Dorm Network Setup and Usage

Policies and Procedures

Lackawanna College has provided for its’ resident students access to a high- speed connection to the World Wide Web.

Connection to this network is done at the students’ own risk, and the College is not responsible for material viewed or downloaded by users from the World Wide Web or the Internet.

Equipment needed for connection to the dorm network includes a Network Interface Card (NIC), and a Category 5 patch cable. Both items are available at the Campus Bookstore, though students may obtain these items elsewhere, a modem will not work with the dorm high-speed network. Modems must be connected to the standard telephone lines provided in student rooms.

Installation of the NIC is completely the responsibility of the student. The College does not have the resources to provide a card and cable to every resident, or the resources to install the cards in individual students’ computers. Check your owners manual before you purchase a NIC, because your machine may have had one installed at the factory.

Some tips for setting up your computer for network access:

1. Turn off your computer BEFORE you open the case. It is also best to remove the AC power cable from your machine as well, to prevent the possibility of coming in contact with high voltages. Installing cards in your computer is done at your own risk.
2. Most network cards sold now are of the PCI bus variety. Older computers may require the use of an ISA bus card. If your computer has unused slots that are white in color, these are most likely PCI bus slots. Unused slots that are black in color are usually ISA bus slots. Please consult your computer user manual for complete instructions on how to install a card in your PC.
3. Ordinarily, your NIC card will come with software drivers on a floppy disk or CD-ROM. Follow the instructions that were included with the card to complete the installation. Users whose computers are running Windows 95 or Windows 98 software operating systems will most likely need their original Windows disk that was included when the computer was purchased to complete the installation of the NIC software drivers. The MIS Department of Lackawanna College cannot provide students with any version of Windows (95/98/Me/2000/XP) CD-ROM installation disks. Macintosh computers are not currently supported.
4. Once your NIC has been successfully installed, you will need to restart your computer to save the changes made by the card installation software.
5. When restarting your machine, connect the Category 5 patch cable from the NIC card jack on the back of your computer to the network jack in your room.
6. Network cards usually have LED light indicators showing the connection to the network. When your machine restarts, you will see these indicators glow to show you have an active connection.
7. To connect to the World Wide Web, start Internet Explorer, click on Tools, then Internet Options. When the Internet Options window opens, click on the Connections tab. Look to the bottom left of the Internet Options/Connections dialog box, and click on LAN Settings. In the Local Area Network (LAN) Settings box, Proxy server section check Use a proxy server, and type the following text in the address box: proxysrv
   
   Then type 8080 in the Port box.
   
8. You are now ready to use the World Wide Web.

Users are encouraged to use a free, Web-based email provider. There are many available, such as Yahoo, Hotmail, etc. The College does not have the resources to provide email accounts to all students at this time. If you already have an email account with an ISP such as America Online or Earthlink, they provide access to users’ email accounts through their Web home pages.

Users are urged to purchase and maintain anti-virus software, such as Norton Anti-Virus, McAfee, Panda, Sophos and others. Installing anti-virus software and keeping your virus definitions up to date will protect your PC from damage and loss of valuable data. It is also important that you keep your software up to date through the use of Windows Update.

See www.microsoft.com/protect for more detailed information on how to keep your computer secure from viruses and threats.

Lackawanna College is responsible for securing its network and computing systems in a reasonable and economically feasible way against unauthorized access and/or abuse while making them accessible for authorized and legitimate users. This responsibility includes informing users of expected standards of conduct and the disciplinary measures for not adhering to them. Any attempt to violate the provisions of this policy will result in disciplinary action. Such action may be in the form of temporary or permanent revocation of user access, regardless of the success or failure of the attempt. In addition, the Dean of Student Affairs may take disciplinary action.

The users of the network are responsible for respecting and adhering to local, state, federal, and international laws. Any attempt to break those laws through the use of the network may result in litigation against the offender by the proper authorities. If such an event should occur, this organization will fully comply with the authorities to provide any information necessary for the litigation process. While we cannot be responsible for the actions of individual users, it is understood that Lackawanna College will make every effort to ensure compliance with established laws.

