Quick Links

Where to get help with technical questions about UW and CSE computing infrastructure.

  • General CSE technical questions? Visit the Support Web  (Hint: you're already soaking in it.) The support landing page features a FAQ (much more extensive than this one.)  You may also make support requests via email, web form, telephone(685-1224), or in person (Allen Center 260).
  • For PMP-specific technical help, contact:
  • For help with UW computing facilities such as MyUW and UW NetID, contact help@uw.edu

Information about computer accounts and credentials which PMP students will need.

There are three accounts and three corresponding sets of credentials which PMP students should be aware of:

  • UWNetID. This is managed by the central UW IT organization, and is used for access to campus-wide computing facilities such as MyUW, campus labs, protected areas in the UW web space (under www.washington.edu), and site licensed software To create a UWNetID, visit: http://uwnetid.washington.edu/newid/.
  • CSE Kerberos (commonly called CSEnetID).  This is account will be automatically created for you when you enroll, and an activation email will be sent to you shortly before orientation. Set up your credentials for this account and for the CSE Windows account using the link in the email.  You will use these credentials to access  
    • Protected areas in the CSE web space (under www.cs.washington.edu).
    • CSE Linux systems via SSH.  Some courses will require that you use these systems.  Log in to:
      • attu.cs.washington.edu
  • CSE Windows. This account will also be automatically created for you when you enroll.  This account will be used to log in to the domain CSENETID when you are in one of the department's Phttps://uwnetid.washington.edu/newid/https://uwnetid.washington.edu/newid/C labs.  These labs are located in the first floor of the Gates Center.  This account may also be used to log in remotely to departmental Windows virtual desktop infrastructure using a remote desktop client. Note that remote desktop connections from off campus require the use of a VPN. Find more information about the UW VPN client "Husky OnNet" here.

Please note that these accounts use independent authentication domains.  This means that changing one password will have no effect on the other two.

You may set or reset passwords for your CSE accounts using the CSE Password Manager

How to login to CSE Unix systems.

You will need to install a SSH 2 client (SSH1 and plain-text telnet will not work).   A decent Windows SSH 2 client called "PuTTY" is available here.

Once the software is installed, log in to attu.cs.washington.edu, and authenticate with your CSE Kerberos credentials.

To be allowed to connect, your host must have a registered name, and your ISP or DNS server must support reverse DNS. 

If you are having problems logging in, note that CSE Kerberos passwords that have not been changed from the initial value for a reasonably long period of time may expire.  If this happens you will need to use the web-based password manager tool to reset your password (https://password.cs.washington.edu/). 

Information about mailboxes and mail forwarding.

There are two email addresses to be aware of:

  • <you>@cs.washington.edu  Note that your program advisor will be sending important mail to this address.  This address is created for you when you enroll.  Initially the address does not correspond to a mailbox, but it is used for mail forwarding only.  To change the forward address, visit https://forwarding.cs.washington.edu. Additionally you may use CSE cloud services (see below) to redirect this address to a cloud provider.
  • <you>@uw.edu This is an email address that is created with your UWNetID.  Since the address exists, we recommend that you either check the mail periodically or configure forwarding, however your program advisor will not normally send you mail using this address.  Notice that the username part of this address corresponds to your UWNetID, so it may not be the same as your CSE user name. 

Important: Be sure to read the mail delivered to your cs.washington.edu address, since your advisor will send important program information there.

Cloud Services

The UW and the CSE department provide sets of cloud services from both Google and Microsoft in a way that is linked to the respective identity. The specific menu of services under each differs and is in flux, but common services such as email, calendaring and documents are available in all cases. These may be of interest to PMP students who for instance would like to have a mailbox dedicated to CSE or UW email, or who would like to share and collaborate on documents with other students. To learn more:

Descriptions of PMP-specific mailing lists.

  • cs-pmp   This is intended for general student discussions.  Membership is optional.  You may subscribe by sending mail to cs-pmp-request@cs.washington.edu, with the body of the message "subscribe".  The mail sent to this alias is also posted to a nntp news group (see next topic).
  • cs-pmp-mail .  Your cs.washington.edu mailbox is automatically subscribed to this list.  Your program advisor will use this list to distribute important program announcements. 

Please send comments, correction or updates to: CSE Support