What is Digg?209 Comments
- acceptab1euname, on 10/12/2007, -1/+45A comment I once read on /. a long, long time ago and still enjoy today goes thusly: "Whenever a controversial law is proposed, and its supporters, when confronted with an egregious abuse it would permit, use a phrase along the lines of 'Perhaps in theory, but the law would never be applied in that way' - they're LYING. They intend to use the law that way as early and as often as possible."
This is what brought us DMCA lawsuits over garage door openers, and apparantly this little bit of legal idiocy as well. - theeXguy, on 10/12/2007, -4/+44That's not good at all. But you will see this happen more and more. The Patriot Act and DMCA are far reaching and instill fear when they are mentioned. It is really easy to misuse them, since you only need to mention them to get something done. Anyone can now mention the DMCA or Patriot Act, without a lawyer, and will usually get good results on what he intended to do, whether it's to get someone thrown out of school, or a youtube video taken down.
- bluechips23, on 10/12/2007, -1/+39Well.. That's usually what would happen when the government WE elected end up having MORE power than they really need to have.
- xerigen, on 10/12/2007, -1/+27Isn't that just great? Now the poor kid who had done something pretty harmless will be labeled a terrorist for the rest of his life.
- Sendss, on 10/12/2007, -1/+23It's called revenge. This student made the VP of IS and this crappy software look like the joke that it is and now it's payback time.
- atbnet, on 10/12/2007, -1/+21Careful, he'll probably forward all of the e-mails to the Dept. of Homeland Security
- reconbot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+19This letter to the school president really impressed me.
http://www.mgridley.com/rogueUP/Rogue_Blog/9BD8422D-41DE-4D2B-8ED9-4857FB490BAC.html - jer2eydevil88, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16TERRORIST!!!
back when it was perfigo I figured out a way to fake a login through their linux/mac authentication page... does that make me a terrorist too?
Clean Access NEVER works! If you go to a college where they force that crap on you then you know you NEED a work around most days just to be able to have a normal education..... - scottharmon, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14Contact info for the VP of IS:
http://www.up.edu/dir/directory/showperson.aspx?id=000894665
Fessler, Bryon VP for Information Services
Email: fessler@up.edu
Phone: (503)943-7540 - GQCarrick, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14Absolutely terrible. Seems like with all the power the government has now and all the rights taken away from the average citizen this is turning into something I read before.......oh thats right it was 1984.
- Loonacy, on 10/12/2007, -7/+19@tribalsun
Logged in just to bury you for insinuating that being left wing is reason enough to be dugg down. - vroom101, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12Student suspended for bypassing network security
http://media.www.the-beacon.net/media/storage/paper1193/news/2007/04/05/News/Student.Suspended.For.Bypassing.Network.Security-2826021.shtml - dimension128, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11So as I'm understanding this, there was and still is a problem with this software by Cisco where they do not want to support Linux. They Do not have a login system for Linux machines. So the system just lets you in if you are using Linux. People using windows have been 'pretending' to use Linux, simply to get around the login process for some time. Cisco has been aware of this issue for some time.
This person simply wrote a program that made his machine more effectively 'pretend' to be Linux.
So you could get the same results if you just used linux, and that would be A-Ok. But if you pretend to use Linux, suddenly it is a crime? - motters, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11This isn't terrorism, just bad legislation. Students should be encouraged to test the limits of software systems, and create new software to overcome the limitations of older programs.
- nopal, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10If he were at MIT, he'd probably win an award for his hack. The school is the one who looks the worst in this story, and rightfully so. This kind of abuse of power has no place in higher education.
- Angmar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Here is the link which talks about the Patriot Act.
http://www.mgridley.com/rogueUP/Rogue_Blog/E830C4E1-10A6-40A9-910B-61B64169B0DF.html - Nieton21, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11I thought it was pretty clear when in the title it said "the university of portland" just me though.
- randal2k, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10Portland and Oregon, have a lot to offer... but, it's also full of incredibly stupid and moronic idiots like this fessler jerk.
