Does anyone know if getting a VPN allows you to bypass whatever restriction UCSD has on ~certain~ websites? (I can’t afford ESPN unfortunately so don’t get any ideas lol)
I’m considering getting a VPN so I can use it on all of my devices here while using the UCSD wifi but I just wanted to know first and foremost if that’s possible?
Just use Spectrum U. There’s an app for it and a site you can log into. Live TV, on demand TV all in browser. People who live on campus can just use it.
Also I don’t think we block any sites… But if a company finds out you’re using an illegal site and send us an email (same process if you get caught for using illegal sites on a personal network, your isp gets an email and has to take action) then there are some consequences. You can see these in the Acceptable Use Policy.
Wait the WiFi blocks illegal streams. Guess I’m fucked
wait what do all the UCs have this
People used to get flagged a lot when GoT was airing, right? Has reported pirating gone down since then?
I can’t think of any, but don’t do it since if the company catches you then it becomes our responsibility to deal with it. We’ll base our actions on the Acceptable Use Policy.
Just use Spectrum U instead. Log in with your UCSD Account and get access to live and on demand TV. Even had HBO last I checked.
UCSD, as far as I am aware (as a UCSD ITS employee who deals with networking issues all the time and runs this account) does not block any sites. Just don’t do anything illegal on the network and follow the Acceptable Use Policy and you’ll be fine. We don’t care too much as long as it’s legal and doesn’t impact others.
Yeah, HBO was pretty aggressive about catching people and GOT was just super popular so we would get sent Cease and Desist emails every time a new episode released.
We still are receiving Cease and Desists for other properties though (a lot of the time now people are illegally downloading stuff while connected to the UCSD VPN, which means we get the C&D instead of their home ISP). It really depends, there’s not a super strong pattern.
Thanks for the reply! I really wasn’t expecting one. That’s interesting students are using a VPN for download. Are C&Ds sent only if it’s downloaded content? Does streamed content not get flagged the same way?
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Of course, we’re happy to share! So yeah, a lot of the times the students are forgetting that they’re on the VPN or not realizing that their torrenting app is still being seeded. UCSD doesn’t do any flagging or anything also, we only take action if we’ve received a Cease and Desist or a Subpoena.
C&Ds can be sent for any illegal content, but it’s sort of up to the company that owns the intellectual property to send them. For streaming sites, typically they’re operating illegally in countries with weak takedown systems so it can be hard for companies to take action. Meanwhile, a torrent basically has a list of the IP addresses accessing it built in, so companies can basically torrent their own content and see who else is downloading it. Once they get the IP addresses, they just basically search for who owns it (typically an ISP like Spectrum, Comcast, and yes, UCSD). If UCSD owns the IP we get an email with the details telling us to make the user Cease and Desist.
Streaming content can be tougher for companies to know who’s accessing, which is why it’s typically torrents that they go after. Of course, torrents are also much harder to take down (they’re effectively impossible to take down, unlike a single website) and require basically no infrastructure so that’s why they’re more widely used for illegal content.