Rules for Residence Hall Networking
No Personal Wireless Access Points Permitted
The University of Maryland provides students with the capability
to connect their computers to the university network in the residence
halls, the houses on Fraternity Row, via wireless access points
located throughout the campus, and at network jacks in select
public locations. There are restraints on network use as stated
in law and the university’s Guidelines for the Acceptable
Use of Computing Resources. Additional restrictions are placed
on usage based upon the need for maintaining the security of
the network and the costs associated with providing network services.
The Rules for Residence Hall Networking for 2005-06 include a prohibition on
installing wireless access points. Only access points installed by the Office
of Information Technology are permitted in residential buildings.
The full set of rules students agree to follow in the IP address
registration process is at http://itsecurity.umd.edu/DormRules.
The university’s Guidelines for the Acceptable Use of
Computing Resources can be found at www.nethics.umd.edu/aug.
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Web Site Review: Thefacebook
By Christina Hovland |
Are you new to the campus? Do you want to meet people who
share your interests but you don’t know where to start?
Meeting new people in college has never been easier thanks to
the Internet sensation found at www.thefacebook.com.
Over the past year, Thefacebook has swept the UM campus and gained
substantial popularity among students. More than two and a half
million students nationwide at more than 800 colleges and universities
use this free online social networking service.
Students can register for an account and then create a profile providing information
about hobbies, interests, majors, class schedules, favorite quotes, and anything
else that they would like to share with your peers. You can post as little
or as much information as you wish and can even post
a photo of yourself.
Thefacebook network establishes connections between users based on similar
interests, and even links them to students that share common classes. Senior
computer engineering major Anton Kropp added, “Whenever I forget to
write down an assignment or due
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date, I can just
go on [The]facebook, find a student in my class, and send them
a message. This has been helpful on many occasions.”
Users can select privacy settings designating who can see them
in searches, view their profiles, and access their contact information.
When you identify a person on the Web site that you’d like
to meet, you can ask to be designated as a “friend.” The
system, in turn, sends an e-mail notice to that person giving
them the opportunity to add you to their friends list.
Thefacebook offers students an alternative avenue to meeting
new people; however, some caution should be taken when using
the Web site. Although the site does provide some privacy control
and users must have a collegiate e-mail account to join, students
have no way of knowing everyone that accesses their profile.
Posting schedules, phone numbers, or addresses is a potential
privacy and security threat. If you choose to participate in
Thefacebook, be sure that you are comfortable sharing your posted
information with people that you may not know. |
TechKnow
is the Information Technology Newsletter for University of Maryland
students, published by the Office of
Information Technology. Letters to the editor and story suggestions
are welcome. Please send correspondence to TechKnow@umd.edu.