- futureundead, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9You hit the nail on the head. The university is completely out of line when it says that the guy did anything wrong. Even worse, that university is not alone in its attempt to discipline those who bypass the garbage that is Cisco Clean Access.
- orb9220, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Found his Bio really hard core military type.
Bryon R. Fessler, Vice President for Information Services
http://www.up.edu/up_sub.asp?ctnt=208&mnu=70&chl=125&lvl=1
Also read the letter's to the president. And even the faculty hates him.
- alittle158, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Cisco Clean Access client only runs on Windows machines (at this time). In the way our university has it set up (WSU Pullman), Macs and Linux machines see a web page upon connecting to the network that asks for a username and password. As long as they stay connected to the network (with a 10 minute buffer if they disconnect), they won't see the page again. Pretty painless.
All the agent is doing is ensuring all Windows updates are installed, and whatever anti-virus program that's installed is up-to-date.
This VP of IS needs to take a chill pill - atarix64, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7At the University of Maine you can disable javascript this will force and error you can then view the source of the error page and it gives you a login link therefore bypassing all the virus scan ***** that I never trust.
Not to mention if windows update wants to give you some sort of 0kb update and it never updates properly htf are you sposed to get online.
I bet this will work at many other schools too. - Nighthawke, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6From what I have read, this university has fallen into the IT equivalent of the Dark Ages, fact-finders and secret courts.
All that have attempted to seek knowledge outside the box have been branded as heretics and brought under questionable charges that are frankly illegal by the laws of the land.
Pretty degrees may decorate a wall fine, but where is the knowledge that backs those pieces of parchment?
Questions have been brought up regarding his alleged expertise and his character in general, which need to be answered before anything else.
This IT director is apparently a backer of the DMCA act, which is an oxymoron based upon his field of expertise vs the aforementioned act. - jamiequint, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Actually the VP of information services at our school was a former hacker for the government at the Department of Defense, so I would hope he could recognize C++.
Maybe you shouldn't be so quick to judge, go be a troll somewhere else. - MrUnderbridge, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8I think he didn't see this as researching exploits but rather finding a workaround.
- jer2eydevil88, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Doing something this unamerican would have at one time gotten you fired as well... the Patriot act is *****...
- jer2eydevil88, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I guess Clean Access is more diliked than I imagined... maybe its time to release a workaround under the gpl... like I wish this guy had done.
- ZPWeeks, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@bryan986
Doesn't work any more. Now they analyze packets to determine what your OS is. You can screw with your own TCP settings, but that takes WAY more effort than spoofing your user agent. - jihadjohnson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Where can i get said program?
- nemoder, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5This guy doesn't look like he's about to admit any mistakes, perhaps sending complaints to his boss would work better..
- CaptainMcCrank, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4These kids are getting a great taste of what far too many information security professionals act like. I'm embarrassed by my community. These scumbags get too far by behaving like every time technology is used it will result in:
1) Theft of Service
2) Criminal Activities
3) Loss of Privacy
Someday they all get held accountable. Sounds like Mr Fessler's day will come too. - eyreka, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5 -- more than a bit extreme but I do have to agree with the sentiment!
- jamiequint, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4The college is no more legally responsible for what its students download than Comcast is responsible for what I download at home.
"We are not going to require a certain AV software as the client supports multiple AV products."
I applaud this, we are forced to use Norton Antivirus, more options are always better. - godzilla808, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4 "maintaining the integrity and USABILITY of the network requires ensuring that computers are patched and scanned."
If the goal is ensuring patches are applied and anti-virus is installed and working correctly, then relying on obviously flawed software is not the way to achieve that goal. (The phrase, "False sense of security" comes to mind.) This kid could use a couple lessons on how to bring a vulnerability to the attention of those who can do something about it, but he's a fricken student! He should be expected to make mistakes. In fact, he should be *encouraged* to make mistakes.
