Accessing the Internet from Monash

Introduction | Authcate | Internet Access | Logs | FTP

Introduction

Why was Mandatory Proxy Authentication implemented?

Accurate account keeping and billing were the major reason behind the change. Mandatory Proxy Authentication enables accurate records of Internet usage to be kept, allowing accurate billing for usage on a departmental basis.

For Example: A student with the Faculty of Engineering who accesses the web from the Science computer labs previously had his or her usage billed to the Faculty of Engineering instead of the Faculty of Science.

Authcate

Are users required to enter their Authcate password whenever an external Internet site is accessed?

No. Internet users using the Monash Proxy Service are prompted to enter their Authcate username/password combination the first time they attempt to load an external web/ftp page only. The username/password combination is stored by the web browser meaning that subsequent authentication will only be required if the user shuts down and restarts their web browser and then attempts to access external sites. Users using the Monash Socks Proxy Service are prompted to enter their Authcate username/password combination the first time they attempt to access any external site.  The username/password combination is stored by the Monash Socks Proxy Service client meaning that subsequent authentication will only be required. Authentication will not be necessary at all within the Monash domain.

How do I get an Authcate account?

All Monash students already have Authcate accounts. If you have lost or forgotten your Authcate password you can have it reset by visiting or phoning the ITS Service Desk on your home campus with your student ID card.

Internet Access

Will Internet access via the Monash Proxy Authentication result in slower performance than direct connections to the internet?

There should be no performance disadvantages in using the Monash Proxy Service or Monash Socks Proxy Service. Accessing popular sites will actually be faster as these are stored in a local cache, eliminating the need for lengthy downloads from remote sites. ITS have implemented a sophisticated failover design which will improve internet access significantly and ensure reliability of the service.

How does external Internet access via the Monash Modem Pool work with MPA?

Student modem accounts are restricted to the Monash domain only and proxy authentication is therefore unnecessary.

Are users browsing the web via SNG, or other Unix machines, able to bypass the Monash Proxy Service only?

No. Blocking will be implemented at the network level forcing all http and ftp requests to go via the proxy servers irrespective of operating system.

Logs

Does Mandatory Proxy Authentication mean that records of sites individual users have visited are kept? If so, who will have access to this information?

Yes. While detailed logs are kept, the information of primary interest to Monash is total Internet usage by students on a faculty-wide basis. Individual usage and content records are only accessible by faculty administrators upon request.

FTP

Will I still be able to ftp files to and from Monash?

Files transfer to and from Monash servers such as SNG, Linux Monash ftp etc while on campus will seem like a direct connection, using standard ftp clients such as ws-ftp and cute-ftp, or ftp via the command line. However, transferring files outside of the Monash domain does require authentication. Unfortunately many of the standard ftp clients are unable to do this however ftp will be possible to external sites using Netscape's graphical ftp interface.

Netscape can be used as an FTP interface to connect in an identified (i.e. non-anonymous) way to an external server. Simply type the FTP address in the location window in the format: ftp://username@host where username is your username on that host eg: ftp://fblo3@sng.its.monash.edu.au. You will then be prompted for your password on that host. Once you connect you will either see your home directory for the host or the top-level of the directory hierarchy for the host (depending on the configuration of the host system). Navigate to the directory you want.

From this point you can either get files (download) or put files (upload).To get files, click on the link for the file you want. To put files, select Upload File... from the File menu. You may need to reload the page to see files in the directory listing once you have uploaded them.