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Campus Residences Internet Access

Bullet Rules governing access and use of Internet Traffic
    Bullet Regulations Governing Access to the Internet From UofT Residences
    Bullet Appropriate Use of Information Technology
    Bullet Code of Student Conduct
    Bullet Individual Residence Rules
       Bullet Graduate House
       Bullet Innis College
       Bullet New College
       Bullet St. Mike's College
       Bullet Trinity College
       Bullet University College
       Bullet UTMississauga
       Bullet Victoria College

Bullet How to know if one is approaching the weekly limit on Internet Traffic
    Bullet Definition of the Current Limit
    Bullet Traffic Statistics Provided by CNS
    Bullet How to Determine Your IP Address
       Bullet For Windows
       Bullet For LINUX
       Bullet For Apple MACs

Bullet Hints to facilitate compliance with the rules
    Bullet UTORmirror
    Bullet FAQs
    Bullet Tools
       Bullet Use CNS Statistics
       Bullet Bandwidth Meter
       Bullet Personal Firewalls
       Bullet Hijacking Prevention - Windows
       Bullet LINUX Tools

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Rules Governing Access and Use of IT

Bullet Regulations Governing Access to the Internet From UofT Residences
Bullet Appropriate Use of Information Technology
Bullet Code of Student Conduct
Bullet Individual Residence Rules
   Bullet Graduate House
   Bullet Innis College
   Bullet New College
   Bullet St. Mike's College
   Bullet Trinity College
   Bullet University College
   Bullet UTMississauga
   Bullet Victoria College

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How To Know If One Is Appraoching The Weekly Limit

Bullet Definition of the Current Limit
Bullet Traffic Statistics Provided by CNS
Bullet How to Determine Your IP Address
   Bullet For Windows
   Bullet For LINUX
   Bullet For Apple MACs

Definition of the Current Limit

The "Regulations Governing Access to the Internet from UofT Residences" take effect September 1, 2001. At that time, the permissible total of traffic going to and coming from the Internet, from UofT residences will be 750 Mbytes per week per resident. Only traffic that actually leaves or enters from outside the University is counted in this weekly total. Traffic that stays within the University does not contribute to this total. Since the traffic volume is measured on a weekly basis, from Monday to Sunday, the calculation of traffic volume will commence on September 3, 2001. Any offenders will be identified by the following Monday, and the respective residence network administrators informed of the transgression, in order to take the appropriate action. Many residences have implemented their own monitoring schemes that will inform them of violations more directly,even before the central system does.

Traffic Statistics Provided by CNS

In order to help student residents to manage their use of the Internet, CNS has provided statistics whereby individuals can monitor their own traffic to/from the Internet. CNS gathers network traffic statistics on the basis of the IP Address that is the source/sink of the traffic. These statistics can be viewed at http://www.noc.utoronto.ca/ipaudit/. If a student views this web page from his residence computer, by clicking on "Show Host Statistics", he/she is presented with a "Host Detail Report", which shows his/her IP Address, as well as Daily Traffic Summaries for the past week, and Weekly Summaries for the last four weeks. Thus one can see how close one is to the limit of 750 Mbytes per week, and govern themselves accordingly.

The link above also shows Internet Traffic by all users, and eleven residences. This is useful to determine if you are among the residence's top 50 users, even if you are not at your residence computer. You merely have to remember your IP Address from having seen it on the Host Detail Report page described above. Alternatively, you can determine your IP Address on your residence computer by following the steps described below.

How To determine Your IP Address - For Window Systems

  • Click the Start button
  • Move to the Settings selection
  • Select Control Panel
  • Double click the Network icon
  • Under Configuration, double click the TCP/IP line
  • Under the IP Address folder tab, the IP Address is shown in the box.

