Network problem; help a young man from being falsely accused. 3

[rexburg]

I have a problem that I need an answer to before Tuesday the 14th. My nephew is in his first year of high school and has been accused of downloading inappropriate material on one of the computers in his Photoshop class. I realize that boys will be boys, but this kid is way to afraid of getting into trouble, I mean he is 15 and still his walls are covered with pokemon posters.
The proof that they have is Internet Explorer history file; as far as I know they its only one page, it was a search on a Japanese google image page. I have been to this page and there are only three nude images on it. My question is, could some other student access the Internet via the room network? And should all the information be on the server? I would really appreciate and theories on this matter, this is a really good kid and I don’t wont to see him pay for something he did not do. I am quite computer literate but networks and servers are not my forte. I have a meeting with his teachers and the computer tech that is accusing him; so any ammo I could get would be greatly appreciated. I am basically looking for defense material to keep him from being suspended.
One last question, should everything that was viewed on his machine via the internet be on the school server?

Thanks,
Rex
rex@ntldesign.com

 

[harebrain]

One more thing. Let this be a lesson: teach your nephew how to clean out his IE history and cache every day before he logs out of the school computers.

 

[KornGeek]

Just to add my 2 cents (based on my experience):

1) Let's be honest. Your nephew was most likely sitting at that computer at the time that the content was viewed/downloaded. It's often difficult to admit it, but our little angels are human too.

2) He had no business searching for "skank" on school computers during class. Even if he was searching for a rock band, that is no excuse.
2a) He should only have been using the computer for class-related activities. This is similar to an adult in the workforce visiting these sites during work hours on a company computer. In the workforce, this can cost you your job.
2b) If he is reasonably intelligent, he should have known what types of things "skank" is likely to bring up. It is often used as a derogatory term somewhat equivalent to "slut." That indicates certain content that is likely to appear, even if it wasn't the main target of the search.

3) If he downloaded the pictures to the computer, he's pretty much hosed. It's time for him to take his lumps. If he merely accessed the site, you might want to try arguing that he did not expect that content.

No matter what happened, it sounds like he was doing something he shouldn't and got busted for it. He will most likely get suspended, but it's not the end of the world. I think taking him to the movies would send the wrong message. Instead, let him work on homework, chores, etc. It should not be treated like a vacation.

It's good to back kids up when they are innocent, but it's not good for anyone to back them up blindly and insist that they are innocent when they have done something wrong. As I mentioned, in the workplace this could cost him a job. Don't send him the wrong message.

 

[craigsboyd]

harebrain,

That last post about the nephew clearing his history and deleting the cache made me smile and think &quot;You know I like the way this harebrain thinks, he's not so harebrain afterall&quot; <- let's just hope that that kind of action isn't against school policy as well or this poor kid will have 2 strikes against him before he's even grown facial hair.

Slighthaze = NULL

[ul][li]FAQ184-2483
An excellent guide to getting a fast and accurate response to your questions in this forum.[/li][/ul]

 

[Provogeek]

I question the &quot;proof&quot;. You say the &quot;proof&quot; is the IE History file. What brought this to their attention in the first place? Does the school have a policy in place that the teacher must sit down at each computer and scan the history of IE after each use? or at the end of each day? Does the schools tech scan the history of IE? Does the school use a network managment product that does this type of scan? if so, why did the history scan find it and not the content filter? Did the teacher see him viewing the page? Did another student see him viewing the page and nark on him?

It's a Photoshop class, and there could be good reason to be searching for the word Skank. AS you found, most hits turned out to be for a rock group or a Britney Spears hate group. Both the US and the Japanese sites will produce the same results. Think about what kind of program Photoshop is. You edit photos, you don't produce them. So your nephew had a project and wanted to to edit a photo of a rock band. You arn't going to find the &quot;right&quot; photo to start with on the first few hits, you have to go through a few of the search hits to find the &quot;right&quot; photo for the class project. Oops, darn, the kid found a porn site. Tell him to be more careful and move on, he shouldn't be diciplined for an common mistake.

Also you say the teacher showed my nephew the printout of the google page; it contained three images of nude women. Last I checked, google does not show images. If the school can not prove this issue, I would ask why the teacher thought it was okay to show a minor porographic material with out parental concent.

If the school would like to show the students more porn, they can do a search on warez, programz, programs, software, bus, backroom, hacker, crack, and many other words that many people would not think would bring them to porn. Some of these key words I have given take you to a porn site on the first page, others you have to go to the 100th hit to find the porn page. These mistakes happen, and the school should already be aware they happen.

And just an FYI. I do not mean to insult the IT world, but I am a network consultant. I have built networks for almost all industries out there, including education. So I have worked with many IT departments. Only a handfull know what they are doing, the rest are just a bunch of numb skulls only keep their jobs because they &quot;know&quot; someone or thier manager does not relize they rely to much on their consultant for day to day operation. So far, the K-12 schools I have worked for had numb skulls for IT. This school tech can be jumping the gun and only assuming it was your nephew. Be sure to review his evidence your self, first hand, and do your best to see through his techno bab BS. If he says a log prooves it, ask to see the log. If he has to get back to you, he full of it. He should be able to produce a print out right there or be able to access the log right now. Even if he has to take you to the server room, see it right now. Don't allow him to &quot;get back to you&quot; on showing the proof. When I have been forced to be the bad tech guy getting someone in trouble, I can ALWAYS show the proof right now, not later.

