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High schoolers are used to having VPNs for school, time for college students to do that too. Especially since on-campus students have to live with managed WiFi

High schoolers are used to having VPNs for school, time for college students to do that too. Especially since on-campus students have to live with managed WiFi in dorms too. It's unfortunate to see this political censorship affect grown adults who can make their own decisions - but just happen to be at a state university.

TheHappyOddish 4y ago
They did make their own decision. They connected to a network which has some content filtered. I'd imagine porn, gore sites, etc are - if not blocked - logged.
kube-system 4y ago
Or they can just toggle the wifi on their phone. When I was in school, wifi wasn't provided and you were prohibited from bringing your own AP. And there were plenty of applications being firewalled.
- dylan604 4y ago
  I was wondering if LTE was also blocked for some reason causing everyone that be forced to use WiFi. Clearly, that's not the case. Are people unable to make the logical jump that WiFi isn't needed on mobile? Even so, that still meet's whatever UT's goal is that it's not on their network. <shrug> Edit: clearly, the sarcasm intended in wondering if someone was blocking LTE wasn't self-evident. Followed immediately by "Clearly not the case" should have been a clear indicator that it was a bit rhetorical and not something truly being considered.
  - kube-system 4y ago
    UT-Austin doesn't operate commercial cell phone service, and jamming cell phone service is illegal.
    - gnicholas 4y ago
      > jamming cell phone service is illegal. My local Macy's has found a workaround: thick walls. Ain't no way you're checking the price on Amazon inside their four walls!
      - kube-system 4y ago
        Jokes aside, the walls are probably thick because Simon Property Group gets better insurance rates.
        gnicholas 4y ago
        The thick walls did precede smartphones, but when I found out that Macy's tracks customers via in-store wifi, [1] I wondered if they might keep using thick walls in the future, to ensure that customers have to use the wifi. 1: https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/retailers-tracking-shoppers-locations-real-world/story?id=47825826 https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/retailers-tracking-shopper...
        kube-system 4y ago
        As I understand, bluetooth beacons are really the go-to for this. https://www.shopify.com/retail/the-ultimate-guide-to-using-beacon-technology-for-retail-stores https://www.shopify.com/retail/the-ultimate-guide-to-using-b... https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/06/14/opinion/bluetooth-wireless-tracking-privacy.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/06/14/opinion/bluet... I don't really think their marketing team is getting involved in determining the electromagnetic characteristics of the construction materials used in their locations, if much at all. And while Macy's does own a notable amount of property, much of their real estate is leased. And yet more of the property they own, they did not build. The reason that commercial construction from the 1980s interacts with your phone's signal is the same coincidental reason it will likely do the same in 2040: steel and masonry are good for large commercial buildings.
  - rchaud 4y ago
    LTE is provided by national cell networks that aren't state-funded, so the law probably doesn't apply to them. Universities usually administer their own networks (at least they did in my rural uni 10 years ago), so they would have to comply with state laws.
- gnicholas 4y ago
  I've never used TikTok, but I understand some people use it for an hour or two daily. What would be the impact on your mobile data with that kind of usage? Some kids might be on unlimited plans, but those who aren't might be hesitant to run up their bill.
- hot_gril 4y ago
  Yep, which is increasingly my go-to. No I'm not gonna log into a free wifi that takes 10 seconds to load the portal and is probably less reliable and more restricted than my LTE.
tarotuser 4y ago
You can say "Use a VPN"... However on multiple VPN providers, Tiktok blocks those endpoints. Instead of the Tiktok feed, you get a rude 403 error for any page. Tiktok really REALLY wants to know your real IP address. (edit: this comment pertains to the web page through a browser, not the Tiktok app. I did not test the app+vpn.)
- boomboomsubban 4y ago
  Or IP addresses associated with VPNs are often found to do things that violate TikTok's ToS.
  - Nextgrid 4y ago
    Read-only access can still be allowed. I suspect the "violation of ToS" is simply privacy - they don't want to serve traffic to someone they can't stalk.
    - rchaud 4y ago
      Read-only access would still be enough to launch DDOS attacks. I've never heard of any social media service offering read-only access to logged in users.
      - Nextgrid 4y ago
        > I've never heard of any social media service offering read-only access to logged in users. Twitter allows read-only access even to suspended accounts as well as when you go over certain rate-limits (I believe there was a daily tweet limit at one point, not sure if still there).
    - boomboomsubban 4y ago
      Read-only access wouldn't prevent bots spamming views for ad revenue.
- BudaDude 4y ago
  Those endpoints could also be blocked for legitimate reasons. Many use common VPN endpoints for malicious intentions.
cge 4y ago
Of note on this point, eduroam service standards require that VPN access be permitted [1, page 32], in part, because VPNs are often part of university infrastructure. Technically, the service definition only requires this for roaming visitors, but it would seem unusual to make a distinction in service on that point. [1]: https://eduroam.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/GN3-12-192_eduroam-policy-service-definition_ver28_26072012.pdf https://eduroam.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/GN3-12-192_ed...
- hot_gril 4y ago
  That's interesting. Yeah, most common use for school VPN is reading e-books.
thot_experiment 4y ago
Hey, I learned a lot about cybersecurity working around restrictions on the computers in high school! First it's your school, next it's your government, it's important that kids learn these skills so they have the basics of getting around authoritarian bullshit.
- rchaud 4y ago
  I don't think that's going to happen anymore, everything is too locked down. My 'cybersecurity' education came from having my computer infected with all types of malware in the '00s. In the mobile era, nearly everything is sanitized and sandboxed. The idea of needing to get all your software through a centralized, vendor-controlled app store would be absurd in the '00s. Yet here we are.
commandlinefan 4y ago
CS students are about to get a lot more popular there ("Hey, can you help me set up one of them 'VPN' things?")
seanmcdirmid 4y ago
> High schoolers are used to having VPNs for school I'm pretty sure most college students browse TikTok via their phones using mobile data. I'm not sure many will even notice it is blocked.

