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hey,
could someone walk me through secureing my suse 8.2 laptop against people monitering my web traffic? i have recently fallen in bad with the IS dept at my school and i know they are watching what i do on the networks...i tried a proxy of course but since i am connecting to the internet through a lan they can still track me around campus and see where i am putting request into....so i want to encrypt my webtraffic or something any suguestions?
THANKS
Its not going to matter much, since you still have to connect through their network to get to the internet. The only realy encrypted traffic you can use that I can think of right off the top of my head would be SSH, but I doubt you want to email with pine, surf with lynx, and write with vi when you could enjoy a gui interface. Best advice would be to get back in their good graces, because circumventing their monitoring efforts wont make them very happy.
yup, using ssh or making it so every website you visit is https, not http.
But then, unless you are doing something you shouldn't be, it shouldn't matter if they are watching you.
im not doing anything wrong....but it does bother me that they feel they have the right to look over my shoulder anytime i am on the net
mnchur > unfortunately they do have the right to 'look over your shoulder' so to speak, as they control the network hardware, the connection to the internet, etc. Even if its your personal laptop you are using, they still are in control of the network, so your on their turf basically.
souleman > on a side thought, wouldnt the initial request for something from a ssl/https server be sent unencrypted? I would think alot of encrypted traffic would also gain attention to any admin whos actively watching a user.
syini> yup it would be, unless you found like a proxy server that does SSL, so that only your original request to the server was not encrypted and then everything after that was encrypted.
mnchur> check the TOS (terms of service) and AUP (acceptable use policy) for your school. You can be pretty much guaranteed that there is something in there saying they have a right to monitor ALL traffic ontheir network, and you are part of that traffic. Now if they don't have anything in there about monitoring, then go to the head of IT can complain that they are monitoring you (but you have to be able to prove it).
they do have something in the policy about monitering the traffic =( well i guess i will either have to put up with it until they stop or try and talk them out of doing it neither of which is very appealing to me......
JAP would do the trick..
and since it is java it runs on any system..
man turn to linux asap..... they wont be able to monitore u so easily
JAP works, but I had a bad esperiance with it just a sec ago.... IE proxy....... hey, you might like it. It caused my IE not to work unless it was running.
Now, I'm not meaning to bust on the suggestions of others, but I don't think JAP or any proxy will really do a good job, since mnchur is inside the school network ( or at least thats how I read the post ) so the request for a site, even if thru a proxy, has to cross the network first, before going out on the internet. Getting back in the good graces of the admin is probably still the best route,
Buy them a six pack :D
Cheers
BTW as soon as I find my supply of padded bags, I will send you those processors
Take care
Johnno
thanks nihil i will put them to good use i think i may start a cluster project soon......
mnchur:
It _is_ their network. Learn to play nicely and you will continue to have free access. Don't and they have every right to look over your shoulder or shut you off.
With the state of things on the net now, I don't blame the sys admins for a healthy dose of paranoia. That's what keeps networks running ...
Nope.. JAP is a proxy on localhost wich sends ALL it's information encrypted !!Quote:
Originally posted here by Syini666
blablabla, but I don't think JAP or any proxy will really do a good job, since mnchur is inside the school network ( or at least thats how I read the post ) so the request for a site, even if thru a proxy, has to cross the network first, before going out on the internet.
Quote:
Originally posted here by Syini666
Now, I'm not meaning to bust on the suggestions of others, but I don't think JAP or any proxy will really do a good job, since mnchur is inside the school network ( or at least thats how I read the post ) so the request for a site, even if thru a proxy, has to cross the network first, before going out on the internet. Getting back in the good graces of the admin is probably still the best route,
Would anyone try to hide from Admin?
That to me is a miserable existance.
Make nice with SYSADMIN bro!
:D
Yeah I agree with the general crowd. Don't try to sneak around the net admins. They usually don't mind what you do unless you are using tons of bandwidth or setting up file, web, or ftp servers. But one thing that is the same with all admins (believe me I know them) they enjoy banning a bad user more than anything. And once you are off, they won't let you on for a very long time.
