Protecting myself on a college network

"What is the best way to protect yourself at college on a college network? I am going to have a NAS, set up there too and what is the best way to protect as much as possible? Unfortunately, my college does not allow routers, so that is out." - David Bruns

Basic Information:

• He says they check the rooms (that's how they know if he has a router)

Why are they doing this?

1. They need to control the devices on their network
2. They need to NOT have rogue Wi-Fi APs that congest the airwaves
3. They need to know WHO has done something unauthorized on their network

HOW are they doing this?

1. Scanning for Wi-Fi APs (even hidden ones) - Possibly running deauth attacks on any non-auth AP
2. Most likely, they're also looking at MAC addresses to see if he's using a device registered from a router manufacturer.
3. Traffic inspection: If a single IP (through a NAT) has more active connections than can be expected from a single device, they can escalate your connection to an "inspect the room" search

So... we have two challenges:

1. Don't let them DETECT that you're using a router.
2. Don't let them SEE that you're using a router

Basic Precautions:

1. Turn off the Wi-Fi (Sorry... I know it's inconvenient, but it's a dead giveaway
2. Close ALL ports (Don't let them enumerate your router... otherwise you TELL them you have a router)
3. No external access of your NAS (this is a dead giveaway)
4. Limit multi-device throughput

Advanced Precautions:

• Cloning your MAC address​

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Hosts: Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ and Jason Howell

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