If I were planning on pursuing an technology related degree at University of Portland, this whole situation would definitely give me reason to seek my education elsewhere. - joensmitty, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5As an employee under Fessler's reign, I know first hand the character (or lack thereof) and tactics of this iron-fisted charlatan. I am appalled that the university administration took this monster at face value, allowing themselves to be seduced by the inflated lies of this charismatic phony without ever verifying his preposterous claims of experience. Anyone with any sort of technical sense would know this blow hard was faking his way through life and snowing his non-technical superiors after spending any amount of time discussing anything technical with him. Fessler's only concern is bolstering his six+ digit salary and keeping people who see through his flimsy facade from exposing him for what his truly is, an evil lier. His heavy handed ex-military tactics towards the students, staff, and faculty will forever tarnish the reputation of this “religious” institution. This trumped up charge against a student is simply retaliation for embarrassing Fessler for a system he sold to the administration as panacea. That's my opinion. I hope this student takes legal action against the university and wins.
Want to help, digg this story. - acceleriter, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6It's a losing battle. The petty eye-tee tyrants scared the administration by calling the student a security threat, and composing a nice bulleted document full of doubletalk and jargon. The people who should be overriding the martinets in charge of "securing the university's mission-critical network and computing infrastructure" or somesuch ***** found it more expedient to allow them run roughshod over a student who made them look like morons--which is the real crime for which he was punished. And that's something both the losers in eye-tee and the administrators at UP can get behind.
- Uranium118, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5America: Land of Freedom
- mmmgridley, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4well, i would like to clear a few things up. the blog that i started was to simply show what has happened on this university's campus with regards to the network updates and more specifically, the CCA Rogue Agent dilemma. any comments i have made about any administrative authority on the campus, Bryon Fessler included, are what i have been told by other students and professors. i have no proof of my comments. the only proof i have of anything is what is written in the letters posted on my site from the administrative figures. i am not trying to slander anyone. everything posted is intended to show the view that i, as a student, perceive. this view is also shared by several other students i know. i am disgruntled about the whole situation and do feel things were taken WAY out of perspective, especially when it comes to the punishments administered. i am not happy with some of the decisions the IS department has made with regards to the network, especially what has been done to the engineering computer labs. i also know that some of the engineering administration was involved as well and i am also not happy with them. i have seen this school get worse and worse as i have been here and i will never again recommend it to anyone. i just wish things could be different and i just want people to see the "students" perspective on things.
- williamdyer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I think xswag is Byron Fessler...
...watching his career swirl in the toilet bowl. - williamdyer, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4No it isn't a losing battle. Get enough pissed-off students together, and Byron Fessler's career is toast. An idiot like that CAN be driven out of his job
- adub666, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3wow. shame on UP for putting the priorities of their chief toner cartridge changer over that of their paying students! there is some good that has come out of this though, thanks to digg, now hundreds of thousands of saavy and high achieving prospectives will know to avoid this school!
- jamiequint, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I don't think the President's email is read by Fessler, I wouldn't be surprised if he did actually respond to you and deny everything. He denied that they block all torrents, but strangely I can't download any when I am on campus, and when I get home I can.
They have also been known to block Wireless Access Points on campus and fine students for having them, although they have at times accidentally blocked Wireless APs off campus (which they deny, but strangely after they are emailed a complaint the APs start working again) and have been reported to the FCC for doing so (although nothing has been done about it)
The commitee you are talking about almost never met with the Faculty (an no students were involved) Paul Erdmann, the most prominent person you see mentioned there, is basically a lackey of Bryon Fessler.
