Campus network questions.

[miica]

I am a University student in Malaysia, I live in the campus hostel, the university provides cable network. I am new in networking so I don't know what kind of network it is, but there's a network socket in my room, I have a cable that connect my computer with it and I gain network access. They block P2P, so hostel occupant cannot use P2P software. I have some questions to ask about the networks. First, is the what they call LAN (Local Area Network) or does it works like ISP or something else? Second, what method they use to block P2P?

[neosamurai]

Most likely the type of network would be a Lan. The school probably subscribes to
a main service provider, I dont know of hand if schools subscribe from a backbone
provider but that is possible.

As of Now:
1. The network is a LAN with a backbone provider, meaning there is a central
server(s)

2. The school has all the rights to block p2p software if they want to
most likely through port access

I hope I didnt misrepresent any information but thats what I personally know
do not take that as word of god.

[XTC46]

In the schools I have worked for and gone to Generally their network set up is very simple. It is a LAN (local area network). They will have one line comming in from a major ISP in the area (the band width will depend on the school size). From there, most will have it set up so it requires some sort of authentication before getting on to the network (although many dont). and they will have various servers around campus hosting a variety of things, most universities have masive file servers for student and staff use, they may host their webpage, as well as run servers doing various other tasks (email, firewall, proxie, media servers, etc. etc. etc.)

As far as blocking the P2P software they do it several ways. 1st, they will generally block the common P2P ports. This is done for two reasons. 1. to stop the majority of average users from using the service 2. it helps deminsih the arguemnent that you didnt know it was against the rules. From there, many larger schools have monitoring software set up and if any single IP address is taking up X amoutn of bandwidth for X amount of time, it is cut off and the MAC address/Username and Password are now banned until you contact the admins. It is watched especially well if your computer is uploading large amounts of data, not just downloading. Their reasoning may be something along the lines of "it was suspicious activity and also a symptom of possible virus infection. From here, there are suually policies that state you must have one of the helpdesk people/it staff "clean" your computer before unblocking anything. This gives them the chance to look for P2P software and take note of it.

Of course it can be argued that you were downloading legit stuff blah blah blah and they have to unblock you or they can get in trouble.

Warning: Do not use P2P progrmas if your policy states they are not allowed. It is grounds for Fines/suspension/expulsion if you are found out. Although it is a harsh punishment, generally for problems like this schools like to make examples out of people. The reason? becasue your ISP will see the traffic, and generally the school will see a notice saying "this IP address is uploading/downloading pirated stuff. make it stop or we will" (I have seen many of these emails, so we hunt the person down, cut them off or we get cut off.

[d0pp]

With many college networks, you have to register your MAC address, as well as log on to the network. Both techniques are used to filter/restrict connections, however, in many cases the 2 are completely separate. For example, any registered MAC can be used with any logon, this allows students to share computers without compromising the administrators' ability to monitor individual activity, or individual network access in the case of shared drives and email for students.

It is a simple matter to spoof your MAC address and use a captured logon.

As for the port blocking, it is usually done at the firewall/gateway, but as fork mentioned, there are other methods.

Getting around these restrictions is usually just a simple matter of port redirection, although I would suggest using encryption for anything you do, mainly because of the distinct possiblity of your connection being sniffed.

EDIT: Yes, I know. I once again posted information on how to bypass restrictions on someone else's network. Screw the ethics, have fun. Don't call me for bail.

[NIKLAS?]

i dunno much but, the networksecurity are there to protect you. so, don try to breach the security, if u do so, this like you are trying to expose yourself to threats out there. about the p2p thing, i think your campus must have a network that links all the students.mirc?.so, just use it.in my old place, i used to download pirated stuffs from there.movies,videos, etc. hope thats ok

[d0pp]

I'm not saying that you should blatantly break the laws/rules. But, You have to decide what is more important, Your education/career/freedom or your mp3's. To be honest, I chose mp3's and porn.

[St1cky]

My school allows the use of p2p, but you can't trade copyrighted material over it. Of course, people have found ways to share files over the network. Out of curiousity, can they see exactly what you download from a p2p network, or would it just show that I was on a p2p network.

[d0pp]

Yes and no. If they sniff the traffic and reassemble the packets, they can see what is going over the network. Unless of course it is encrypted. There is software that will do this automatically.

Whether or not they would do this, who knows?

[Relyt]

Young folks’ attention is diverted so easy. How about we try a new concept here. All that extra time you would spend on P2P, let’s use that for studying. Seriously, you will have the whole rest of your life to talk to friends. However, only a small portion of your life will be spent on education. Ok so I’m old school!

Regardless, good luck in school!

!~cheers~!

[nihil]

Out of curiousity, can they see exactly what you download from a p2p network, or would it just show that I was on a p2p network.

Yes. What you are sending and receiving can be read. That is why people encrypt stuff.

miica your school probably does it to avoid having to clean up after malware.............hey you are probably very sensible, but I am willing to bet you can name 10 others who are not unfortunately, we end up paying for their sins Also, by blocking P2P they will cut bandwidth usage, and cost?