Source: Juni_2026_Exams/Advance_Forensics/LOGIN_INSTRUCTIONS.md

University Environment Login Instructions

Purpose: Quick, reproducible steps to connect to the university (UNI) lab environment so you can test exercises during preparation.

Replace placeholder values (<...>) with the real hostnames, usernames and VPN portal your Uni provides.

Prerequisites

• SSH key pair created (~/.ssh/id_rsa and ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub) or username/password credentials provided by UNI.
• VPN access if required by UNI (wireless or client-based).
• MFA device/code if the Uni requires multi-factor authentication.
• Add your public key to the Uni account or provide it to the lab admin.

Common Values (replace these)

• VPN Portal: <vpn.uni.edu>
• Jump host / Bastion: <bastion.uni.edu>
• Lab host (forensic VM): <forensic01.uni.edu>
• Username: <your-uni-username>
• Local SSH key: ~/.ssh/id_rsa

Connect (macOS / Linux)

1. Start VPN (if required) using the Uni's instructions or client.
2. Test network reachability:

ping -c 3 <forensic01.uni.edu>

1. SSH directly (no jump host):

ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa <your-uni-username>@<forensic01.uni.edu>

1. SSH via bastion / jump host:

ssh -J <your-uni-username>@<bastion.uni.edu> <your-uni-username>@<forensic01.uni.edu>

1. If the SSH uses a non-standard port (e.g. 2222):

ssh -p 2222 -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa <your-uni-username>@<forensic01.uni.edu>

1. Use verbose output for troubleshooting:

ssh -vvv -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa <your-uni-username>@<forensic01.uni.edu>

Windows (PuTTY / OpenSSH)

• With PuTTY: load your private key (converted to .ppk) in PuTTY/ Pageant and connect to <forensic01.uni.edu> with your username and port.
• With Windows OpenSSH (PowerShell): same commands as macOS/Linux.

VS Code Remote-SSH

1. Install Remote - SSH extension.
2. Add an entry to ~/.ssh/config:

Host uni-forensic
  HostName <forensic01.uni.edu>
  User <your-uni-username>
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa
  ProxyJump <your-uni-username>@<bastion.uni.edu>

1. Connect from VS Code: Remote-SSH → Connect to Host… → uni-forensic.

Test Checklist (once connected)

• Confirm identity: whoami and id
• Confirm repo access and git: git --version and git clone git@github.com:sfigas/IHU_CYBERSECURITY_EXAMS.git or cd ~/workspace && git pull
• Confirm access to exam files location: ls -lah /data/exams or ls -lah /home/<your-uni-username>/exams
• Confirm read permission on forensic images: file /path/to/image and ls -lh /path/to/image
• Create a test file and push to personal branch (to verify git push credentials):

cd ~/IHU_CYBERSECURITY_EXAMS || git clone git@github.com:sfigas/IHU_CYBERSECURITY_EXAMS.git
cd IHU_CYBERSECURITY_EXAMS
git checkout -b test/login-verify
echo "login test by <your-uni-username> on $(date)" > login-test.txt
git add login-test.txt
git commit -m "test: login verification"
git push --set-upstream origin test/login-verify

• Remove test branch after verification if desired.

Troubleshooting

• Use ssh -vvv to inspect auth problems.
• If public-key auth fails, confirm that ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on the host contains your public key and that permissions are correct (chmod 700 ~/.ssh and chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys).
• If VPN is required, ensure the VPN client is connected and DNS resolves Uni hosts.
• Check firewall rules or campus access restrictions.
• Contact Uni lab admin with the following info: your username, public key fingerprint (ssh-keygen -lf ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub), timestamped error logs from ssh -vvv.

Security Notes

• Never share your private key or password in the repo or chat.
• Use per-device keys when possible and remove stale keys from the Uni account when no longer needed.

If you give me the exact hostnames/usernames or want me to add a ~/.ssh/config template with your real values, tell me and I'll patch the file accordingly.