FIREWALL

The University has seen a marked increase in the number of attacks on campus networks and servers over the past year and our College has not been immune to this threat. In recognition of this continuing threat, we are collaborating with the central computing unit to establish a higher level of security to College level computing resources by implementing a network firewall to thwart attacks from the public Internet. We do not expect you will experience problems related to these changes but want to make sure you are informed.

Implementing a firewall:

1) During January BSS Computing in cooperation with the SFSU Division of Information Technology will implement a network firewall to enhance the security of College of BSS computers. What this means is that certain types of Internet traffic will be blocked before reaching the campus network. While the effects of this change should be largely transparent, it is possible that you could experience issues with certain network enabled applications when on or off campus. If you use the Microsoft remote desktop (RDP) feature to connect to your campus computer from home, you will now need to first establish a VPN (virtual private network) connection to the campus before initiating your remote desktop connection. For details and documentation on installing and using the VPN, please contact the BSS Helpdesk (bsshelp@sfsu.edu or 338-6793).

UPDATE September 2006:

Planning is underway to implement a network firewall for the Science building in September 2006. As with the HSS building firewall, the impact to college staff, faculty, and studnets should be largely transparent. If you experience any network issues or have any questions, please contact the BSS Helpdesk (bsshelp@sfsu.edu or 338-6793).

regards,
Andrew Roderick