All of the faculty here are willing to speak about this matter in private, but are afraid to speak in public for fear of retribution. They will go as far as to complain about it in class, but will never go on the record. - ntchance, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4rumor is ssh and putty are a little too advanced for Fessler...
quote from him: "the black screen freaks me out"
Fessler's EDUCASE bio:
http://www.educause.edu/content.asp?page_id=750&ID=126592&bhcp=1
Bryon Fessler assumed the position of Chief Information Officer at the University of Portland in February 2004 with responsibility and authority for University-wide telecommunications and computing. He has 20 years of experience in information technology and has served in several key line and staff positions in the command, control, communications, computers, and information arena including assignments as Information Warfare Officer, Information Systems Analyst, Information Architect, Political/Military Affairs Advisor, and Commander. Bryon has two bachelor degrees and three master degrees in information technology-related fields. The Air Force invested over six million dollars training him to be a computer hacker for the good guys. He was routinely called upon to assist the CIA, FBI, and Departments of State, Justice, and Defense in high-profile computer criminal cases. While assigned to the Pentagon with the Office of the Secretary of Defense, he co-authored the first-ever Air Force Information Resource Management strategic plan. He is a recipient of the Vice President’s Hammer Award for saving the Department of Defense $27 billion over a seven year period and the General Services Administration award for end-user excellence. He also authored the distance learning architecture for the Air force. Bryon has deployed to over 34 countries, including Bosnia where he helped forge the Dayton Peace Agreement and coordinated the execution and deployment orders for 10,000 active and reserve ground, naval, and air force personnel. Prior to assuming his current position, Bryon was the Commandant of Cadets and assistant professor of aerospace studies at AFROTC Detachment 695.
Does it sound a tad embellished to anyone else?? - p2pintel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Just sent Bryon an email on how he justifies his action of blocking legal p2p downloads while i found interesting that back in 1994 he was with Nibbles & Bits Software in Washington and held ASP Membership in Trade Organizations and Promotion of Shareware Industry. Unless that is another Bryon Fessler :P
- brandonpearsall, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3As you can see per the acceptable use policy, the student never broke any rules. As a EE, and a computer guru, I would never install CCA on my computer, it is spyware. Also, CCA requires Norton Anti-Virus. This is a very flawed virus scanner. In more than one occasion, I have installed a different virus scanner on friends computers, such as avast or avg, and have found multiple viruses, usually trojans. If a student is smart enough to bypass CCA, then they are definitely not a security threat to the network. Again, I repeat the fact that no rules or laws were broken with his software.
- localzuk, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Sorry but I wish people like you would shut up and stop going on about blog spam. When an injustice occurs the best way to deal with it is to publicise it as wide as possible. It doesn't matter if it is his site or not, the message is what is important.
When I was prosecuted by my university for filming a protest at a conference in the UK a supporters group was set up which publicised our case as wide as possible, involving national media, international academics and politicians across the country - that included posting links to their own site on news sites such as this one. I say good on him for spreading the word. The only way to get the message through to a university is to hit them where it hurts - their image and their finances. My uni dropped in its desirability after our prosecution due to the advertising campaign. Other uni's, hopefully will take note. - fessler, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Matthew Gridley, the author of this Digg, asserts that the Vice President for Information Services at the University of Portland used the Patriot Act against several students. That is simply not the case. The facts of Matthew’s, and other student’s actions, were turned over to the Office of Residence Life at the University. That Office handles the collection of data, the presence of both direct and character witnesses and the process of judicial hearings. There is a formal appeal process granted to every student and it is outlined in the student handbook. The disciplining of students is considered in the context of the rights and privileges of belonging to the University community. Confronting students about behavior that violates law or policy is thought of primarily as educative and secondarily as punitive. I am aware that some of the issues related to this case are being aired in public. I am also aware, having full knowledge of the facts in this case, that in both the student media and the posting of issues related to this case that the facts are incomplete and thus grossly skew the public discussion. However, I am bound by law and professional ethics such that I am not able to comment on the specifics of this case, even if to defend my character.
Bryon Fessler
Vice President for Information Services
University of Portland - faskill, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I always thought terrorism was the act of instilling fear in others, not finding feasible workarounds that may or may not go against current legislation.
When looking at the definition of terrorism, it kind of puts this into perspective. - jamiequint, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3It may help if you send an email to beauchamp@up.edu - Fr. Bill Beauchamp is the President of the University, I'm pretty sure that by this point sending email to Bryon Fessler is pretty useless.
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