Documentation
Conference Computing for Windows XP
Documentation table of contents.
Your UB Conference Account
You will be assigned a conference account, consisting of a UBITName and a corresponding Password, while you are at the University at Buffalo. It is strongly suggested that you change your account Password as soon as possible. To change your Password, direct a web browser to http://ubit.buffalo.edu/ubitname/password/changepw.php and follow the directions. Your UB conference account will only accept Passwords that are not easily identifiable. Passwords must be eight or more characters in length and consist of unusual mixtures of letters and numbers, both upper and lower case, and unusual characters like punctuation marks. Passwords can take up to one hour to reset through the system. It is recommended that you do not log off to test your new Password until you have completed any work in progress.
All account users must follow the Conditions of Use Policy, the UBIT Computer and Network Use Policy, and the OpenPort/ResNet Policy. The policies are available online at http://www.itpolicies.buffalo.edu. Sharing accounts or connections is prohibited. As a conference attendee, you are responsible for all actions performed under your account name or connection.
UB conference accounts do not include a mailbox. You cannot send or receive email from your conference account. You can access another (non-UB) account from your UB conference account by using programs such as SSH or a web-based email program.
Access without a Laptop
If you do not have a laptop with you, you can use a computer in UB's Public Computing Service Areas. Public Computing Service Areas are located in the Lockwood Library second floor Cybrary, the Lockwood Library third floor Cybrary, the Capen UGL first floor Cybrary, the Capen SEL third floor Cybrary, Bell 101 (Linux and Sun workstations only), and Fronczak 408. On South Campus, they are located in the Health Sciences Library. In the Residence Halls, computers are located in 221 Red Jacket (Ellicott Complex), 5 Clinton (Governors Complex), and 128 Clement (South Campus).
Wireless Connections
Note
There is a higher security risk associated with using wireless connections.
To use UBWireless, you must have a wireless network card installed in your machine. The University at Buffalo currently suggests using a Cisco Aironet 350 128-bit encryption wireless network card, as it works best with UB's Wireless Access Points. Users with other cards may not be able to take advantage of future security measures at UB.
For a complete list of Wireless Internet Zones, visit
http://www.cit.buffalo.edu/ubwireless.
Some Wireless Internet Zones are identified by these signs:
Wireless network cards should be installed according to manufacturers' directions. The Service Set Identifier (SSID) should be set to broadcast (blank) whenever possible. If this is not possible, the option Any should be selected. Wireless clients that are not capable of using the broadcast SSID will need to set the SSID to UB_Wireless. Also, WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) should be disabled (it is often enabled by default). The client should be configured for Infrastructure mode (most cards are configured for AdHoc mode by default). Laptops need to be configured with DHCP. Follow the configuration instructions to set up your computer.
Wired Connections
To use OpenPort or ResNet, you need the following:
- A 10/100 Ethernet adapter suitable for your computer
- A category 5 (CAT5) Ethernet cable
ResNet is the physical cabling and support services that make it possible for conference attendees staying in the Residence Halls to use their own personal computers to access computing, library, and academic services directly from their rooms. ResNet data jacks are located in each Residence Hall room. There is one data jack per occupant.
OpenPort is an open access, on-campus network. OpenPort data jacks are located in the Capen Hall Undergraduate Library (UGL), in the first floor Cybrary; in the Capen Hall Science and Engineering Library (SEL), in the third floor Cybrary; and in Lockwood Library, in the second floor Cybrary.
Configuring Your Network Settings
You only need to follow these directions once.
- Right-click on the Taskbar, then select Properties.
- Click the Start Menu tab. Determine
whether your computer is using the Start menu setting, or the Classic Start menu setting.
Note
If you are using an operating system other than Windows XP, contact the CIT Help Desk at (716) 645-3542 for information on how to configure your computer.
- Start menu setting: Click start,
then select Control Panel.
- Classic Start menu setting:
Click start, select Settings,
then Control Panel.
- When the Control Panel opens, it will be configured for either Category View or Classic View. Using the pictures, decide which view it is configured for and follow the respective directions.
- Category View: Click once on Network
and Internet Connections, then click
once on Network Connections.
- Classic View: Double-click
on Network Connections.
- In the Network Connections window, right-click once on the icon representing
your Ethernet or wireless network card, below the label LAN
or High Speed Internet, then left-click Properties.
- In the LAN Properties window that appears, click
once on TCP/IP to highlight it (making
sure that you do not uncheck it), then click Properties.
- In the TCP/IP Properties window that appears,
select Obtain an IP address Automatically
and Obtain DNS server address automatically, then click Advanced.
- Deselect the box for Register
this connection's addresses in DNS.
- Continue clicking OK to accept all changes until you return to the Network Connections window.
Your computer is now properly configured.
Establishing Your Connection
Follow these directions each time you want to connect from ResNet, OpenPort, or UBWireless to the Internet to use software such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, PuTTY, or FileZilla.
- Open a web browser.
- When your web browser first attempts to contact a web page outside of the ResNet or OpenPort domain, you will be presented with a login window.
- If you have connected through the University at Buffalo's ResNet network (any non-wireless, non-public site connection in the Residence Halls), you will need to authenticate your computer through UB NetPass. This is a service that scans all computers attempting to connect to the ResNet network for viruses or other harmful software. The documentation for UB NetPass can be found at
http://wings.buffalo.edu/computing/
Documentation/gen/UBNetPass.html. - Enter your UBITName and Password, then click OK.
If the authentication is successful, your web browser will continue to load the page you originally requested. Otherwise, the web browser will display Access Denied, and you must attempt to re-authenticate with a valid UBITName and Password.
You do not need to sign off of the network once you are finished accessing the Internet.