Logging In

Logging In

If you get an Access Denied message, complete and send the email form so a member of the class faculty can add you to the class/section Participants list. You should then receive a response from the instructor.

For MIT Users:

If you are on the Participants list and still cannot gain access, consider the following:

• Do you have an MIT certificate? To use a Stellar class website, you need both an MIT Certificate Authority and a personal certificate.
  All personal certificates at MIT expire on July 31. Go to Certificates at MIT for directions on checking the expiration date of certificates, deleting expired certificates in your browser, and getting a new personal certificate or MIT CA certificate.
  
  
• Try clicking the Login button on the class or section homepage, then click a link in the homepage's navigation bar. If clicking the link takes you to another page, you are logged in.

  Users with a non-MIT account are prompted to enter a user name and password after clicking the Login button.

  
  
• Try logging in to another certificate-protected site, such as WebSIS. If this works, then the problem is in Stellar. If it does not work, the problem is in the particular computer/browser/certificate combination you are using. Make sure that your computer and browser have only current MIT certificates---delete any old ones.
  
  
• Make sure you are using an MIT-supported web browser.
  
  
• If all attempts fail, contact the Computing Help Desk.
  

For non-MIT users

If you are on the participants list, consider the following:

• Is the e-mail address you are using to login the same as the one the instructor listed as your e-mail address on the site? Check with the instructor.
• If this is not the problem, contact the Computing Help Desk.

New Login Process: Stellar and Wikis

The login process for Stellar and MIT Wikis will change on August 1, 2009. Authentication for all users (including MIT-community members with personal certificates) will now be managed solely by MIT Touchstone. This means that Stellar and Wikis users will see a different set of login screens when accessing these systems.

Watch the Stellar Login Video

MIT Touchstone provides a single-sign-on point of entry for users of MIT services obviating the need for separate local accounts across systems and standardizing basic account management procedures for guest users, like resetting forgotten passwords and making name changes.

• MIT Touchstone is:
  1. A centralized authentication and login service for MIT-community users
     
  2. A centralized authentication and account/profile management service for users outside of the MIT community
     

• Touchstone Accounts are:
  • Free
  • Self-service
  • Web-based
  • Based on open standards including SAML and Shibboleth
  • Shibboleth Single Sign-On enabled

How this change will affect you:

You are a MIT user if you:

• have a MIT Kerberos account
• have a @mit.edu email address
• have a MIT personal certificate

All other users are Guest users

Users with a Kerberos account or personal certificate do not need to create a Collaboration Account to use Stellar. Touchstone supports both Kerberos and certificates.

New Stellar users

Users without Stellar accounts must provide an email address to the Instructor or Admin of the site they wish to access. The Instructor must add you to the membership list of this site. You will receive an email with instructions on how to create your Collaboration Account.

Users can also create a Collaboration Account first and then provide their email address to the Instructor. So long as the email address is the same as the one you used to create your Collaboration Account, you will have access to Stellar.

Non-MIT users MUST activate their Collaboration Account in order to access their class sites.
These users will appear as a "Provisional User" on the Participant List until they have activated their account AND successfully logged into Stellar.

At this time, using OpenID to login is not recognized by most MIT applications. However, if you wish, you may associate your OpenID account with your Collaboration Account. To do this you must create a Collaboration Account first, then update your user profile to associate your OpenID account to your Collaboration Account. Once the association is complete, you can use your OpenID account to login. Please note that MIT Touchstone does not yet support OpenID 2.0.

New Login Steps - All Users

From the Stellar homepage or CourseGuide, click the You@Stellar tab or navigate to the class site you are joining and click the LOGIN link at the top of the left navigation bar.

If you have cookies enabled, you are directed to the Please choose your account provider page:

1. If you are an MIT user, select MIT Kerberos account (or MIT web certificate)
   • The Touchstone@MIT page is displayed.
   • Choose your preferred login method and click the appropriate button.
   • You are redirected back to Stellar.
2. If you are a non-MIT user, select Touchstone Collaboration Account. The red Touchstone Collaboration Accounts login page is displayed.#- If you already have a Touchstone Collaboration Account, enter your user name and password. Complete the login.
   • You are redirected back to Stellar.
3. If you do not have have a Touchstone Collaboration Account, click Not Registered?
   • Complete the form fields - be sure to use the same email address you've used with Stellar before if you want to keep access to your class sites from previous semesters - complete the word verification, check the Terms of Service box and click *"Create Account."
   • Check your inbox (and spam filer) for a Collaboration Account activation email from touchstone-support@MIT.EDU containing an activation code and link. Click on the link, follow the instructions to activate your account.
   • Go to Step 1 above to access Stellar with your new account information.

Additional Information about MIT Touchstone Accounts

• MIT Touchstone FAQ

All members of the MIT community automatically have a Stellar account that uses the MIT Kerberos user name (e.g., username@mit.edu) as the Stellar user name. MIT users identify themselves to Stellar through a personal certificate.

To get certificates for the browser and computer you are using, go to the MIT Certificates page. Get an MIT Certificate Authority first, if you do not have one already, then get an MIT Personal Certificate. To get a personal certificate, you must already have the following:

• Kerberos user name (contact the Accounts Office)
• MIT ID card (contact the Card Office)
  • If you have an MIT ID, but have never used your Kerberos ID, first register with Athena . A day or two later you can get your MIT certificates. You need both an MIT Certificate Authority and a personal certificate.