noticeboard.ru.ac.za

In addition to the quota changes that were published last night, we have also relaxed our policies on outgoing Internet traffic (traffic originating from a computer on our network). Whereas before we defaulted to denying traffic from our network unless it originated from a proxy server, we now default to allowing it unless there's good reason not to. Thus any service that was previously accessible via the proxy servers will likely be accessible from any end-user workstation (lab computers excluded).

This has some implications you should be aware of:

• The use of proxy tunnelling software, such as Proxifer, is no longer necessary. Furthermore, it is strongly discouraged -- it creates unnecessary load on our proxy servers and you'll get substantially better performance without it. Thus if you have been using such software, we encourage you to disable or uninstall it.
  
  
• Some software that used not to work, or used not to work out-the-box, will start working. This includes various forms of automatic updates, and other programs that may run in the background on your computer. Traffic generated by such software will count towards your Internet quota. Moreover, we're less likely to be able to tell you what software was responsible as the logs for direct traffic are substantially less detailed than the logs generated by the proxy servers.
  
  
• You may start using IPv6 to access certain content on the Internet. Our proxy servers were IPv4 only. However, apart from computers in labs and on the Student Network, IPv6 is available to all computers on our network. Unless you're using an old or misconfigured operating system, this shouldn't cause problems (and you've likely been using IPv6 to access internal resources for some time). Windows 7, OSX, Linux and Android are known to work properly; some older versions of Windows (notably Vista) may not. You can see if you're using IPv6 by asking Google -- IPv6 addresses at Rhodes start 2001:4200:1010 rather than 146.231.
  
  
• The previously restrictive firewall settings have, to some extent, insulated Rhodes from the undesirable aspects of the Internet (viruses, malware, etc). One of the disadvantages of reducing the restrictions is that we increase exposure. Thus you need to ensure that your anti-virus software is running, and is up-to-date. You also need to make sure you've installed the latest updates for your operating systems. Both of these have long been required by the acceptable use policy, and you need to take responsibility for adequately securing your computer.
  
  
• If you run peer-to-peer or other file sharing software, you need to be aware that it is now easier to share files with people outside of Rhodes. If you are sharing content that is not legal, you will likely receive a take-down notification from the copyright holder. Such notices will also be easier for us to track. Should this happen, Rhodes will recent changes to the Student Disciplinary Code will allow for more substantive sanctions. Make sure you know what your computer is sharing on the Internet; you will be held accountable.
  
  
• Whilst we may be more liberal in what we allow, your access is not unrestricted or unshaped. In addition, the policies applied to incoming traffic (traffic originating from the Internet) have not changed nor are they likely to.

Please note that the best practice of configuring web browsers to use proxy auto-configuration (via the proxy auto-configuration script at http://wpad.ru.ac.za/) has not changed. Whilst other configurations might work, they will not be supported. This is particularly important for accessing licensed electronic resources provided by the Library.

The University has recently received its first take-down notice subsequent to the publication of the above warning: a student accessing the Internet from the Biological Sciences building purportedly made use of BitTorrent to download an episode of a recent television series, in violation of CBS Broadcasting/Showtime Networks' license.

On receipt of such notices, the IT Division acts in terms our our published take-down procedure, as required by the Internet Service Providers Association's code of conduct and chapter XI of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act. Be aware that section 4c of this procedure requires that the IT Division take action in accordance with the University's acceptable use policy, which may include initiating disciplinary procedures. In the case of staff, this may include referring the matter to Human Resources; in the case of students, this may involve sanction under the Student Disciplinary Code.