Ranting to /dev/null

whoever heard of a campus running a secure wireless network? I'm impressed. Every other college either runs a network that any moron can get on, or writes a special program to authenticate a user. I read about that idea somewheres -- MIT or something.

Anyway, I'm proud of 'em for running the great firewall of China.

Somehow I knew Lang would say something like that.

Sure, I'm for security and all that. But seriously, it isn't like there's going to be anyone warchalking on Scenic Highway. We're square in the middle of BFN up here. Its one thing to have an insecure WAN port, but we're talking strictly LAN stuff here. You have to be located within a few hundred feet of an access point. I'm doubtful that it would even work on the street, and there's a sizable cliff in the other direction.

WEP works. They're using WEP. Any security over and above that is kind of pointless, because any cracker who can break into a WEP-secured network can easily spoof his MAC address. If you've monitored enough traffic to extract the WEP key, you already know enough about the network to get on.

I'd much prefer a network that any moron can get on. It's that way with, say, Comcast or any DSL service you care to name. In those situations the system is designed to be accessed and used. Covenant's network seems to be designed to restrict the users as much as possible. It's Covenant students and Tech Services that are the only ones inconvenienced by these protocols. No one else cares.

Note to Ryan: relax. Go read a book. Pick up Lillback's _The Binding of God_. It's a lot of fun.

I wanna hear Lang reply to Ryan. See, Ryan, the problem with you is that you always make sense, regardless of whether or not you're right.

geez, it's like rye-bread meets sanctimonious-bread meets white-bread.

Ryan DID say that they're working hard & they're good people. It wasn't a full blow Rye-Dawgg vent, I should know, I have been on the receiving end of a few of those. & lots of other colleges have been running secure wireless networks for a year or two, want a list?

As a part of the "machine," I understand your frustration Ryan. I am one of the folks who has to hook everyone up. Did you ever think that maybe it wasn't all Tech Services' idea to log MAC addresses? TS is responsible to other people besides itself and the students. Please try to remember that when you talk about draconian security measures.

Patience Rye-dawg. I can assure you that they are all working themselves to the bone trying to get everything up and running. The virus scans are necessary as one of the athletes brought the blast worm into the network before his computer was scanned. Everyone has to be cleaned.

As for MAC addys. . .its for tracking. Lets them know where people are and what they are watching. I think its a good idea.

Thanks for pointing that out Steele. Try to remember that tracking will protect you if you are innocent of breaking contract!

Soccer players with worms... what next?

And the phrase "if you are innocent of breaking contract"... Can you download cigarettes with Kazaa? That'd be really cool. But I'd never get anything done at work.

Perhaps I was a little vague about the "breaking contract" comment. I just meant that if someone were using your account to view pornography, at least you'd have some evidence to defend yourself if you knew which computer were used.

Rob, thanks for clarifying. I understood what you meant. But most folks associate contract with drinkin'/smokin'/flash photographin', and I was just enjoying the image.