How To determine Your IP Address - For LINUX Systems

  • From the system command prompt, type the command /sbin/ifconfig
  • The IP Address is shown in the second line as inet addr

How To determine Your IP Address - For MAC Systems

  • Click on the Apple icon
  • Select Control Panel from the list presented
  • Click on TCP/IP
  • The IP Address will be shown in the resulting box

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Hints To Facilitate Compliance With The Rules

Bullet UTORmirror
Bullet FAQs
Bullet Tools
   Bullet Use CNS Statistics
   Bullet Bandwidth Meter
   Bullet Personal Firewalls
   Bullet Hijacking Prevention - Windows
   Bullet LINUX Tools

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UTORMirror

CNS provides a service, UTORmirror, to facilitate the downloading of popular software from a local University site, rather than from the general Internet. This is particularly of value to students in residences, as popular software may be quite large, and if downloaded from the Internet, might exceed their weekly traffic limit. Also, by providing a local source for popular software, the loading on the University's link to the Internet is reduced, providing better service to our users.

For more information about how to use the UTORmirror service, and to request that a particular package be mirrored, please see: http://info2.utcc.utoronto.ca/ftp/. To see a list of packages currently mirrored, click the "Search" button with a blank entry.

Note: We will NOT mirror licensed or copyrighted material, nor games nor packages without academic use or merit.

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FAQs

  1. Why is my access to the Internet from my residence room subject to a weekly limit, when one of the touted attributes of the residence was "high speed access to the Internet"?
  2. When I was in residence last year, there were no limits on my use of the Internet connection, why now?
  3. What if my academic programme requires that I have access to more than 750MB per week of traffic?
  4. How can I tell how much traffic I'm generating or consuming?
  5. What is an IP Address?
  6. What can I do to avoid exceeding the weekly limit?
  7. What if I choose to run Linux and want to download the latest version without exceeding my weekly limit?
  8. What happens if I exceed my weekly limit?
  9. What if my limit is exceeded because my PC was hacked?
  10. Where can I get help to install a personal firewall or improve my security?
  11. What if I don't like these regulations?
  12. What if somebody else came into my room and used my machine to exceed the limit?
  13. I need to work on a project that exchanges data and software with a departmental system. How do I avoid exceeding my limit?
  14. I am co-operating in a project with others outside the UofT that exchanges large amounts of data. How do I avoid exceeding the weekly limit?
  15. What happens if my fellow residents persist in violating the rules?

  1. Why is my access to the Internet from my residence room subject to a weekly limit, when one of the touted attributes of the residence was "high speed access to the Internet"?

    The University does indeed provide high-speed access to the Internet, but not unlimited access. The University's connection to the Internet is a resource shared by the entire University community, and it is a very expensive one. It is provided for the academic pursuits of the members of the University community, but in recognition of the fact that students in residence are in a "home-away-from-home", some recreational or personal use of this connection is tolerated, but it must be constrained to reasonable limits, and of course to legal activities. While at other Universities, the residence networks get their Internet connectivity from a commercial Service Provider (ISP), here at UofT, we chose to make the residence networks a part of the UofT backbone network in order to facilitate high speed access to University resources, such as the Library, departmental servers and other resources, that rely on access from a University network for authentication. Such access would not be possible via a commercial ISP. By imposing a weekly limit on the amount of traffic than can be sent/received to/from the Internet, students do get high speed access to the Internet for locating information on the Internet for research, but the volume must be kept reasonable. The academic mission of the University cannot be allowed to be impaired by selfish abuse of a scarce resource by unscrupulous individuals.

  2. When I was in residence last year, there were no limits on my use of the Internet connection, why now?

    In 2000, the growing popularity of peer-to-peer file sharing programs, such as Napster and later, Gnutella created an unprecedented demand for more bandwidth to the Internet. In the summer of 2000, the University's bandwidth To the Internet was 25 Mbps. In the fall it was increased to 30 Mbps, and again to 35 Mbps, and it was still not enough. Outgoing traffic was saturating, preventing our users from accessing outside resources and outside users from accessing ours. It became evident that the source of all this outgoing traffic was great numbers of servers, serving up music via MP3 files, games and even movies. Moreover, most of this traffic was emanating from the student residences with Internet connectivity, the number of which was also increasing.

