View Full Version : College Download Restrictions
nickfo
09-01-2008, 12:18 PM
So i just moved into college a few days ago and like every saturday i got my daily download of tekzilla. However, the next day when i checked my e-mail, i got a notice from my college stating that since i downloaded the show, i used over 1/4 of my download availability which is 4096 mb per week. How can i still get my weekly revision3 fix without getting kicked of my college network?
masherscf
09-01-2008, 12:27 PM
So i just moved into college a few days ago and like every saturday i got my daily download of tekzilla. However, the next day when i checked my e-mail, i got a notice from my college stating that since i downloaded the show, i used over 1/4 of my download availability which is 4096 mb per week. How can i still get my weekly revision3 fix without getting kicked of my college network?
Try downloading a lower resolution version.
nickfo
09-01-2008, 12:27 PM
say if i play an internet game such as WoW, will my downloaded usage go up even more?
masherscf
09-01-2008, 12:32 PM
say if i play an internet game such as WoW, will my downloaded usage go up even more?
That's an interesting question. How much bandwidth does WoW use? Certainly, not as much as video.
nickfo
09-01-2008, 12:47 PM
according to http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/archive/index.php/t-25072.html , WoW uses about 3 - 10 mb / hr
masherscf
09-01-2008, 12:52 PM
according to http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/archive/index.php/t-25072.html , WoW uses about 3 - 10 mb / hr
That doesn't sound too bad. Afterall, you're in college. You should have that much time for WoW anyway. You could play WoW 24/7 and not use half your bandwidth.
burkhartmj
09-01-2008, 05:59 PM
Where's the college? Have you looked for any places with free [non-school] wifi around campus? At VCU, they throttle it back whenever a lot of data is coming through your computer rather than setting a definite cap, so I just had a habit of going to a local coffee shop that had free wifi and got things like the Rev3 shows from there.
straylightrise
09-02-2008, 06:37 AM
down with Fascist caps/throttles! DAMN THE MAN!
down with Fascist caps/throttles! DAMN THE MAN!
is there any reason you can't have your own broadband just because you live in the dorm
sure you'd pay for it but i would in a heartbeat
ckrieger
09-03-2008, 12:35 AM
Is your bandwidth monitored by MAC address? If so, try cloning the MAC address of someone who you dislike a little bit onto your machine and use their bandwidth to download your precious Tekzilla!! :D
gimpbully
09-03-2008, 05:04 AM
likely by port (which is likely conveniently locked away in a switch closet). The way I tended to work around protocol blocks in college was getting access to a machine on a completely different network (say at work or a friend's work... or a friend's house, etc) and do all my downloading via that machine and scp'ing them in. This worked for quite a while but I don't know that it would these days. There tend to be QOS appliances that do odd heuristics based on raw traffic instead of pure limits on protocols (this allows limiting of the worst offenders and negates the need to constantly update your protocol definitions. Also, it allows you to rate-limit encrypted protocols or common protocols on sub-standard ports (ftp running on 3847 or something).
All that said.. you're in a really tight spot if they're capping you at 4GB (you meant big "B", right...?). They're likely doing it by port and you just can't get around that. Have you thought of getting a big honkin' thumbdrive and using a campus lab or something? Sure, you'd likely be limited to http downloads, but at least you can get all the content from our fine company you'd like. Out of curiosity, what Uni?
Is your bandwidth monitored by MAC address? If so, try cloning the MAC address of someone who you dislike a little bit onto your machine and use their bandwidth to download your precious Tekzilla!! :D
ckrieger
09-03-2008, 10:34 AM
Are you sure it's by port? I know a lot of colleges that make you register your MAC address before you get on their network specifically for bandwidth capping purposes.
gimpbully
09-03-2008, 04:31 PM
Any college worth it's weight :P
Honestly, yes, MACs are commonly used more for DHCP and record-keeping and quick IP/machine matching. Best example: college gets a DMCA complaint. They litterally say, "IP blah.blah downloaded the file [l337]-Moviesruuule.avi, please take the apropriate actions based on your acceptable use policy". From there it's a simple ARP lookup or, at worst, DHCP log check. Uni networks have tended to stay away from MAC based caps because
a) wireless is becoming commonplace and needs DHCP to function in a coherent manner (having a registered MAC lets you on to the network, very basic authentication)
b) like you mentioned, a MAC is way too easy to fake.
Are you sure it's by port? I know a lot of colleges that make you register your MAC address before you get on their network specifically for bandwidth capping purposes.