We reserve the right to monitor all network activity, incoming or outgoing, on the dorm network and on all computers internally tied to it. All Web usage is logged by default.

The high-speed access to the World Wide Web is behind a Firewall server, and has been filtered to only allow connection through TCP/IP port 80, which is the standard port for Web page access. All other TCP/IP ports have been blocked for your safety and protection. Viruses and hackers can and do use other TCP/IP ports to gain access to your computer, or to spread viruses. Another reason is to block the use of Peer-to-Peer file sharing networks (KaZaA, Gnutella Morpheus, LimeWire, Gnucleus, Bearshare, Aimster, iMesh) that are used to share copyrighted material in violation of the Federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Since the sharing of such copyrighted material is illegal, students are blocked and prohibited from using file sharing networks. You should also be aware that law enforcement agencies, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and other copyright holders of digital media are actively monitoring the Internet for users who are distributing copyrighted material. The recording, film and software industries have recently become very aggressive in their active pursuit of copyright infringement. They have spent millions of dollars, and they have hired hi-tech firms to develop and maintain software that is able to search the Internet and identify unauthorized distribution of their protected titles. This active monitoring is specifically designed to search for distribution of materials using the above listed software packages.

Attempting to set up any other kind of server on the dorm network is prohibited, and automatically blocked by the Firewall server.

The willful introduction of computer viruses or other disruptive/destructive programs into the dorm network or into external networks is prohibited.

Use of systems and/or networks in attempts to gain unauthorized access to remote systems is prohibited.

Decryption and/or capture of system or user passwords is prohibited.

The copying of system files is prohibited.

The copying of copyrighted materials, such as third-party software, without the express written permission of the owner or the proper license is prohibited.

The intentional attempt to crash network systems or programs is a punishable disciplinary offense.

Any attempt to secure a higher level of privilege on network systems is a punishable disciplinary offense.

Network users are responsible for all traffic originating from their network device. In addition, network traffic is considered private, thus, any attempts to read or monitor network information of others ("sniffing") is a violation of the privacy act. Repeat violations will result in the College disconnecting the device from the network.

Attempts by individuals to reconfigure the network infrastructure can result in damage to the infrastructure or severe network problems. Examples of this are extending the network with hubs/switches/repeaters/wired and/or wireless routers, daisy chaining of wiring and the use of non-standard electronics and wiring. Where damage is found to be caused by an individual, repair costs will be billed accordingly. When a user is encountering problems related to non-adherence to industry and/or Lackawanna College network standards by installing their own wiring and/or electronics, the user risks being removed from the network.

Please keep in mind that you are responsible for all uses of your computer, and that network use by a computer can be traced to its’ owner.

Remember, dorm network access is a privilege, not a right. Please use the privilege in a responsible manner, and you will be able to surf the Web with ease, free from the annoying delays characteristic of standard 56K dial-up connections.

Setting up Instant Messenger Software on Dorm Network Computers

Many students have asked how they may enable Instant Messaging software on their personal computers connected to the Dorm network. It is possible to use IM software, but it must be reconfigured to work behind a firewall. The following instructions apply to AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), but other clients are similar.

To use AIM, open the program as usual. Click on "Set Up" on the main AIM screen. Select the "Connection" tab on the dialog window that follows. Make sure that you have selected "connect via LAN", and select "Connect using proxy". In the "Proxy Server" box, type proxysrv, and in the "Port" box type 8080. Select HTTP in the "Protocol" box. You should now be able to use AOL Instant Messenger behind the firewall.

Always remember, instant messaging software creates an open port to your machine that malicious hackers may use to gain control or give your machine viruses. We recommend you install an anti-virus product of your choice and keep it updated. Don't click on unsolicited files sent to you by another instant messaging user, they could contain a virus.