    This resulted in an intolerable situation, which by the end of January, resulted in the residences which accounted for most of the problem, having their connection to the Internet separated from that of the rest of the University and constrained to 5 Mbps. This had the unfortunate effect of slowing down access for students trying to do serious work, while others merrily exchanged music, games and videos. As residence administrators agreed to control the excessive use of bandwidth by their residents, those residences were removed from the separate "pipe". At that time, a daily limit of 1 GB was arbitrarily chosen as an upper limit on what could be acceptable. It soon became evident that that was far in excess of what was reasonably needed to carry out one's academic pursuits and some personal use. Hence the new limit of 750 MB per week.

  3. What if my academic programme requires that I have access to more than 750MB per week of traffic?

    Students who can demonstrate that their academic needs require a higher traffic limit than 750 MB may apply to their residence's administration for exemption from the automatic limit. They should be aware, however, that such exemption renders their traffic subject to inspection to verify that it is indeed for academic purposes, and not merely an attempt to subvert the regulations.

  4. How can I tell how much traffic I'm generating or consuming?

    CNS provides traffic statistics to help students see how much they are using. If they go to the CNS web page (http://www.noc.utoronto.ca/ipaudit/) from their residence computer, and click on "Show Host Statistics", they will be able to see their total traffic since Monday, which is the start of the measuring period, daily summaries for the last eight days, and weekly summaries of their traffic for the past four weeks.

  5. What is an IP Address?

    Every computer connected to the Internet has a unique address. It is know as The IP (Internet Protocol) address. It is used by programs to correctly route traffic among computers on the Internet. It is also the means whereby individual computers are identified on the University network. Traffic statistics are gathered on the basis of IP address. The IP address of your residence computer is assigned by the residence administrator. It must not be changed! Any attempt to do so can be detected by monitoring programs and will result in immediate cancellation of ALL network access privileges.

  6. What can I do to avoid exceeding the weekly limit?

    Be mindful of how you use your Internet connection. Exchanging email messages or viewing web pages does not consume much traffic. Transferring large files, such as software, music, or perish the thought, movies, generates a great deal of traffic and will likely exceed your limit. Also, if you participate in peer-to-peer file sharing schemes such as Napster, your PC can become a server to others, even without your knowledge or consent. This can result in your PC generating traffic and causing you to exceed your weekly limit. To avoid this, you can simply turn off your PC when not using it. This will also protect you from hackers, but you should still run a personal firewall to protect your machine even when you are using it (see URL: http://www.zonealarm.com). And, of course, frequently check the statistics on your usage to see where you stand with respect to the limit.

  7. What if I choose to run Linux and want to download the latest version without exceeding my weekly limit?

    Since the weekly traffic limit only applies to traffic to/from the Internet, traffic that stays within the University doesn't count. To download popular software, check the UTORmirror site at http://info2.utcc.utoronto.ca/ftp/ to see if it contains the package you want. If not, you can request it by filling out a form on that web page. Of course the software you request must be freely available, and of academic benefit.

  8. What happens if I exceed my weekly limit?

    Sanctions for violating the Regulations Governing Access to the Internet from UofT Residences are imposed by the residence administration. For a first offence, your total (all access, not just the Internet) network access is suspended for a day. The vigour with which this is imposed will be at the discretion of the residence administrator. For example, if the weekly limit is exceeded by a few MegaBytes over the week, a warning may suffice. However, if the excess occurs in a single day, or the weekly limit is exceeded by more than a few MegaBytes, then the full suspension is warranted. A second offense results in suspension of all network access for a week, and after a third offense, suspension for the rest of the term. Note that some residences have implemented automated tools to track traffic and automatically suspend residents, leaving NO discretion. Also, some residences may set lower thresholds, or impose suspensions of longer duration, as local circumstances warrant.

  9. What if my limit is exceeded because my PC was hacked?

    You are responsible for your PC. If you can convince your residence administrator that you took reasonable precautions to prevent having your machine hacked, he may forego the imposition of a sanction. However, this will only work ONCE! A second instance WILL result in the imposition of the mandated sanction.

