2008-10-07, 08:21 PM
[SIZE="2"]I got hired around six months ago to help run the computer labs. It's the easiest job within our hired computing staff and requires no knowledge in programming or hardware. All you need to know is basic computer tasks, have some familiarity with using Macs and Windows, and how to work with the printers on-campus.
This year we recently got rid of a policy where students would have to run a program that would check your computer for anti-viruses before the user would be able to access the internet via ethernet chord connection. The reason was because the anti-virus program cost too much time (there would be a lot of callers), too much space (it stored a basic log of every user's file list), and we needed to hire computer specialists outside in order to deal with some of the issues coming up.
During one of my main training sessions, (yes I received lots and lots of training to compensate for my computer illiteracy) my supervisors emphasized an important unwritten rule. If we ever saw a user who had child abuse, child rape, or child pornography pictures within their system file when we checked it, we should call the FBI/cops immediately. The way our computer logging system works, when a user asks us for any service, they provide us with their computer I.D. that they make up. The user is protected because our computer system requires a user to enter their Computer I.D. and their password.
With their computer I.D. alone we are able to access where they live, how many times they've moved around campus, their MAC address, their IP address, and their bandwidth usage. The user can also ask for us to check their computer for viruses or fix their computer in emergency cases. Also if they can't connect to the internet because of a broken jack in the wall, we must fix it. During these cases, we often times check on their computer first for any silly mistakes they might have made such as not enabling the right iPV connection and so forth. If we accidentally catch a glimpse of a folder that might be labeled, "child pornography" then we do not only have a right to report it but could also be fired and incriminated if down the road another consultant finds out that we didn't address the issue.
In short, internet connection in your dorm via ethernet is seen as a privilege. The interesting part is that we used to keep logs stored in our database during the anti-virus checks for every user. No would actually bother to look through hundreds of thousands of logs to hand-cuff someone and ship them off to the police department, but is was surprising to know that my sense of privacy was a pseudo-illusion.
The main point of this thread is whether or not as citizens we have a right to privacy. Another point is to address whether or not child pornography is an absolute evil that must be punished. Our supervisors never addressed that we should call the cops on "adult" male/female pornography that depicted bondage, abuse, ect.[/SIZE]
[SIZE="2"]Out of courtesy to yourself, please open up this spoiler after you have posted your initial feelings. After you read this post, you may post again with your revised feelings.[/SIZE]
[SIZE="2"]Thanks for reading.[/SIZE]
This year we recently got rid of a policy where students would have to run a program that would check your computer for anti-viruses before the user would be able to access the internet via ethernet chord connection. The reason was because the anti-virus program cost too much time (there would be a lot of callers), too much space (it stored a basic log of every user's file list), and we needed to hire computer specialists outside in order to deal with some of the issues coming up.
During one of my main training sessions, (yes I received lots and lots of training to compensate for my computer illiteracy) my supervisors emphasized an important unwritten rule. If we ever saw a user who had child abuse, child rape, or child pornography pictures within their system file when we checked it, we should call the FBI/cops immediately. The way our computer logging system works, when a user asks us for any service, they provide us with their computer I.D. that they make up. The user is protected because our computer system requires a user to enter their Computer I.D. and their password.
With their computer I.D. alone we are able to access where they live, how many times they've moved around campus, their MAC address, their IP address, and their bandwidth usage. The user can also ask for us to check their computer for viruses or fix their computer in emergency cases. Also if they can't connect to the internet because of a broken jack in the wall, we must fix it. During these cases, we often times check on their computer first for any silly mistakes they might have made such as not enabling the right iPV connection and so forth. If we accidentally catch a glimpse of a folder that might be labeled, "child pornography" then we do not only have a right to report it but could also be fired and incriminated if down the road another consultant finds out that we didn't address the issue.
In short, internet connection in your dorm via ethernet is seen as a privilege. The interesting part is that we used to keep logs stored in our database during the anti-virus checks for every user. No would actually bother to look through hundreds of thousands of logs to hand-cuff someone and ship them off to the police department, but is was surprising to know that my sense of privacy was a pseudo-illusion.
The main point of this thread is whether or not as citizens we have a right to privacy. Another point is to address whether or not child pornography is an absolute evil that must be punished. Our supervisors never addressed that we should call the cops on "adult" male/female pornography that depicted bondage, abuse, ect.[/SIZE]
[SIZE="2"]Out of courtesy to yourself, please open up this spoiler after you have posted your initial feelings. After you read this post, you may post again with your revised feelings.[/SIZE]
Spoiler
[SIZE="2"]Thanks for reading.[/SIZE]