One thing that I do though, our school has blocked many net commands on the main server, so I SSH to our engineering lab or an old bbs and work out from there. It is from a terminal, but it gets the job done. You can probobly find an old BBS program out there with a free membership and then use PUTTY for your SSH client.
okay so html didn't work... go here http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~s.../download.html
By my knowing Suse 8.2 still is linux, and what does a distro have to do with traffic on a network or generated by a nic ?Quote:
man turn to linux asap..... they wont be able to monitore u so easily
Funny... I can remember listening to a old sci-fi radio show that was made sometime back in the 1950/60s or so which had years later had been converted from a old recording to a MP3. Either that or it was all just a good spoof, atleast the poor sound quality made it sound old but anyways... they said the same thing only about little green men and how they are unable to monitor us very easily when we wear our tin-foil hats.Quote:
Hi
|The|Specialist
I am sure that it is my total moronity?.............but might the MP9 be more influential than the foil hat?
Just a newbie question.....but I could not find the answer in the FAQs :D
Cheers
Johnno
well...my suspicions were right. i am now being summoned to a Judical confrence due to my hooking into the school lab network and you guys will love these charges. In their own words....
is it just me or are they accuseing me of stealing? all i did was pull an ethernet cord out of the back of one their computers which i was logged onto and plugged it into my laptop so i could veiw source on a website and tranfer some files to my network drive....Quote:
1) social conduct #4- Actions which damage ror tend to damage public property or property not ones owns
2) social conduct #5- Appropriating for ones own use public or private property without the consent of the owner or the person legally responsible for that property
I'm just guessing, since most of this is very depended on your state laws, and I don't want to cause you undue anxiety. But it sounds like they see the way you used the school network as "theft of services." I advise you to carefully read the code of conduct and AUP for your institution right away and get some advice on your status and rights in this.
That was the "appropriating for ones own use" part. You must have really p***ed someone off.Quote:
all i did was pull an ethernet cord out of the back of one their computers which i was logged onto and plugged it into my laptop so i could veiw source on a website and tranfer some files to my network drive....
How serious this is is highly dependent on whether you are in k-12 or in higher ed. In k-12 you are still a juvenile, so you have some protections.
In higher ed you are an adult, and it is very much more serious. If you are covered under a code of conduct and/or AUP, you are responsible for knowing the contents of those documents and at some point signed something indicating you read and understood them.
the theft of service doesn't make sense though...i am and have unlimited acess to thier internet in thier labs. So how can they claim a theft of service on one comp as opposed to the other? theft inplies that i was not . given the right to use their internet any system wich is not the case. oh well i have talked to several other students and have learned that i will most likely have to do a few hours of community service for the school for the "Infraction" so i am not really worried....
the world of the net can be seen by all you just have to look hard dont worry over it just try jap works fine and if you still have mind games played on your self get some one elses computer and use it lmao then instead of them knowing what kinda porn you like lmao thay will know theres hahaha
Your basic defence is:
1. No case to answer . You can build a computer, so you might just be able to handle a network connection cable? If you cannot, you should not even be in the room? You do know how to work an electric light switch? :)
2. No case to answer . You have network access...............provided you are using the connection for legitimate purposes, the device that you use is irrelevant IN THIS RESPECT.
OK, your real offence is that YOU connected an unauthorised device to THEIR network. That is what is P*****g them off. You have effectively negated any security that they have, as your laptop could be infested with every bit of malware in the world, and most of the recent stuff is network aware. It was not a clever thing to do.
If there is NOT a specific rule against this, then your administrators make half @$$ed look good! From what you are being charged with, this would seem to be the case?
Do your lab machines have CD writers......if they do, then that is the way you should have gone. If not, ask the Admins for access to one.
They are also afraid that you may copy software that they have licenced and are responsible for?
