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People with an MIT Kerberos username, or an MIT X.509 certificate can simply use their normal account to securely authenticate to Stellar.

People that do not have an MIT Kerberos account or MIT X.509 certificate can also authenticate to Stellar. They can do so by self-registering for a Collaboration Account, or if the person has an account with a member of the InCommon Federation, they may be able to authenticate using their account from their own university, company, or agency.

Default browser settings should not prevent anyone from using MIT Touchstone for authentication. However, there are various optional settings that can affect the usability of Touchstone.

The use of cookies

MIT Touchstone requires the use of browser cookies. If cookies have been disabled in the browser an error will result when attempting to use MIT Touchstone enabled applications. To re-enable cookies within your browser you should consult your browser's documentation.

The site associated with the cookies will depend on which identity provider, or account provider, you are using.

The use of javascript

Although MIT Touchstone assumes Javascript is enabled, and uses it, it is still possible to authenticate if you do not have Javascript enabled. Instead of being automatically redirected back to the application that you are trying to access, you will have to use a button to complete a form post.

For 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.
   If you do not have have a Touchstone Collaboration Account, select Touchstone Collaboration Account.  The red Touchstone Collaboration Accounts login page is displayed.  Click Not Registered?
   • Complete the form fields.
   • Complete the word verification.
   • Check the Terms of Service box and click *"Create Account."
   • Check your email inbox (and spam filer) for a Collaboration Account activation email from touchstone-support@MIT.EDU containing an activation code and link. Then click on the link, follow the instructions to activate your account.
   • Go to Step 1 above to access Stellar with your new account information.

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.
Please also note: If you leave the Stellar page idle for 1 hours hour or if it's 6 hours after getting the touchstone Touchstone ticket, you will need to re-authenticate.

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.

  Info
  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 IS&T-supported web browser.
• If all attempts fail, contact the Computing Help IS&T Service Desk.

For non-MIT users:

Users without Stellar accounts must obtain a Kerberos account and provide an that 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.

If you are on the participants list and still experience issues logging in, consider the following:

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

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.