TheHappyOddish 4y ago

They did make their own decision. They connected to a network which has some content filtered. I'd imagine porn, gore sites, etc are - if not blocked - logged.

kube-system 4y ago

Or they can just toggle the wifi on their phone. When I was in school, wifi wasn't provided and you were prohibited from bringing your own AP. And there were plenty of applications being firewalled.

dylan604 4y ago
I was wondering if LTE was also blocked for some reason causing everyone that be forced to use WiFi. Clearly, that's not the case. Are people unable to make the logical jump that WiFi isn't needed on mobile? Even so, that still meet's whatever UT's goal is that it's not on their network. <shrug> Edit: clearly, the sarcasm intended in wondering if someone was blocking LTE wasn't self-evident. Followed immediately by "Clearly not the case" should have been a clear indicator that it was a bit rhetorical and not something truly being considered.
- kube-system 4y ago
  UT-Austin doesn't operate commercial cell phone service, and jamming cell phone service is illegal.
  - gnicholas 4y ago
    > jamming cell phone service is illegal. My local Macy's has found a workaround: thick walls. Ain't no way you're checking the price on Amazon inside their four walls!
    - kube-system 4y ago
      Jokes aside, the walls are probably thick because Simon Property Group gets better insurance rates.
      - gnicholas 4y ago
        The thick walls did precede smartphones, but when I found out that Macy's tracks customers via in-store wifi, [1] I wondered if they might keep using thick walls in the future, to ensure that customers have to use the wifi. 1: https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/retailers-tracking-shoppers-locations-real-world/story?id=47825826 https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/retailers-tracking-shopper...
        kube-system 4y ago
        As I understand, bluetooth beacons are really the go-to for this. https://www.shopify.com/retail/the-ultimate-guide-to-using-beacon-technology-for-retail-stores https://www.shopify.com/retail/the-ultimate-guide-to-using-b... https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/06/14/opinion/bluetooth-wireless-tracking-privacy.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/06/14/opinion/bluet... I don't really think their marketing team is getting involved in determining the electromagnetic characteristics of the construction materials used in their locations, if much at all. And while Macy's does own a notable amount of property, much of their real estate is leased. And yet more of the property they own, they did not build. The reason that commercial construction from the 1980s interacts with your phone's signal is the same coincidental reason it will likely do the same in 2040: steel and masonry are good for large commercial buildings.
- rchaud 4y ago
  LTE is provided by national cell networks that aren't state-funded, so the law probably doesn't apply to them. Universities usually administer their own networks (at least they did in my rural uni 10 years ago), so they would have to comply with state laws.
gnicholas 4y ago
I've never used TikTok, but I understand some people use it for an hour or two daily. What would be the impact on your mobile data with that kind of usage? Some kids might be on unlimited plans, but those who aren't might be hesitant to run up their bill.
hot_gril 4y ago
Yep, which is increasingly my go-to. No I'm not gonna log into a free wifi that takes 10 seconds to load the portal and is probably less reliable and more restricted than my LTE.

