remotely login from outside the School (discussed shortly). Duty office have provided instructions on how to go about this on the following page: http://csis.cs.man.ac.uk/software/log+pass.php.

Please note that if you cannot easily get into the School (for example you are on an industrial placement) to change your password you can also do so remotely. The above page also discusses logging into School machines remotely. Windows users should download the Putty software to provide command line access to School servers for changing their password. If you find any of these instructions unclear and need further help, or if you experience problems logging into moodle after changing your password, please contact moodlesupport@cs.man.ac.uk.

 

Can my password be anything I like?

The most important this is that you choose a strong UNIX password. However, certain characters have been known to cause problems when moodle authenticates against the IMAP server. In particular any of the following symbols £^#&%.

Important: The only known black listed password is "changeme". Not only is this a weak password, but will cause problems when you log into moodle. Moodle will continually forward you to this page until you change your password. It has been known for resource centre staff to reset passwords to this.

 

What web browsers work with moodle?

The moodle environment can accessed through any up-to-date web browser, however, we would recommend using either:

Other browsers may be used though some features, in particular moodle's HTML editor, may not be available. You can access moodle from anywhere (e.g. within the School or from your home computer). Access is controlled by a username and password for each registered user (see below).

 

How do I log into moodle and find the moodle area for my course unit?

  1. To get to the moodle login screen, point your web browser at:
    https://moodle.cs.man.ac.uk/

  2. Your username and password is the same as your School UNIX account username and password. Staff should ensure they use their teaching domain passwords. Enter these into the login box and select the Login button. If you had problems logging in, check that the caps lock key on your computer keyboard is off and that you use the correct combination of lower case and capital letters in both your username and your password.

  3. After successfully logging into moodle for the first time, you will be presented with a web form to complete the details of your moodle profile.

    • Add you first and last names;
    • your email address;
    • the city/town where you live (for most people this will be Manchester);
    • and add a short description of yourself.
    • You can also (optionally) upload a small photograph to personalise your moodle account.
    • Select the Update profile button to complete your moodle registration.
       

  4. Assuming you have made no errors when completing your moodle profile, the next page to appear will be the moodle home page. Information about how to locate your course site can be found in the Getting started with moodle page "Finding your course".