Before you can use most of the CANDE commands, your station must be active and logged on to the system. To log on, a valid usercode, and in most cases a password, must be presented to the system. A given usercode can be assigned none, one, or several passwords in the USERDATAFILE. The CANDE PASSWORD command can be used to change the list of passwords for a usercode in the USERDATAFILE.

To log on, enter the usercode without the password. The system then requests the password to be entered in a protected field on the screen. If no password is assigned to the usercode, enter a period (.). If no password is assigned to the usercode and the usercode is allowed one or more passwords, you can assign a password to that usercode by entering the desired password.

There is an optional method of logging on that can be used on systems in which the SECOPT CLASS option is set to U (unspecified) or S0. Refer to the MCP Security Overview and Implementation Guide for additional information about the CLASS option. To log on, enter the usercode followed by a slash (/) or space and then the password. If no password is assigned to the usercode, enter a period (.) following the usercode.

CANDE checks the usercode/password against the file of authorized users (USERDATAFILE) of the system. The user is informed and asked to re-enter the usercode/password if

If the usercode/password is valid, CANDE responds with an appropriate message and the user is logged on. If the usercode has password aging and the password is about to expire, CANDE indicates the number of days before the password becomes invalid. In general, CANDE cannot be used unless a successful log on occurs.

If a user fails to provide a valid usercode and password in 10 consecutive log-on attempts, the station is cleared and the following message is displayed:

STATION CLEARED BECAUSE OF SECURITY VIOLATIONS

If the station is not owned by CANDE, it is returned to the controlling MCS, unless the KEEPSTA CANDE option is set.

Although 10 log-on attempts is the system default, the number of log-on attempts can be changed to suit the security needs of the site. You can set the number of log-on attempts by specifying a value in the LOGONATTEMPTS option of the SECOPT system command. The valid values range from 0 (zero) to 15. Values 1 through 15 indicate the number of log-on attempts permitted, and 0 (zero) means that a maximum number of log-on attempts is not enforced.

In addition to a usercode and password, some installations require another accesscode and accesscode password, chargecode, or both as part of the log-on procedure. An accesscode restricts access to certain files and provides an additional layer of security over the usercode/password. A chargecode keeps track of the charges for computer time.

If a chargecode or an accesscode/accesscode password is required for a particular usercode (as specified in the USERDATAFILE), CANDE emits an appropriate message after the user has given the usercode/password.

Password aging can be enabled for an accesscode password. If the password expires or is marked to be changed, CANDE indicates the number of days before the password becomes invalid. If the password expires, the accesscode cannot be used. The warning is generated when the accesscode is used during the log-on process and when the accesscode is changed with the ACCESS command.

Accesscode/accesscode password combinations are entered in a manner similar to usercode/password combinations. On systems where the CLASS security option is set to UNSPECIFIED or S0, you can enter the accesscode password directly after the accesscode, separated by a slash (/) or space. On all systems, you can enter the password on a separate line (using a protected field). If you do not have an accesscode password, enter a period (.) instead of the accesscode password.

If a valid chargecode or accesscode/accesscode password is given, log on is completed unless multi-factor authentication is enabled for the user. If the chargecode or accesscode/accesscode password is found to be invalid when checked in the USERDATAFILE, an error message is issued. A default chargecode can be assigned to a given usercode in the USERDATAFILE. If the default chargecode is set for the installation, it is automatically invoked at log-on time without any prompt to the user. (For further information about the USERDATAFILE where chargecodes, default chargecodes, usercodes, passwords and accesscodes are set up for an installation, refer to the MCP Security Overview and Implementation Guide.) For information about how to manipulate passwords, chargecodes, accesscodes, and accesscode passwords through CANDE commands, refer to the PASSWORD, CHARGE, ACCESS, and APASSWORD commands in CANDE Commands.

When you use CANDE through a Transaction Server window, Transaction Server can pass enough information to CANDE to enable your station to be automatically logged on. (Refer to Pseudostations and Transaction Server Window Dialogs for information about Transaction Server window dialogs.)

To log on to a different usercode once you are already logged on, use the HELLO command. To log off of a CANDE session, use the BYE command.