 

[MDXer]

A star to Provo for staying with the known facts and stating facts in the manner they would relate to the subject matter of the class.

I know a number of graphic artists who download images of their favorite bands to design mock album covers or posters as means of learning new techniques or practicing new styles. I find it very belivable that a kid in a photo editing class would do the exact same thing.

As for the word skank being searched a search on since search engines index links accroding to information retrieved from the page you could just as easily search for whitehouse and be taken to a porn site, a lot of people have hit

http://www.whitehouse.com

only to see porn instead of The US Whitehouse (not sure if it still is a porn site but at one point it was all over the news).

Had the kid typed something like &quot;Sluts&quot; or &quot;Nude Cheerleaders&quot; then the proof and arguement would be more clear.


&quot;Shoot Me! Shoot Me NOW!!!&quot;
- Daffy Duck

 

[jtackett]

In regards to IE history.. do all the students log into the PC using the same login and ID. If so then the IE history can belong to anyone. But if they have to log in indivicually, then an IE history file is created for each user of the PC.

I am currently scanning PC's at my office for inappropriate web surfing and I use this process all the time to find out where our users are going to. I can even do it remotely without thier knowledge. The only drawback is that IE history files do not list time of visit, just the date and website.

 

[rexburg]

Just wanted to update everyone on what happened at the school meeting on Wednesday. Present at the meeting was the principle, 3 vice principles, 1 student counselor and the school tech person.
The meeting began with the principle asking my nephew questions and only letting him give yes or no answers. This lasted for about two questions and I put a stop to it. He then let the woman who was in charge of the computer department speak, she only had Internet Explorer history files to back up her claims, and said that all the kids logged on with a generic user name. I proceeded to ask her all the questions that everyone suggested in their posts. I got the feeling she did not know anything about most of what I asked her. I also pointed out that only 4 in 160 hits were of a pornographic nature, not to mention that the teacher showed them to my nephew in a private room. All this combined with the fact that he signed off 15 minutes early that day. (The history logs showed that the site was visited 10 minutes before class ended.) Needless to say he was “exonerated” of all charges, and will be moved to another class. My wife, nephew, and I would like to thank everyone for there help and input.
Thanks
Rexburg

 

[CajunCenturion]

Glad it all worked out for you and your nephew.

Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[lullysing]

Now this is some seriously kick ass news. I'm happy that the kid is not gonna have any problems with this witch hunt.

--Dave

_____________________________
when someone asks for your username and password, and much *clickely clickely* is happening in the background, know enough that you should be worried.

 

[Twinmoon]

Let the rejoicing begin!

 

[Provogeek]

Great to hear he was cleared, not just dismised.

 

[craigsboyd]

Certainly happy for you! Now take that kid to the movies!

Slighthaze = NULL

[ul][li]FAQ184-2483
An excellent guide to getting a fast and accurate response to your questions in this forum.[/li][/ul]

 

[dwarfthrower]

Glad to hear it. For my mind though I'd be asking for a formal apology. Just to really make them understand the gravity of the stunt they tried to pull. The next poor kid who gets hauled before the disciplinary board on trumped up porn-viewing charges may not have such a resourceful uncle.

[sub]Never be afraid to share your dreams with the world.
There's nothing the world loves more than the taste of really sweet dreams.[/sub]

 

[harebrain]

It is good to hear that rexburg was able to steer things to a positive outcome. From his description of the meeting, the kid was clearly being railroaded by incompetents. (Onions to those here who stated that the kid should just take his lumps! You know who you are...)

The principal with the yes/no questioning was very disturbing. &quot;Ok, sir, when did you stop beating your wife? YES or NO!&quot;

I'd like to reiterate my earlier advice: teach your nephew how to clean out his IE history and cache every time he logs out of the school computers. This is not to destroy evidence of wrongdoing, but to protect himself from nincompoops who have the power to punish him, and have shown a willingness to do so based on evidence that they don't understand.

 

[craigsboyd]

harebrain,

Onions to those here who stated that the kid should just take his lumps! You know who you are...

I'll take some onions over here!

Slighthaze = NULL

[ul][li]FAQ184-2483
An excellent guide to getting a fast and accurate response to your questions in this forum.[/li][/ul]

 

[SF18C]

GGGGreat News, I happy you stood your ground and that everything worked out.

I'll take a small onion if you please!


De Oppresso Liber!!!![b\]

SF18C
CCNA, MCSE, A+, N+ & HPCC

&quot;Tis better to die on your feet than live on your knees!&quot;

 

[mattKnight]

Ok, So i'll have some onion too!

Well done, and I hope that the school have learn't their lesson from this!

Take Care

Matt
If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.

 

[Chance1234]

VIVA !

Filmmaker, gentlemen and proffesional drinker

http://public.fotki.com/chance1234/

 

[BakeMan]

This is awesome!!! I am so glad you nephew has someone like you on his side . Don't just take him to the movies. You deserve a treat yourself .

BAKEMAN

 

[diogenes10]

re cleaning internet history and cache
will the school let you do that? I think my local library branch has users locked out of those areas - wouldnt schools do the same?

&quot;The best optimizer is between your ears.&quot;
M. Abrash