  10. Where can I get help to install a personal firewall or improve my security?

    Your first approach should be the provider of the product, through their HELP files, or online assistance. If this is inadequate or too confusing, ask your colleagues in residence who may have more experience, or your residence network administrators.

  11. What if I don't like these regulations?

    All student residences have alternatives available, whether it be cable modem or Sympatico's High Speed Edition. Students may contract with either of these suppliers for unregulated Internet access.

  12. What if somebody else came into my room and used my machine to exceed the limit?

    You are responsible for your PC. If your room is accessible to others, your PC should be password protected so that only you can use it. Ask your residence network administrator how to do this if you don't already know. If you can convince the residence administrator that your PC was reasonably secured, he may forego the imposition of a sanction, ONCE!

  13. I need to work on a project that exchanges data and software with a departmental system. How do I avoid exceeding my limit?

    Since departmental systems are on the University's network, traffic to and from them does not use the Internet and will not contribute to the weekly limit.

  14. I am co-operating in a project with others outside the UofT that exchanges large amounts of data. How do I avoid exceeding the weekly limit?

    If you can convince the residence administrator that your project is part of an academic programme, and exchanging traffic in excess of the weekly limit is necessary, he may increase the size of the weekly limit. This renders your traffic subject to inspection to verify that it is indeed for academic purposes. Alternatively, you can approach the department sponsoring the project to explore the use of a departmental system.

  15. What happens if my fellow residents persist in violating the rules?

    After three violations, a resident's network access is terminated for the balance of the term. If such a resident tries to subvert the regulations in an attempt to regain network access, and/or if the residence administration is incapable of controlling the network traffic to the Internet emanating from that residence, then all the external traffic from that residence will be put on a separate, bandwidth-limited connection to the Internet, and the IP addresses of all residents will be posted to allow all to see who is abusing the residence's network connectivity and is the cause of the imposition of the separate pipe.

If you have any questions about access to the Internet from residences, please email eugene.siciunas@utoronto.ca.

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Bandwidth Meter

There is a freeware package available, called "Bandwidth Meter 2001", that can be used to keep track of how much data has been up/downloaded, as well as provide additional information on up/download speeds, a traceroute capability and information on TCP Connections, such as remote address and ports used. It can be downloaded from:

    http://www.webattack.com/get/bwmeter.shtml or
    http://www.zdnet.com/downloads/stories/info/0,10615,75288,00.html

Note that this package is free for personal use.

Thanks to Shahir Al Rashid of Innis College for providing a pointer to this package.

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Personal Firewlalls

"ZoneAlarm" is a personal firewall package that is free for personal and non-profit use, from: http://www.zonealarm.com It can also provide information on how much data has been up/downloaded from the Internet, but moreover it can provide firewall capability that reduces the likelihood of your PC being subjected to Internet-borne threats, or hacked or hijacked and subverted to unwanted or even illegal use.

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Hijacking Prevention

Useful information on how to prevent your Windows PC from being hacked and diverted to nefarious uses (which can quickly consume your weekly traffic limit) can be found at: http://www.utoronto.ca/wts/PCsecurity/hijack_short.html

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Linux Tools

A downloadable book is available from the LINUX Documentation Project at: http://www.linuxdoc.org/guides.html. It is called "Securing and Optimizing Linux: RedHat Edition". A brief synopsis states: "This 480-page comprehensive security book takes a hands-on approach to installing, optimizing, configuring, and securing Red Hat Linux. Topics include sendmail 8.10.1, OpenSSL, ApacheSSL, OpenSSH and much more! Includes Red Hat 6.2 and Red Hat 6.2 PowerTools edition."

Red Hat and Mandrake Linux systems can be "hardened" or "locked-down" by running freeware from the SANS Institute, called Bastille-Linux Scripts.

The Bastille Hardening System can be downloaded from: http://bastille-linux.sourceforge.net/, while user reactions to Bastille Linux and discussion lists can be found at: http://www.sans.org/newlook/projects/bastille_linux.htm

Thanks go to Lidio Presutti of the Information Commons for providing the pointers to this valuable resource.

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