My college ISP is doing some REAL strange (illegal??) crap...

[SmileyBoy]

OK, just for the record: Once in a while, I like to look at porno online. NOTHING ILLEGAL, mind you. I'm gonna stress that right now. First off, I'm not attracted to anything that could be illegal, and I always stay the course away from any pedophilia, besiality, etc. etc. It's just NORMAL, LEGAL porno that I look at. Also, I have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING REMOTELY porn-related on my hard drive. I do a regular daily house-cleaning of my C drive every day, so I should know. Also, I'm a few days away from being 21 years old, so it's not anything that has to do with being underage. I'm being completely serious here, so bear with me.

So, I read the campus internet contract agreement, and there was no mention of pornography in the whole contract. Well, I'm assuming so, because a vast majority of college males (like me) like to look at porn, and I figure that if they try to stop it, they won't be able to enforce it. So I go online this past week, and I decide to look for something that floats my boat. after about 10 minutes, I get a couple of full screen pop-up messages that have the name of my college's internet office on them, and say "your computer is being tracked", and "ALERT!! You have been found accessing porn sites!!!" So I quickly log off the internet, and do a house-cleaning of my C drive. Later that week, I look at a little adult entertainment for a little bit, thinking that the last time it was something else. And the SAME FUCKING MESSAGE appears. I thought they wouldn't GIVE A BLOODY SHIT if I was looking at porno!!

I'll give you a reference to think about: In Al Franken's latest book, he sent one of his student helpers disguised as a good friend of his (as a prank) to go personally apply for enrollment at the uber-conservative Bob Jones University. Franken tells about how the university constantly monitors the internet habits of its students, and tracks whether or not their looking for porno or not. And Al Franken explained it in a way that it was something that a college wasn't supposed to do, in terms of infringing on civil liberties. So, I'm assuming that of course a fundie christian school would do that, but not a secular, public land-grant university. It wouldn't be a good idea for North Dakota State to be doing this, Right??

If most public libraries in this country are still not banning its patrons from looking at pornography, why in the HELL would NDSU be warning me about looking at porno on my OWN FREAKIN PERSONAL COMPUTER in my dorm room???

I need some help and/or ideas. Thank you.

[chadm]

1. That is unbelievable

I would sue the school.

[_NorCal_D_]

2. Ashcroft at it again eh?

If you're connected to a LAN, it could just be someone playing a joke on you.

:shrug:

[Droopy]

3. I would look over the user agreement again

It doesn't sound like you looked over it too well. If you don't see anything about it, then I would ask somebody. Even though that might be kind of embarrassing. I don't understand how they can keep you from looking at porn, either.

Thinking about it, if nobody has said anything to you about it, try just staying on there and ignoring the warning. What are they going to do? Arrest you? I don't think so. But be sure you check through that agreement thoroughly before you do this.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

4. Well gee looking at porn is nothing unusual

and nothing to be ashamed about. So why don't you just ask them what the story is? Are you paying for this service? If you signed an agreement that says you are supposed to be getting unfiltered access and that's what you are paying for. Perhaps they put some monitoring system on but also perhaps there is a way to get unfiltered access.

[Rabrrrrrr]

5. It does sound stupid to me, but on the other hand,

it's THEIR bandwidth, and THEIR fees, and if they want to limit students from wasting bandwidth by downloading porn, they have a right to do so.

However, since they aren't actually STOPPING you from doing it, I'm not sure what's up. Are you absolutely certain the pop ups are actually from your school?

Maybe the school pops them up automatically just to put some fear in you, but doesn't actually track (though actually, all computer networks ARE tracking - the issue is whether anyone actually bothers to look for specifics, but that's a semantic issue), in the hopes that a pop up will make the user nervous enough to stop wasting bandwidth. If so, in your case, it worked.

Your only real course of action, and only responsible course of action, is to read the actual contract with a fine-tooth comb, and if it says nothing then (if you have the courage) call the computer office and ask them about it.

[TrogL]

6. This is perfectly legit

and it's either in the contract or the school's sexual harassement policy. They're probably using some sort of Net Nanny-style filter, or a script on a bot.

It's their bandwidth and they get to say how to use it.

Get over it. If I were the sysadmin, I'd do the same thing. I'd also block all MP3's while I was at it.

[disgruntella]

7. i have to agree

I worked at the IT department of a state school - if it's their network, and especially if it's state funded, there are going to be regulations. Depending on who runs their network, it might not even be in university documentation - might be a state regulation.

Of course it is a civil liberties issue - and I've heard the argument from some students that "I pay tuition, I can do whatever I want" -- but think about it, state university funds are stretched to the limit as it is, so it's a question of resources (bandwidth). When you have thousands of users on the same network, you have to prioritize educational use, and blocking porn and MP3s is one way to do it.

This is why I *hated* Napster when it first came out -- students can't connect to the library's databases because some a-hole is downloading the complete Britney discography :eyes: Then I started working for a private company with unlimited network restrictions, so I fell in love with Napster, lol

This is all assuming that you are using the university's network (you did say it was in your dorm room).

[tjdee]

8. How do you clean your C drive, and more....

How do you know there's nothing on your hard drive? I've heard that even when you delete something (history, etc.), it's still there. Plus, if they wanted to know if you were visiting porn sites, I'm fairly certain there's a list kept of the sites you visit (no one has any reason to look, though).

As for your direct question, I've been surfing (not on porn sites) where I'll get a similar popup "Your computer is being tracked!" and really it's just an ad, like other popups, for a "history killer" or something like that. If your school wanted to restrict access to porn, I think the content would be blocked,not just a 'warning' pop-up.

Next time you get one, see if it's actually from your school and not some clever ad.

[Philosophy]

9. Don't worry, it's just a popup ad

I bet it had a link in the message where you could click to buy some software that supposedly cleans all the porn off your computer too. It's just a popup ad for that software.

The message is not from your ISP, and nobody is really tracking you at all. It's built right into the web pages of the porn sites.

[MnFats]

10. this is an ADVERTISING GIMMICK!

I'm serious.
they are trying to sell you software that will 'cleanse' your computer of any offending files.
this stuff pops up all the time for many people, whether they've looked at porn or not.
the idea is to scare you into buying the software. ("What if my boss checks and finds out I looked at... well, fill in the blank.)
Ignore it.
and if your contract doesn't mention porn, and you've downloaded nothing illegal, you have nothing to worry about. Unless you want to transfer to Bob Jones University.
this stuff has arrived in the computer of several people I know, including some who would never dream of looking at porn...

[cosmicdot]

11. I tend to side with the people vs. the system ... "the Man" ...

... whatever one wishes to call 'it' ...

... Freedom is Just Another Word for Nothing Left to Lose ...

I swear (and, I shouldn't), one can't do anything anymore without a lawyer.

... airwaves...bandwidth...software user licenses...

so many times we revisit the same basic rights' issues ... is it a comic act ... is it a movie theatre ... is it a neighborhood ... is it a book or a magazine ...

Let my people Surf!