tarotuser 4y ago

You can say "Use a VPN"... However on multiple VPN providers, Tiktok blocks those endpoints. Instead of the Tiktok feed, you get a rude 403 error for any page. Tiktok really REALLY wants to know your real IP address. (edit: this comment pertains to the web page through a browser, not the Tiktok app. I did not test the app+vpn.)

boomboomsubban 4y ago
Or IP addresses associated with VPNs are often found to do things that violate TikTok's ToS.
- Nextgrid 4y ago
  Read-only access can still be allowed. I suspect the "violation of ToS" is simply privacy - they don't want to serve traffic to someone they can't stalk.
  - rchaud 4y ago
    Read-only access would still be enough to launch DDOS attacks. I've never heard of any social media service offering read-only access to logged in users.
    - Nextgrid 4y ago
      > I've never heard of any social media service offering read-only access to logged in users. Twitter allows read-only access even to suspended accounts as well as when you go over certain rate-limits (I believe there was a daily tweet limit at one point, not sure if still there).
  - boomboomsubban 4y ago
    Read-only access wouldn't prevent bots spamming views for ad revenue.
BudaDude 4y ago
Those endpoints could also be blocked for legitimate reasons. Many use common VPN endpoints for malicious intentions.

cge 4y ago

Of note on this point, eduroam service standards require that VPN access be permitted [1, page 32], in part, because VPNs are often part of university infrastructure. Technically, the service definition only requires this for roaming visitors, but it would seem unusual to make a distinction in service on that point. [1]: https://eduroam.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/GN3-12-192_eduroam-policy-service-definition_ver28_26072012.pdf https://eduroam.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/GN3-12-192_ed...

hot_gril 4y ago
That's interesting. Yeah, most common use for school VPN is reading e-books.

thot_experiment 4y ago

Hey, I learned a lot about cybersecurity working around restrictions on the computers in high school! First it's your school, next it's your government, it's important that kids learn these skills so they have the basics of getting around authoritarian bullshit.

rchaud 4y ago
I don't think that's going to happen anymore, everything is too locked down. My 'cybersecurity' education came from having my computer infected with all types of malware in the '00s. In the mobile era, nearly everything is sanitized and sandboxed. The idea of needing to get all your software through a centralized, vendor-controlled app store would be absurd in the '00s. Yet here we are.

commandlinefan 4y ago

CS students are about to get a lot more popular there ("Hey, can you help me set up one of them 'VPN' things?")

seanmcdirmid 4y ago

> High schoolers are used to having VPNs for school I'm pretty sure most college students browse TikTok via their phones using mobile data. I'm not sure many will even notice it is blocked.