Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!tellab5!vpnet!louisg
From: louisg@vpnet.chi.il.us (Louis Giliberto)
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Re: Georgia Tech's Restriction on Internet Access
Message-ID: <1991Mar09.230552.19136@vpnet.chi.il.us>
Date: 9 Mar 91 23:05:52 GMT
References: <23808@hydra.gatech.EDU>
Organization: Vpnet Public Access
Lines: 60

In article <23808@hydra.gatech.EDU> gt6004a@prism.gatech.EDU (Michael Goldsman) writes:
>
>
>1.  Have any other universities restricted access as Tech is about to do?

Ha!  I go to Loyola University in Chicago, and they NEVER let students on
Internet or even Bitnet.  They have a mainframe that's used by the libraries
and the Medical Center, but they also have tons of machines running Unix. To
my knowledge, they have 1 AT&T 3b15 and 3!!!! AT&T 3b2's.  That's a lot of
computing power for a University this small, not including the 386's they have
running Unix, plus the mailer programs they have on the mainframes and the VAX's, but the policy is all staff gets access and accounts whether they use them or
not.  Grad students get it on request, and undregrads only with special
permission (in other words, you don't get it).  On top of that, we only
get a Unix account for 1 year unless we take classes that need it and the
classes extend past one year.  The only reason I'm here is that the system
I'm on is one of the few public access Unix systems in the country, and I pay
out of my own pocket to use it.

Now, my sister goes to U of I in Champaign, and they INVITE!!!! students to
come and use their Internet links.  I guess the more logon id's, the more
funding they get.

At any rate, it's a crock.  Most of the teachers don't even use their accounts,
and comp sci majors such as myself have to beg to get access (and then they
wonder why people hack into systems to use them).

It's a load of crap, and I've asked around who made the policy, but everyone
points a finger at someone else.  What they teach in the classroom is NOT
enough to let you survive in the real world of computing (though theory *is*
very important), and those who would like to learn and talk to others on
their own time are not allowed to.

On top of all that, the security on ALL the systems is VERY VERY bad.  They
don't even use a shadow file for the passwords on the 3b15.  There are ways
to access the mailer and elite operations on the mainframe using a one word
command that the system administrators aren't even aware about.  The LAN they
have that students use for word processing and Turbo Pascal and stuff is a joke.I could blow (anyone could) that whole thing apart with a 100 byte  or so
virus in the programs.  You can even write to the master hard drive!!!

I've seen some of the "administrators," and what theymostly do is drink coffee
and gab.  If I had the guts, and didn't want a career in computer science,
I'd pull a Morris on them and show everyone how they are failing to do
anything for the academic community.

If you expect to get any results, don't.  When you start making waves you
can expect them to find a reason to ban you from the system (as has happened to
people I know at other colleges).  One guy just want up to the root directory,
and they said he was "a security risk."  Yeah, right.  The only security risk
is the system administrators' laziness.

Good luck, though.  If it works, I'll be surprised.


Louis

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