If I had done it, I would have copied to the local HDD, then into my laptop via a null modem cable. THAT WOULD BE A DISMISSABLE OFFENCE as well!.......another security compromise.
You should NOT have done what you did, because you compromised security. However, their rules need looking at, so the charges, as they stand, are spurious.
Good Luck
you say
"im not doing anything wrong....but it does bother me that they feel they have the right to look over my shoulder anytime i am on the net"
as long as you are using there machines on there network using there s/w using there internet ect
thay have got every right to do so.
tho you may consider it to be in invasion of privacy (in whitch most of us do) as long as your not doing any thing illegial or anythink that would infringe on breaking any signed contract than you have nothing to worry about.
If you do consider it to be an invasion overload than try speking to the people incharge about it, and how you feel that thay are jepodising your privacy.
Just a thought.
Nightfalls_Girl
We often have this problem at work with people wondering why we watch over people's shoulders sometimes. Especially in the case where we have network bandwidth problems, we pay special attention to certain people due to the fact that they like to stream music and do other things that they're not supposed to.
Even though they think its an invasion of privacy, we net admins have a tendancy to do those sorts of things, especially when you get the "THE NETWORK IS SO SLOW!!" calls on the phone. So as a result we have to watch certain people that are known for doing things like that. When you're talking about 1000 computers using different applications at one time to do important processes, and you have 10 of those computers streaming music, we like to "ice" those people.
I guess you have to look at it from a net admin point of view...although I can see your point, I'm just trying to shed some light on how a net admin thinks in a work environment
disc0rd, welcome to AO,
I think that you make some good points...sharing bandwidth and such. A network is a SHARED resource, so anarchists are not very welcome? Yes...you do need to "police" it.
I also think that Nightfall's Girl made some very relevant remarks regarding personal freedoms.
What struck me as being strange were the actual "charges". Manchur connected an unauthorised device.............it seems that there is no authorisation rule/process, or this would have been the first thing they would have gone for..........by his own admission he did it?...but that is not what they are complaining about? :confused:
This must be very embarassing for someone? The "rules" seem to be flawed/outdated, and this is some sort of knee jerk reaction to hide the fact?
Manchur....you WERE WRONG...........but SO ARE THEY, and two wrongs never made a right in my math.
Just my £0.02 worth
Cheers
unfourtuantely this whole thread may be null and void by the end of this weekend. i heard today from a good source that they are concidering expleling me for this =( im not sure what will happen if i get expelled form school.....most likely i will have to quit school altogether as i dont have enough money to go to school without my scholarships which i will inevitably lose if in fact i am expelled......
Sounds like you should have been a bit stealthier.
Now might be a good time to get some legal advice? I do not see how connecting a device to their network substantiates what they are accusing you of? Particularly as you are apparently authorised to use this network anyway? I smell a cover up?
Good Luck
they are watching you write this post ......................
HANDzCLEANx
You are wrong _ _ I am watching them :)
.............. .......... |
Hey manchur..............don't you have any student society or "barrack room lawyers?" You cannot go belly up on this one or they WILL have you.
Take care
Hey HANDzCLEANx,
How do you rate SA's chances in the World Cup?
Cheers
Fight Fight Fight wm all.
suck up to em all somthing cronic... :P
Nightfalls_Girl
mnchur: I understand your frustration and concerns. If you want to PM me I'd be happy to provide some ideas and maybe help you with some resources. If you were one of my students here--and this was your first offense--I'd have had a talk with you, discussed why you don't disconnect my systems from the network, and probably ended up getting you an IP reservation for your laptop so you could use it (we do have a laptop policy in place at this time).
We don't make a big issue out of this on the first offense unless there was a significant liability for the college involved (copyright, piracy cops breaking down the doors, etc.), there has been significant disruption of the network, or evidence of attempts to hack systems or servers.
Once again, get and read the code of conduct and AUP. Make sure you understand what is there. Then, PM me. I'll listen. I'll be on and off all weekend.
