University Bans Access To Facebook; Claims It's A Security Issue
from the really? dept
We've seen plenty of stories of silly politicians trying to ban access to social networks in high schools, but in colleges especially things like Facebook are basically the way students communicate with each other. So it's rather surprising to find out (via Michael Geist) that Concordia University has banned access to Facebook on any computer connected to the university network via a wired connection. If you're using WiFi, the university allows it. First of all, that seems like a really strange split. Why should it matter whether the connection is wired or wireless? Even odder is the explanation for this:The university has decided to implement these restrictions because of concerns that the continuing reliability of the Concordia network could be compromised because of spam, viruses and leaks of confidential information related to Facebook use.There are spam, viruses and leaks of confidential info all over the internet. So why ban Facebook? And those same issues face wireless users as well as wired users. The whole thing sounds like someone who was very confused overreacted to something in the wrong way.
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Filed Under: bans, security, social networks, universities
Companies: condordia university, facebook
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I'm all for bans of Facebook. Most workplaces don't allow it anymore. Come to think of it, perhaps they are also banning it because the administration at the University is wasting too much time there. Again, on the wired network.
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The given answer was BS. The real reason is that they don't want people screwing around on lab computers in the library that are reserved for research. Instead of putting software on each individual machine in the library or other labs on campus, it's easier to just segregate the network between wired and wifi and let the firewall do the rest.
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This move is bone headed; it does nothing to resolve the issue at hand. Rather than dealing with the root problem, they have shot one symptom, taking away a potentially useful too in the process. At our company, Facebook is used as a recruiting tool . And at my alma mater, FB is used as a fund-raising tool.
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heh
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Re: heh
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BS
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Re: BS
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(Sorry this is my 4th comment... )
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There are plenty of more effective ways to do it and not trample all over the customers (students).
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Look out...popularity of MySpace at Concordia about to go on the rise! Maybe the FB ban was all MySpace's doing??
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Tonight at 11...
Concordia IT Admins Lost at definition of "Security". "We use locks and pepper spray to keep it secure" says head Concordia IT Security Guy.
And after the commercial break, Be scared! Grandma and Pet Hamster proves Email Could Be A Security Issue too. We'll show you how...
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As Network Engineer I hate this, but understand some of it.
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What's the big deal????
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FAcebook
Isn't university a place of higher learning...... Facebook definitely does not fall into that category!!!
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Re: FAcebook
Two, Facebook was developed for university students, by a university student.
Three, cut off Facebook, then what else?
Four, there are many things that can be learned from Facebook.
Five, university is a social experience as well as an educational one.
Need more?
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especially the students that are only there for the first couple of weeks only to drop later because they dont do thier work...
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Facebook a time waster
And is Facebook any more or less vulnerable to spam and viruses than regular e-mail or any of the other social networking sites?
And how does Facebook use more bandwidth than YouTube? In fact, I would argue that YouTube should be banned (if it isn't already) because it's a bigger time waster than Facebook.
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Facebook
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And if people want to publicly criticize that action they are free to do so and "thats how it is" (at least in the US).
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You have got to be kidding
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Absurd
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RTFA
"Facebook is still accessible at Concordia if you connect using a wireless network connection. It is also accessible in all residences."
This is NOT a big deal, and is not surprising at all. It is very likely that the residence halls and the campus-wide wi-fi network are segregated from the main wired network that all the university-owned PCs connect to. Think of the regular wired non-residence-hall network at any university like a secure Corporate network. They have every reason and right to block certain sites that they deem insecure or inappropriate for any reason.
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Please re-read the article...
Wired LANs and Wireless LANs are generally segmented. If a Wired LAN does now allow packets from Facebook, it is reducing it's attack surface, as it considers Facebook a threat. Whether Facebook is a threat or not is not the issue. The issue is that management of *any* network can block *any* network resource it damn well feels like. Having access to Facebook on a network you don't own/run is not a god-given right. They have every right, whether or not you agree with the reasons, to block the site, whatever their reasons are.
It is clear to me by the nature of this article, it was written by someone whom has never had to administer a network.
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Re: Please re-read the article...
OK Adolph, err, I mean Scott.
If they are claiming so then it certainly is an issue for discussion.
Who said it was?
How's that? Is it because someone like Michael Geist who holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law at the University of Ottawa and is also a board member of the Canadian Internet Registration Authority probably has people working under him who do those kinds of things instead? It sounds to me like maybe you're just a tab resentful of those with greater authority than yourself.
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You don't need Facebook to complete your degree so STFU
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That's not a university I'll ever willingly choose
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Perhaps there's more to this
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The same arugment was made for email and IM
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Two Hands...on the one, and on the other
Second Hand: How can I incorporate FaceBook into my teaching?
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Re: Two Hands...on the one, and on the other
That said, banning them seems like a really bad idea. Some people use their laptops to take notes.
I'm not sure that incorporating Facebook (or similar tools) into a lecture makes sense, because that might just add to the distraction... I mean, I have a few ideas, but part of the problem is... if you start making use of Facebook, students will feel left out if they don't have a laptop and can't participate, so you'll be encouraging more people to use laptops during the lecture.
I think it'd make more sense to use Facebook around lectures. Say, creating a group where students can share links and resources, ask questions, form study groups, meet other people in the class, etc... (obviously not anything that gives away answers for assignments though). But if you have good online resources at your school, Facebook would seem redundant (and inflexible). Though, it's where students are.
*shrugs* My two cents...
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This is rediculous
Also, 90% of colleges run A LOT of different networks... not one or two. Try thirty or forty. At Ohio State, 1 single department is running on 4 different networks at least (that I've worked on). Of course, OSU is a large school with thousands of employees, and over 35,000 students.
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