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school firewall

D

drumdidly

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 20, 2006
5
0
okay so im new to macs, so i figured asking was my best bet...

the school i am enrolled in has a firewall to block everything practically... and none of the masking sites like vtunnel or browsefromwork will work, yes they're blocked too

i was wondering if there was any way to bypass this security?
i've searched google, but between my apple ignorance and thoughts that the published info was for older systems... i didn't attempt anything

thanks for any responses at all
 
Reply

So I've found a few sites that might help you. But first, are you going through the school's wireless connection or LAN with your mac? Or are you using the school's computer? If you can give me some more information on your connection than I might be able to help. Also, are they using a Proxy to limit your access? What sites can and cannot you get to? Can you or are you trying to use an IM client? And is there any software the school installed to limit your access?

Kevin
 
It's blocked for a reason, so aren't you just better off waiting until you get home so you can do whatever you like on the internet? Then there's no potential of getting yourself into trouble.
 
its a wireless lan, every computer shares the same connection

in order to access the internet i had to accept an agreement... it was the only page that would load when i opened firefox. after i hit accept and put in my student id + password i had to restart the computer. i can access aim, jabber, etc, but no websites like collegehumor.com or gorillamask.net or even vtunnel.com to try to get to them. any time i try this shows up on the page

Error
FW-1 at gateway: Access denied.

another kid who owns a windows machine said his cousin was able to get around it, so its gotta be possible, but i have no idea what to do on a mac.

thanks again everybody

edit: p.s. - theres no software they installed, the only interaction was with that first page and having to reboot
 
Use this link:

http://www.qbit.it/lab/web.php

bookmark that and always browse using that when at school. It's anonymous so unless the school links the webites being browsed to that proxy, and that proxy to you (which will take some brainiac) they will never know it was you ;) .

Make it available offline too, the school might have blocked the homepage. If you have that exact php saved on the hard disk, and it isn't an RM network (by the sounds of things) then that should work. I am in exactly the same situation as you except it's an RM network so they do actually block EVERYTHING (although I can access anyone's documents with a Mac).
 
thanks!

it does work, to a degree -

sometimes that site will pop up as blocked, sometimes it will load. the only problem is that anytime i try to browse a site like collegehumor.com using the qbit proxy thing all of the pictures are removed and the website is just text. also, trying to click on links from the qbit-ed collegehumor.com all load as blocked.

does this happen to you?
 
drumdidly said:
thanks!

it does work, to a degree -

sometimes that site will pop up as blocked, sometimes it will load. the only problem is that anytime i try to browse a site like collegehumor.com using the qbit proxy thing all of the pictures are removed and the website is just text. also, trying to click on links from the qbit-ed collegehumor.com all load as blocked.

does this happen to you?
Click to expand...

It could be if the images are being downloaded on your school and the requests for the page you are trying to display is requested by your proxy.

The easiest way as mentioned is to setup a VPN at your house and connect to that. ;)
 
If you really need to get to those things, consider EV-DO or EDGE connections on your cell phone or PC slot on you mac.

It is going to be a cat and mouse game between you and the IT department. You find way to get over firewall, they block it and you find another way to get over firewall and they block that way.
 
can we keep this technical and not moral?

i am inclined to get around it because not being able to even visit other mac forums is ridiculous. its silly to have to deal with it
 
drumdidly said:
can we keep this technical and not moral?

i am inclined to get around it because not being able to even visit other mac forums is ridiculous. its silly to have to deal with it
Click to expand...
No moral judgements here, buddy.
I repeat: what part of your contract with your school that you agreed to when they agreed to supply bandwidth, don't you understand?
Circumvent at your own risk of being shut off.
 
drumdidly said:
can we keep this technical and not moral?

i am inclined to get around it because not being able to even visit other mac forums is ridiculous. its silly to have to deal with it
Click to expand...

Like it or not, it's both a moral and technical issue.

The technical issue is purely computer-related. Seen all by itself, there's nothing wrong with the question. But nothing exists in a vacuum.

When you actively ignore the terms of a contract and go out of your way to circumvent them, there IS morality/ethics involved, as much as people seem to want to forget that. And when posting on a forum and making it clear you want advice for how to break a contract you've entered into, you gotta expect some people to react.

The limits your school sets may very well be unreasonable, but if you're using their service, you've accepted their terms.
 
There are actually three discussions: technical, moral, and legal.

From cost-benefit analysis, I'd say it's not worth the trouble. Spend the time you're using to circumvent your school's firewall to study and maybe you'll get out faster....
 
regre7 said:
There are actually three discussions: technical, moral, and legal.
Click to expand...

Indeed.

OP, I don't think MacRumors (the forum website) really wants to be partially accountable for you defeating the firewall put in place (right or wrong, it's pointless for us to discuss) by your school.

So really the only 2 discussions that could continue are the moral and legal implications. Otherwise, I see this thread closing really soon.
 
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