I think everyone that wants to help him take a second look. I am an admin for a school. Our policy states no unauthorized equipment is to be plugged into our network. Although I don't volunteer the reasons I will explain to students why if they should actually ask. The reasons are obviou. It also states what will happen if you do. All the students read it and signed it.
Although we have never sued any students many have been expelled for attempted cracking of the network... ie running a sniffer from a laptop.
There are ways though to prevent it. All of my switches are hard coded with the ALLOWED mac's. So even if a student was to plug in his laptop and static his own IP address he won;t see anything except maybe what ons on the port the lab is using.
I would almost bet my career that we are only hearing half the story. I would also bet a P2P program like Kazaa was involved.
well man I dont use laptops......... let alon take advatege of my School's network..... I set up 1/2 of it with my frnds.... then almost got expeled coz I took over it :P from a pc that we hid in a room.... they havent fount it till now... lol... that Box controles the whole network.. it is a back door.... they hired a wanabe IT pro... lool he didnt even C the box..... this is nice.. this box is alsp connected to another LAN... my frnd lives near the school so u can get the picture...:: he put it thou his cable to the net ::.. so I can ssl almost all the PC's from my house.... + I get the bonus of all the grade reports...+test + papers... look anything on a pc on the lan is in my hands...... the IT dude... didnt even pass the proxy... dumbass.... he finished college tho still dum as a log....another good thing..... only 5 ppl know of the back door... my dad... helped me alot ...me... my frnd(the 1 who lives near the school)... &my bussness parters..... :we sell tests ,and shange grade reports:.. this is preatty lucrative tho..
Quite frankly I don't thinks so.... If the internal network is connected to the net then how did you bypass the switch?Quote:
Originally posted here by maxim_86ualb2
well man I dont use laptops......... let alon take advatege of my School's network..... I set up 1/2 of it with my frnds.... then almost got expeled coz I took over it :P from a pc that we hid in a room.... they havent fount it till now... lol... that Box controles the whole network.. it is a back door.... they hired a wanabe IT pro... lool he didnt even C the box..... this is nice.. this box is alsp connected to another LAN... my frnd lives near the school so u can get the picture...:: he put it thou his cable to the net ::.. so I can ssl almost all the PC's from my house.... + I get the bonus of all the grade reports...+test + papers... look anything on a pc on the lan is in my hands...... the IT dude... didnt even pass the proxy... dumbass.... he finished college tho still dum as a log....another good thing..... only 5 ppl know of the back door... my dad... helped me alot ...me... my frnd(the 1 who lives near the school)... &my bussness parters..... :we sell tests ,and shange grade reports:.. this is preatty lucrative tho..
Please only maxim_86ualb2 answer this one :)
okay i didn't get kicked out....anyways in regaurds to the above quote i use linux and dont have giFT installed so i wasn't connecting to any file sharing networks. also i was not running sniffers, scanners, or any other such craziness. I was simply surfing the net and transfering files from my netowork drive to my laptop ( common and easy practice that i was shown by a teacher) anyways i found out new info on the case. The guy who "busted" me wanted to make an example but since i have previous record and did nothing wrong against the network (i.e. spread a virus) proved by his own logs. the higher up decided to let me off with a warning.. all in all this situation caused me a little worry and some uneeded attention to what i was doing on the network ( which by the way almost got the guy fired as it is against school policy to spy on its students).Quote:
I would almost bet my career that we are only hearing half the story. I would also bet a P2P program like Kazaa was involved.
Mcnur good for you. If you really weren't doing anything cept xferring your files then I don't see why they would care. You must have what I call a Network Nazi for an admin. The students that do it where I work I allow the connection unofficially but like I said they can't go anywhere or do anything except transfer files from a pc. I run snort and various other IDS's, squid with squidgurad and sarg and a few other apps so I pretty much know everything going on. Yes I know I am taking a chance by allowing certain things to happen but then again I call it job security :)