This year here at SMSU we are finally going to get wireless in the dorms, All be it through a proprietary and very closed Cisco network. But to use this and or the regular Ethernet network we all have to register the MAC (hardware) address of our network card (and or router ;)) so that they can tie a specific network jack and NIC to a person. I assume this is to make enforcement of rules easier and to make it easier for the RIAA and their cronies to sue students that much fast for *gasp* downloading music, Oh my god, what a crime.
Here is the lovely new AUP that we will have to agree to: (from resreg.smsu.edu)
Southwest Missouri State University - Department of Residence Life and Services Network Registration Site
Acceptable Use Policy
Please read and acknowledge the Residence Life and Service Acceptable Use Policy, as detailed below. Acceptable Use Policy, Residence Life and Services
Southwest Missouri State University provides access to the campus network in residence hall living units. This privilege is assisted by funds from not-for-profit organizations (MOREnet), and is meant to be used equitably and fairly by all to assist students, faculty, and staff in fulfilling the academic programs of Southwest Missouri State University. In no way can SMSU network resources be used for commercial gain.
The Computer Services Department maintains the network through its Networking Division, and has developed many policies and procedures to facilitate the equitable use of this valuable resource. These policies are available at http://www.smsu.edu/oit/policy. ResNET’s acceptable use policy is meant to supplement not supplant these policies and procedures. It is Residence Life and Services’ expectation that students familiarize themselves with and abide by Computer Services policies and procedures as well as all local, state, and federal law.
In addition to these policies, Residence Life and Services has additional expectations to help us all be better stewards of networking bandwidth.
• Transferring of copyrighted materials is STRICTLY prohibited. Should a student sharing copyrighted material be reported to ResNET, and the student’s illegal activity be confirmed, the student will be notified of the infraction and asked promptly to rectify the situation. A record will be made of the infraction and the student will be submitted to judicial affairs for further action. Multiple infractions may lead to termination of students’ access privileges.
• The use of routers, gateways, hubs, switches or bridges when connected to SMSU’s Ethernet jacks is prohibited without prior approval. This includes wireless devices, such as Bluetooth, 802.11 devices and Apple’s airports. Approval is limited to academic necessity, and then only routers. Since ample jacks are provided to students, approval is HIGHLY unlikely. Students may use routers set up privately without connection to the school’s network for any reason. In no instance may wireless devices be used as they interfere with school resources by operating in an unregulated frequency range.
• Students are expected to be proactive in virus protection efforts. To assist students, Residence Life will provide, free of charge, a copy of Norton Anti-Virus while you reside in a residence hall. In addition to anti-virus software, students should make sure they adequately patch their software and operating systems for security holes.
• Students are expected to refrain from attempting to access any resources on the network that they do not have prior explicit permission to use. This includes, but is not limited to, “browsing” the network to see if there are open shares on the network.
• Students are expected to be responsible for their own machines and computer accounts. You are not to share computer accounts with anyone and are strictly responsible for any action taken by others using your machine. While not a frequent occurrence, people with malevolent intentions will attempt to use others to try and deflect attention from themselves. Users should not allow themselves to become victims.
• Students should be aware of the software they use and the configuration of their computers. Advance operating systems and networking software can be complicated programs with many “security” holes. Students should spend time learning how to properly use the software they download and the operating systems they use.
Violation of any of the policies covering the use of computers and the campus network may result in the immediate deactivation of your Ethernet jack until the situation is resolved. Serious offenders risk permanent shutdown, referral to the student judicial system and/or criminal prosecution.
Isn’t that fun? I know this is nothing new for universities to implement and I knew it was only a matter of time before SMS got around to doing it, but it really annoys me that a bunch of money grubbing old WASP bastards get to dictate what I can and cannot do for something that I pay them a very high monthly fee to use. On top of that the equipment is really out of date and is poorly configured but I get to jump through a bunch of new hoops this year just to get on the damn internet to check my freaking mail. I guess that is the price you pay when every freshman guy and frat guy just has to go download every single Girls Gone Wild episode off Kazaa. My suite had a cable modem all last year and my roommate and I have decided to continue with that option to avoid all of this new crap. SMS seems to be slowly pushing students who live in the dorm towards simalr options so that they do not have to deal with paying for or policing network usage. More on this as I find out more.
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