Your Account Shell

The shell of your bama account determines how you interact with bama.ua.edu. Different shells are available depending on the needs of each account holder. There are three main types of shells:

  1. The remote-only shell allows access to e-mail (through myBama or an IMAP client) and dial-up authentication, but no FTP or telnet access. This is the only shell needed by most bama account holders, and it protects the user from unauthorized (i.e. "hacker") activity on that account.
  2. The ftp-only shell has the same permissions as the remote-only shell, but FTP access is also allowed. This is the shell needed by those who would like to use FTP to upload a Web site to their bama account.
  3. The interactive shells are for those who need to be able to SSH or telnet into their bama account. These shells do not provide extra account security.

Most new accounts are created with the remote shell. However, you can change your shell at any time using the Bama Shell Change Web Helper. Note that there are multiple interactive Unix shells to choose from; if you are not sure which one you need but know that you do need SSH/telnet access, choose the first interactive shell (ksh).

If you received your bama account during summer orientation, it was created with an orientation shell, which is equivalent to a remote-only shell except that you cannot change it until after the start of classes in the fall.