UCI Housing Network and Cable TV Issues

I explained here why the router setup instructions from Resnet are wrong.
I now have an idea why they provided such quite frankly braindead instructions: They are getting ready to install a product from Cisco called "Cisco Clean Access" which invades peoples' privacy by requiring a program to run on each Windows PC, scanning the disks. This product does not work through properly set up routers. Instead of scrapping this faulty product, with all its privacy problems, etc., Resnet rather came up with braindead router setup instructions which stop just short of outlawing routers.

Just last week, there have been two flaws in the Cisco Clean Access product reported. The reports are here and here.
The last one is interesting since browsers like Firefox can make use of extensions like this one that allow changes to the User-Agent string.
For IE it is a bit more complicated, but also doable with a little file which sets the User-Agent string to IE on Solaris, a Unix variant from Sun (there in fact is an IE5 for Solaris, I have it on one of my machines.) This file sets IE's User-Agent string back to normal.

The usual disclaimer applies:
I take no responsibility for anything that you may do as a result of reading this blog entry. The contents of this blog entry and the files linked from this entry are provided 'as is' with no warranty.

While this is not directly related to the Cable TV issues, it concerns the same organization within UCI...

Resnet has a webpage with instructions for setting up a wireless router. Unfortunately, the instructions are completely bogus and following them results in many more problems than what they claim to solve. Every ISP in the world gets this right, but Resnet apparently had to invent a way to make their and everybody else's life harder in on-campus housing.
In particular, the Resnet instructions call for connecting a cable from a LAN port to the wall outlet. That should never be done! It results in a lot of problems for everybody on the network and can get people disconnected from the network.
Always connect the WAN port to the wall outlet! For modern routers, that is all that needs to be done. Things like disabling the DHCP server, as Resnet instructs, are not necessary at all, as long as the WAN port is connected to the wall.

Note that it is still necessary to secure the wireless side of the router. This is what the Resnet instructions should focus on...
In short, set a password, change the Access point name to say something other than the default "Linksys" or "Netgear", and use encryption (WEP or the newer WPA, whatever the router supports.)

I have scanned in the printouts of the survey that we (the members of the Cable TV channel lineup group) got from the Housing office.

They are attached here as jpeg images.

Read more »

After yet more TV channel problems yesterday (channels 13 and 40), I got an explanation this morning from Resnet:

Recently DirecTV has been pushing out software updates to our receivers, and
some of them do not restart properly after the update.

Yesterday night, we had outages on several channels, e.g., channel 40, 50, and 56, maybe more, but these are the ones I noticed after being alerted to it by a fellow resident (thanks, Andreas.)
Some of the channels showed a black screen with a DirecTV logo jumping around, like a screensaver.
On at least one channel, the screen showed a text message "Good box gone bad. Can't complete boot process. Please contact customer service."
I haven't had time to check this morning if the problems are resolved yet.
Update: Resnet says the problem is resolved.