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Welcome — in this lesson you’ll learn three common ways to authenticate and open a session on Linux systems:
  • Local graphical login (desktop sign-in).
  • Remote graphical login using Remote Desktop (RDP/xrdp).
  • Remote text-mode login using SSH.
These examples use CentOS with the GNOME desktop, an xrdp-enabled remote host, and a separate SSH-accessible host. The steps demonstrate typical workflows for desktop administrators and remote access scenarios.

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1) Local graphical login (GNOME)

On a local machine with GNOME installed you sign in the same way you would on any desktop system: select your user, type the password, and click Sign In. GNOME loads your desktop session after authentication.
A screenshot of a CentOS virtual machine login screen showing the user "Aaron" with the password field filled with masked dots. The window shows Sign In and Cancel buttons and the CentOS logo at the bottom.
After confirming the session in GNOME you can log out when ready to demonstrate remote-login options.

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2) Remote graphical login (RDP via xrdp)

If the remote host runs xrdp you can open a graphical session from any RDP client (Windows Remote Desktop Connection, Remmina, Microsoft Remote Desktop for macOS, etc.). Enter the remote IP address in the client and click Connect.
A VirtualBox window showing a CentOS login screen. A Windows Remote Desktop Connection dialog is open on top, displaying the address 192.168.0.18 and username "student."
When the connection is established the RDP client presents the remote login dialog. In this example the username student is pre-populated; type the password and click OK to start the remote graphical session.
A remote desktop login dialog labeled "Login to LFCS-CentOS2" is centered on a plain teal desktop background. The window shows an xrdp logo, a session dropdown (Xvnc), the username "student", a masked password field, and OK/Cancel buttons.
When exposing RDP/xrdp to untrusted networks, secure the connection (VPN, firewall rules) and prefer key-based or multi-factor authentication where possible. RDP ports open to the public internet are a common attack vector.
After you are logged into the remote GNOME desktop, open Activities → GNOME Terminal to access a shell on that host.

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3) Remote text-mode login (SSH from the remote graphical session)

From the GNOME terminal on the remote host you can SSH into another machine on the network. For example, from student@lfcs-centos2 connect to the local machine used earlier (IP 192.168.0.17) using the aaron account:
When SSH prompts for a password, keystrokes are not echoed — no characters, dots, or asterisks appear. This is normal: type the password and press Enter.
The message about activating the web console refers to Cockpit, a web-based server management interface. See the Cockpit project for more information: https://cockpit-project.org/. To end the SSH session and return to the remote desktop terminal:
Then close the terminal emulator and log out of the graphical session when finished.

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Quick comparison: login methods

That’s it — you now know how to sign in locally, start a remote graphical session with xrdp, and initiate an SSH text-mode login from a remote desktop.

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