Subscribe to cable ON college campus?

B

Blakestr

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Aug 11, 2004
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Now that I am able to get on the network, man...is the network slow! Everything is firewalled, forget about playing any games (can't play Doom 3 online for instance). Can barely use any filesharing programs. But I was wondering...and someone critique my logic (maybe it's a little slanted)

Typically a college's firewall is up to protect them legally as well as from viruses, worms etc. It also helps the bandwidth (no one is downloading/playing games, so you can spend less on more people) Essentially no one has a choice in using it, the ethernet cost is calculated in your rent for living on campus.

Do you think it would be possible to have someone like, COMCAST or Roadrunner hook me up to cable on campus? They only need a cable line to do it right? And I would be on an ENTIRELY different network from UNF altogether so they would be protect legally and from virus I might acquire from playing Doom 3. :rolleyes:

I suppose it doesn't hurt to ask the system admin or whoever is in control. 40 bucks a month is well worth it, especially if you split it with a roommate. I am just trying to get all the arguments worked out ahead of time.

If they are worried about me being connected on cable then distributing viruses to the school network they could just blacklist me so I couldn't connect, because then it wouldn't matter anyhow since I'd be using the cable connection. Legally they are protected since Comcast would be the ones to worry about. And besides, didn't a Supreme Court case rule that the ISP's CANNOT be held liable as long as they cooperate and give out the names?

All I want to do is game really but I know they don't care about that. So basically I have to somehow convince them that, even if I were the world's most brilliant hacker, that if they let me have a Comcast guy install cable, they would be totally clear from any legal problems.

What do you think?
 
We do @ my place, but only because our school purchased the building right after I signed the least for rent, and all the cable crap. We kept the digital cable / internet package, because like you, our network was extremely unreliable. If you live in a dorm setting, they probably won't let you.
 
we have digital cable from COX in my dorm, so it seems like you should be able to get cable internet from the same provider. call them up and ask
 
First obsticle is cable wiring. Do you pay your cable bill to the school, or is it included, or the cable company? It is best if you pay the cable company. I have heard of colleges that pay a flat fee for their dorms and just handle the internal wiring themselves. In a situation like that they may not be able to get a modem in to you.

Next would be your colleges IS department. If they do allow it be prepared for them to shut off the network port in your room. With the proper hardware or software that cable connection could quickly become a backdoor into their network bypassing all security measures. This could become a problem if say they are running an Intranet site that is not accessible outside the school's network and your instructor posts all assignments on it.

Brian Taylor
 
Our intranet is accessible off campus...ever heard of online learning community called blackboard?

Your points are well made...there's not much I can do if the cable is too old but I don't think it is. We do not pay a cable bill, however, if we want to get HBO/Cinemax, and so on, we can, just have to pay for it. With that in mind, I imagine it should be possible, but I am worried about the IS guy just saying no. Generally they all have a mindset of, "I don't care about you want, the least amount of work for me is to say 'No.' "

This is more of a question of diplomacy and politicals than networking, but, how should I ask them? Should I say, hey listen, I was thinking about doing this, here is my port number in my room, go ahead and turn it off I am getting cable network installed.

Better to ask for forgiveness than for permission? Perhaps I could just call a cable guy to hook it up anyway...it's not like they would notice any difference or be able to monitor it (I'm not some trouble maker, I won't even be plugged into the network). Also, they come by here to install HBO and stuff, so there is a good chance no one would even bother them.

Hmm.
 
Definitely ask first. If you dont they will get pissed when they find out and really go after you.

When you ask, maybe tell them that you have some special needs and am looking for a way that causes the least amount of work for them. Shutting your port down is certainly NOT a major task. Tell them you need to be able to operate a VPN to support your uncles small company that you provide IT support to for cash.

Just be polite and they should be the same to you. Another good tip, try Friday about 1-2pm. Not later than that, because they will be wanting to cut out early if nothing is going on. But about 1-2pm they will probably be sitting around the office, afraid of starting any new work because if something goes wrong it may keep them late.

Brian Taylor
 
Your schools IS department may be the answer. Read the TOS or Usage Policy or whatever your school calls their internet use policy. If it does not expressly forbid playing games, then I would go to the IS department and complain about your connection. They may not realize that you have a faulty connection because no one else has complained since most students are in chatrooms or IM'ing. You may just have a bad connection or bad router port that the IS department would gladly fix with a simple complaint from you.
 
Blakestr said:
Our intranet is accessible off campus...ever heard of online learning community called blackboard?
Click to expand...

So your saying that after you get your cable internet access, you would not even plug into the campus network? If that's the case, there would be zero security risk to their network.

If the cable internet doesn't work out for you, check and see if there is a wireless internet service in your area. We had that at work for a few years till the corporate IT dept got us all set up on a T1. Not too bad, but expensive. You get an antenna about the size of a pizza box that you will worry about finding a place in the line of site to set it up at.
 
Send me a link to that wireless thing, just for me to get an idea.

Here's the acceptable use policOspreyNet Use Polices:

A. Splicing into existing television cables or splitting or splicing into data cables or outlets, wrapping TV cable, or otherwise adding to existing cable is prohibited.

B. The use of the OspreyNet Port Service is a privilege, which may be revoked at any time for inappropriate behavior. Such behavior would include but not be limited to the use of obscene, abusive, or otherwise objectionable language and/or materials in either public or private messages.

C. The user is not allowed to share her/his RJ45 Ethernet port.

D. The primary purpose of this network is to support students’ educational goals. In support of these goals, the following activities are prohibited. Participating in these activities may result in revocation of OspreyNet service and possible University judicial action and/or criminal charges:

Setting up a router and building a private subnet.
Setting up any type of information server such as a web, gopher, e-mail, game hosting, etc.
Propagating e-mail chain letters.
Forging mail.
Allowing unauthorized persons access to OspreyNet.
Using OspreyNet for personal financial gain.
Modifying or attempting to modify University owned or licensed information including software and data.
Attempting to damage or disrupt networking services.
Using OspreyNet or related resources in the commission of a crime.
Using traffic intensive applications that may cause problems within the network or diluting the level of service to other users. No print servers, mail servers, FTP servers, etc. are allowed. The network sharing of any computer related device or materials, which may cause excessive network traffic, is forbidden.

E. The user will abide by all policies and statutes included in the Florida Computer Crimes Act. Crimes against this Act will result in University judicial action and/or investigation by the University Police Department for criminal offense. The Act includes offenses against intellectual property; offenses against computer equipment and supplies; and offenses against computer access.

F. Only officially assigned IP addresses may be used. These addresses, along with other configuration parameters, will be assigned automatically via DHCP if the computer is properly configured. Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows NT, Mac OS with Open Transport, and Linux are all capable of using this configuration. The use of non assigned IP addresses is strictly prohibited.

The University of North Florida has adopted a formal Computer and Network Use Policy governing the use of UNF computer systems. This policy applies to all users of UNF computing resources including users of OspreyNet: http://www.unf.edu/dept/its/polproc/

These terms and conditions are subject to change without prior notice and Residents are required to adhere to the most recently published version of the Acceptable Use Policy.

y...:

Can an argument be made to say gaming is NOT intensive, unless HOSTING? The problem is they say it's all for education and anything that is fun or isn't boring, must not be allowed.
 
at my school we pay the cable company directly, so it seems like you should be able to get the cable internet. let me know what you find out when you talk to the cable provider
 
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