Campus Manager

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szero

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 11, 2002
Messages
388
Been a while since I've posted.

Anyway, I'm going to be starting my senior year at Susquehanna University. Our network has gone through a series of transformations. My freshman year all the ports were locked down and the connection speed was atrocious. I couldn't download faster than 50KB/s ever and sometimes it was slower than 10KB/s. Ports being locked down meant I couldn't P2P or game. Come sophomore year second semester, they made a drastic update to the speed and opened dozens of gaming ports (still no P2P) and I found myself getting sub-30 pings in Counter-strike and downloading at speeds up to 1.5 mBps.

Fast-forward to this year and they've got some trashy new system called Campus Manager.

Here are the basics on this system:
  • Must have latest Windows Updates if using Windows
  • Must use latest Symantec Anti-virus (provided by school)
  • Must register our computers with the IT department using either the Campus Manager client or manually for non-Windows systems
  • If using Windows, all of this is verified by the Campus Manager client which is essentially a trojan horse which will not allow you to connect to the internet unless the above qualifications are met.
Understandably I have a huge number of problems with this. One, I don't use any anti-virus measures except Firefox and my brain. I don't like having my resources used by protection I don't need, especially the Symantec brand which has been one of the worst in my experience. Two, I have questions about how Linux will work but I won't know until I'm on campus. I've heard that Mac works fine so I'd guess Linux will as well. I think it's all registered through MAC addresses anyway.

Another huge issue I have with my school's new networking policy is that the use of routers is strictly prohibited. I have a Windows/Linux desktop PC, a Macbook, and an Xbox 360. I have one internet port in my dorm room. One port, three devices, no routers allowed :mad:. A friend of mine who works with the IT department says that they could easily tell if we're using a router due to IP addresses with unregistered MAC addresses. I don't know much about this kind of thing, maybe some of you can verify.

Anyway, sorry for the long-winded post but basically I came here to ask if anyone knows any ways around these problems. Can I get around Campus Manager or at least around using Anti-Virus? Secondly, what can I do about my router issue?

Thanks!
 
Nope and not recommended to talk about trying to get around measures put in place by the administration. Also since it is the school who provides the internet access they dictate the rules on how the internet is used. They put these measures in place to prevent outbreak of viruses on their network. If you have any problems with that you need to take it up the with administration. You might be able to get away with using a switch if they allow that.
 
If your that far along you should 'know people' and be able to do things that aren't malicious but give you some freedom. If you want to just be a badass and not use their antivirus, use networking equipment they do not approve of (helpdesk is thanking god for that), and other things that you as an individual have decided on, you need to get off campus.

If you had a problem, you'd call your helpdesk and half of them are trained robots anyways. Don't you thinkt he school has made a dramatic improvement to what it was in the beginning .... you could be thankful that things have lightened up as much as they have.
 
1) I thought dorms were for freshman?
2) Why are you a senior and not living off campus?

Anyway, to your question. See 1 & 2.
 
My school has a very similar set up in place, we use "impulse" though. We were required to use Symantec Corporate, which wasn't to bad and was fairly resource light. This year they switched to Sophos though.

To answer your router question, there is a difference between a router and a hub. In the case of my school, we aren't allowed routers, and IT will shut off our port if we use one. They provide us with hubs though. It can't hurt to check, but I'd bet money you can use a hub.
 
Hurdler said:
To answer your router question, there is a difference between a router and a hub. In the case of my school, we aren't allowed routers, and IT will shut off our port if we use one. They provide us with hubs though. It can't hurt to check, but I'd bet money you can use a hub.
Click to expand...
if your going to recommend that at least recommend a switch and not a hub.
 
Thanks for the replies, I'll look into using a switch to manage my devices.

As for living in the dorms as a senior, I go to a very small school (2,000 students) so they can easily accommodate all students, not just freshmen. The town doesn't have nearly enough apartments to accommodate all the upperclassmen anyway. The school doesn't approve many requests for seniors to live off campus and much of the off campus housing is pretty trashy. It's also prone to flooding because the biggest off-campus area where students live is on an island with low banks. But hey, I'll be in a brand new (first year it's open) building with a single-occupancy room in an apartment style setting. So, it's not that bad.

Anyway, sorry for crossing into controversial territory, I certainly don't plan on doing anything malicious nor am I trying to be "badass." I just want the freedom to use my comp the way I want to use it, and I'm sure you all like that freedom too. Yeah I recognize that it's not my network so I have to deal with the terms. That's why I have no problem with not being able to P2P. I just think it crosses a line when I'm forced to install something on MY personal machine.

I also don't see how this kind of thing will help their cause anyway. People will still get viruses because they looked at porn using IE and downloaded that "codec." They will still flood the helpdesk with calls and repair requests. Nothing will change except that they will have wasted more of our tuition dollars on a useless and intrusive system. But, I guess the school newspaper's opinion page would serve as a better soapbox, so I'll be quiet now :p.
 
szero said:
I also don't see how this kind of thing will help their cause anyway. People will still get viruses because they looked at porn using IE and downloaded that "codec." They will still flood the helpdesk with calls and repair requests. Nothing will change except that they will have wasted more of our tuition dollars on a useless and intrusive system. But, I guess the school newspaper's opinion page would serve as a better soapbox, so I'll be quiet now :p.
Click to expand...

It DOES help them, else the majority of users will be having infested systems and crushing the network..bringing it down to its knees..and rendering it useless with P2P, worms, computers hijacked with spam bots, etc. These "compliance check" systems help protect their networks....and their network is a privilege for your to use, not a right. Their network..they reserve the right to allow computers onto it only after certain conditions are met. My neighbor is director of IT for a large college...when they put their Cisco version of this product in years ago...he was telling me about it. Initially each PC is put into an "orange zone" if you will..until a minimum of windows updates have been installed, if not..redirected to their own local WSUS server for them, and an updated antivirus that's on their approved list is on the PC...if not...one is installed for you. Only after the PC has passed the basic checks..is it allowed onto the main network.
 
cyr0n_k0r said:
if your going to recommend that at least recommend a switch and not a hub.
Click to expand...

Fair enough, I use the two terms interchangeably, but I do understand the difference.

Now, szero, you complain that their forcing you to install software on your computer. What you're overlooking though, is that your using THEIR network, and that's the terms. Don't like it? They won't really care if you don't use the network. I was pissed when my school implemented a similar policy, but it's really not as bas as it sounds.

YeOldeStonecat is absolutely correct about why this system is useful though.
 
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