Internet Access

Overview

The Boston University British Programes provides high quality cable and wireless Internet access to any students or visitors staying in our residences, Manson Place, Queen's Gate, Sorbonne, Crofton or Lexham and to the Main Building at 43 Harrington Gardens.

Our IT Infrastructure is completely owned, managed and maintained by us so we are able to provide you with high speed Internet.

We have in place an internal monitoring system that allows us to have 24/7/356 live view of any aspect of our IT resources in addition to good and friendly IT support. You are in safe hands!

Cable Internet

You can connect from any of our residences using a standard Internet Cable. These currently include - Manson Place, Queen's Gate, Sorbonne, Crofton and Lexham Gardens.

We are happy to confirm that any personal laptops regardless of the OS (Windows/Mac/Unix) will be fully compatible with our routers. Before you connect just make sure that your adapter can obtain an IP address using DHCP. If you are unsure about this please visit the IT Office or use our support resources at BU IT Support website.

Wireless Internet

All our residences and main building are covered with wireless Internet connection. At the time of writing we have approximately 93% coverage and are in a constant process of upgrade and improvement. To use our wireless network you need to activate your account by visiting the BU IT Support website. You will receive a conformation email with your username and password and simple instructions on how to connect. Any wireless device should be able to connect as long as it is Wi-Fi compliant. Current wireless connection speed is 54Mbps; however, this can vary depending on your equipment and reception area. You can use the same username and password anywhere within BUBP coverage and this currently includes:

Manson Place , Queen's Gate, Sorbonne, Crofton, Lexham Gardens and 43 Harrington Gardens.

Viruses & Security

We are very security aware and require all our users to comply by certain rules and regulations. These measures are taken for the benefit of everyone using our networks and to ensure flawless and smooth delivery of our services. Before using our networks, cable or wireless, with Windows systems you are required to have

• Fully updated and installed Anti-virus software;
• Fully updated and installed Anti-spyware software;
• Enabled your firewall;
• Kept your Windows system up-to-date with any security patches from Microsoft.

If you are using UNIX or Mac Operating Systems we will require you to take any precautions that will be equivalent of the above 4 points. Although currently we are not aware of any viruses for Mac OS X or UNIX there are ways and methods that can threaten the security of these Operating Systems.

If you are not sure how to do this please visit the IT Office where we will be happy to help you and show how to secure your OS.

We can provide you with 30-days free Anti-virus/ Anti-spyware/ Firewall/ traffic-management. It is our goal to help our users and point them in the right direction so they can develop good habits and healthy practices and better understand their Security.

Email

In almost all cases using email is not a problem. Any web based email will work immediately. If you use any locally installed Mail client Outlook, Eudora, etc. please make sure that your service provider will allow you to relay your emails from our IP address range. We will help you with everything we can, however ultimately the e-mail services are provided from the Company/ Institution that has supplied you with the e-mail and they are the ones responsible for maintenance and troubleshooting.

Firewall

All our networks use commercial grade firewall and traffic management. In 98% of the cases you will not see any difference and be able to fully enjoy your Internet experience. To see the open ports and service at any residence please check the IT Sign attached onto or near your door. Currently we don't allow any web cams due to the large amount of traffic generated. If there are any other communication services that the firewall is disrupting we do have options and will do our best to explore them for you to find a workable solution. For full information get in touch with the IT Office, which you can do by booking an appointment or coming to the office.

VPN

In some rare occasions your organisation may ask you to use VPN for increased security or to access internal information. In some cases, depending on the VPN Software, you may not be able to connect despite the fact that all necessary ports and protocols are open on our routers. Unfortunately we can not guarantee that we will be able to provide you with this service as this depends entirely on the software you are using. Please get in touch and we will do our best to point you in the right direction or provide you with alternative help.

Proxy

You can configure your browser to use external proxy to allow access to other institutions or resources. Please make sure that you have all relevant information. As usual we are here to help should you need us.

VoIP

Yes we are VoIP Friendly. If you use Skype you should be able to connect immediately. However in instances where your VoIP provider will use different ports you will not be able to connect. Example Vonage services are unavailable at the present. You can always use VoIP using standard IM programs such as AOL, etc.

Computer Labs

Currently we have two Labs, Lab A and Lab B, consisting of 26 HP computers. At the time of writing current applications installed in our labs are

• Windows XP SP2 Operating System;
• Office Professional SP2 which includes
• Word;
• Excel;
• PowerPoint;
• Access;
• Publisher.

Our Security software is updated 3 times per day and stops any viruses or spyware and the like so you are protected at all times.

We have 2 B&W Printers and 1 Colour Printer. Please note that we use a dedicated commercial grade printing system that in addition to the high volume printers is a guarantee for quality and reliability. You will need your Student ID to print as it contains a micro-chip with your printing access. To arrange a demonstration please contact the IT Office.

You can also book Lab B for personal use. Please visit the BU IT Support website and fill in the relevant form.

Bringing your own wireless routers or other devices

Unfortunately we do not allow our students to connect any other equipment like wireless routers or any other IP devices other than their laptops to our networks. If you are found in violation of this rule we will remove your device without prior warning and keep it in secure storage until your departure day.

IT Services

The IT Department at BUBP is always happy to help and provide free support to anyone currently enrolled on BUBP programs or affiliated with them. Our dedicated IT support pages are available where you can find many answers and additional IT Information.

To ensure the security and integrity of the BUBP network please ask for advise about

• Virus and Spyware removal;
• Firewall settings.

For problems with data recovery and hardware repair please contact your laptop supplier.

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