<p>So I was reading about the software necessary in order to use wireless internet at UCLA and was somewhat appalled.</p>
<p>For those of you who have experience with internet browsing at UCLA, to what extent do they monitor/block your surfing? Is their mandatory software very demanding for the computer (as in start-up apps, high cpu usage etc)?</p>
<p>Do all UCs or colleges in general require this type of software in order to use their internet?</p>
<p>Im a prospective student and these questions may seem as a little stupid to ask, but any info would be appreciated.</p>
<p>On campus you just need to log in with your UCLA account to get connected. In a few areas I’ve had to use the VPN Client to get online but AFAIK the program isn’t meant for monitoring.</p>
<p>On the residential network you need to download something called Policy Key which is supposed to only “monitor your anti-virus and operating system to ensure that you have the latest updates, patches and service packs” The program is much less intrusive than the one UCLA had us use last year and I’ve had no troubles with it and it has a small memory footprint.</p>
<p>As for monitoring all I really can say is that I’ve known a few people who got e-mails for illegally downloading music and games though it seems a few people on the forum do it regularly without being noticed.</p>
<p>so they do actually monitor you? to what extent though? do they actually go as far as to see what exact programs are being run on your computer? for example, can they tell if youre using limewire or a torrenting client?</p>
<p>According to that page they only monitor “anti-virus and operating system to ensure that you have the latest updates, patches and service packs” … “and have no other view into your computer.”</p>
<p>But then, who knows.</p>
<p>If you torrent, you’ve got other problems, like they may be able to look at the network traffic and see the torrenting if it is not encrypted. Or if someone complains about your IP they know it’s you.</p>
<p>Interestingly, it says that for Linux, “The Policy Key is not yet available for these operating systems so compliance will be based on passive monitoring.” Does that mean that if you are using Linux (or fool them into thinking you are using Linux), then you don’t have to install this monitoring stuff on your computer? I don’t live in the dorms so I am curious if someone who lives there can verify this.</p>
<p>as far as i know nothing is limited or blocked normally. they dont really care what software you are running on your computer or what you do on the internet. the only thing STC checks for if you are living in the dorms is that you have up to date antivirus and windows updates.</p>
<p>BUT, the MPAA/RIAA/etc know college campuses are hotbeds for piracy, so THEY know to monitor the internet traffic to/from UCLA especially closely. if they see a UCLA IP address thats pirating stuff, they taddle on you to UCLA and UCLA kicks you in the nads by blocking your internet.</p>
If you use Windows, you need to install the application and log in once. If you use Linux/Mac OS, you simply have to login each time you connect. If you use an Xbox/PSP/iPod/other device, you have full access with no strings attached.</p>
<p>QFT… I have inside knowledge of this - UCLA does not actively monitor your internet traffic (although they do use a packet-shaper to prioritize certain types of traffic), but if they get a notice from someone that you’ve been doing shady things, they will restrict you to UCLA sites only until you agree to delete the offending files and promise not to do it again. Multiple offenses and you get sent to the Dean of Students.</p>
<p>In terms of you get x bandwidth in y time, no feel free to support your favorite open source Linux distributions and seed as much as you want (I think I heard Berkeley has a 4 GB/week limit but I can’t say that with much certainty).</p>
<p>Edit: Cal’s residential computing site says “12GB per week”</p>
<p>Thats cool. I was just wondering because I read somewhere about some universities only allowing a certain amount of mbs per day. I would hate to consciously track how much surfing I could do before being cut off. </p>
<p>Has anyone ever done a speed test to see how fast their connection is? Ive never really broken 800kbps due to the terrible lines in my neighborhood. Ive been looking forward to moving to an area with updated systems and such. speedtest.net is fairly accurate in my opinion.</p>
<p>The speed at UCLA is unreal, especially if you are downloading from within network or within the I2 system. But even outside of that, the speed is amazing. I miss my days in the dorms for that reason. Just give one of the online bandwidth testers a try once you get there. You’ll be way faster than any of their benchmarks.</p>
<p>Truely the limiting factor is that you’re using cables and not fiber optics directly into your computer. UCLA has multiple OC backbones, in addition to the ones used for I2.</p>
<p>I’ve only tested speeds at the worst dorm area (sunset village) and its about 1.5-2megs a second downloads and uploads. I’ve heard the other dorms are a lot faster.</p>
<p>LOL, if you seriously cannot resist giving up the pirating habit, the least you can do is set up another computer at home and run a VPN server on it.</p>
<p>Then at school, just tunnel in. That prolly reduces your chances of getting caught, since home traffic is prolly less monitored, furthermore, a vpn tunnel makes your traffic encrypted to everyone except you. </p>
<p>Dunno how that will work out, but in theory, it should work.</p>
<p>Yes they definitely are a lot faster - and thats what UCLA gets for selling to the lowest bidder (to build all its buildings). The wiring in Sunset Village is quite screwed up, and for some unknown reason, the network just doesn’t run as fast there. But its still blazing fast, compared to most ISPs</p>
<p>I remember last year in Courtside my internet connection was relatively slow. I’m still in Sunset Village (Delta Terrance) this year but have nearly maxed out my 100 Mbps ethernet cable. Did it recently get an upgrade or does it just depend on the building?</p>
<p>I live about an hour away from UCLA meaning Ill go home most weekends. Ill try and hold off torrents until then ends of the week</p>
<p>But then again, lot’s of goodies are on direct download sites like rapidshare - and from what I hear in this thread, direct download is thumbs up right?!</p>
<p>I live in Courtside this year and the wireless is pretty fast in my opinion. The only thing is that sometimes the internet just goes down in general which sucks…
But then again, I live under the lounge, so it’s not really the building’s wireless…</p>
<p>If you’re using wireless in the dorms, get your own wireless router and plug into the wall. Faster that way. Reason being that if you connect thru the resnet wireless, they route you through a VPN, and that is definitely slower than if you go direct.</p>
<p>If you do put in your own wireless router, be sure to enable WPA2.</p>