Login security

• When you enter your password correctly, the last times you successfully and (if applicable) unsuccessfully logged in are displayed:

  Last successful login for login: date and time on ttyxxx
  Last unsuccessful login for login: date and time on ttyxxx
  

  If these times do not match your actions, consult your administrator immediately. Someone might have tried to log into your account. (For example, if you come in to work on a Monday and the system indicates a failed login attempt on Saturday night, when you were at home, you should be suspicious.)

• Be careful how you type in your password.
  

• When you enter your password and the system reports an error, although you believe your entry to have been correct, tell your security administrator immediately. Check the reported last login time against the current time. If there is a discrepancy it is possible that a spoofing program has stolen your password. (A spoofing program is a hacking tool designed to collect passwords. It puts a display on a terminal that resembles a login prompt. When a user types their password and username into it, it sends the information to its owner, logs them in, then lies in wait for the next user.)