AUSCC

Schools normally have restrictions set up to keep students, teachers or passers-by from entering their network and visiting particular websites. The primary purpose for blocking websites, mainly those for social networking is to control the amount of activity on the network and improve overall efficiency.

Though in many cases the schools have more than adequate bandwidth to permit every student to all together go on the internet, the restrictions might have been put in place many years prior and may not have been updated since. Therefore here are a few tips to assist you to get onto a social network such as MySpace and at least check for new messages from friends and family while at school.

How To Get On MySpace At School

Required Tools

Internet access

Proxy software

Alternate internet access

Thumb drive

Required Materials

A PC or a laptop

A network cable

A network outlet

Wireless access

Instructions

If you do not have normal internet access at your school and see that quite a few different websites are blocked then you will initially need to locate some alternate internet access by going to an internet cafe or by some alternate way. You will have to look for and download a free or a paid proxy tool which you will take back to your school with the thumb drive, or copy the file to your PC or laptop with the thumb drive. A really well reviewed paid selection can be found at http://www.hide-my-ip.com however, while free avenues exist, some persons may have difficulty setting up the free application depending on their level of computer skills.

Assuming that you own a PC or desktop with internet access at your school, you perhaps get online in your dormitory where your PC or desktop is connected through a network cable to a network outlet which joins you to the school’s network and finally the internet, or you connect by visiting the computer lab. If you do not have a PC or desktop your laptop might be able to connect to the internet via the same means as the desktop or through wireless connections if your school allows internet access through that method.

Next you will copy the program to your PC or laptop and set it up. Once setup the application will supply you with access to any site you want as long as the proxy server you are connected to will work with your school’s network. From here accessing MySpace is as easy as putting the address into your browser and pressing ENTER on your keyboard.

Tips and Warnings

Periodically there are persons who monitor the network and if it is found that you are not accessing the internet via regular procedures then the proxy servers you utilize may be blocked or you might be asked about your activities. In order to avoid this you should only use the program when accessing MySpace and utilize the normal internet connection for all other activities.

If your school is not very stringent on accessing different websites but specifically the social networking sites are blocked, you might want to look into free web-based proxy servers such as the colorfully named www.hidemyass.com. Other free sites exist online that you may utilize, but in the occasion that these are blocked then a proxy application is your only avenue.

If web-proxy sites are utilized and visited too frequent then individuals who monitor the network might once more pressure you for reasons for why you are using other means to circumvent the network restrictions. As with all other security enabled networks one should be very careful in their choice to visit sites that are not allowed, and if you are really unclear of what to do your best bet is to wait till you are home or at an internet cafe.

Now that you have learned how to get on MySpace at school, remember that it should be used ethically.