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11/30/2004: BOL Secure Authentication Required

In order to provide you with a secure computing environment, clear-text password authentication for all of Bruin OnLine's services will be disabled by the second week of winter quarter, on Wednesday, January 12th at 12:00 midnight. Affected services will include the news server (NNTP), file transfer protocol (FTP), and mail services (POP, IMAP, SMTP). All of BOL's currently supported software applications offer encryption options, primarily SSL/TLS (Secure Sockets Layer/Transport Layer Security), which will need to be enabled in order for you to continue using them.

Currently, users authenticate to BOL's services by submitting username and password as clear text across the network. Unfortunately, this provides hackers with network access a means to intercept usernames and passwords, which can then be used for malicious purposes. Eliminating clear text submission of authentication credentials will remove one path of attack and increase security for all BOL users.

Beginning at 12:00am, Wednesday, December 15th, the Bruin OnLine FTP servers will begin requiring encrypted authentication. Additionally, beginning at 12:00am, Wednesday, January 12th, 2005, the Bruin OnLine news (NNTP) and mail servers will begin requiring encrypted authentication. The following BOL-supported applications will need to be reconfigured in order to work properly after those dates

Please note that the instructions below assume that you are accessing Bruin Online servers either from within the UCLA network or are using Bruin OnLine Dial-up access. If you are using another provider to access the internet, or aren't sure, just use this form to send us an email and we will send you additional configuration information.

(click on the link for instructions for each application)

For Windows: For Macintosh:

Additionally, instructions are available for the followings applications:

For Windows: For Macintosh:

In addition, the telnet and FTP proxy services will be retired completely as there are no current implementations of these services that will allow for secure authentication. The web-based proxy already uses SSL for secure authentication, so there will be no change to that service. Additionally, BOL webmail is not affected.

Detailed instructions and screenshots for all of Bruin OnLine's currently supported applications are available on our website. In addition, our help desk consultants are prepared to support those users who need assistance with making the required configuration changes to our supported applications.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. If you have any questions please contact the BOL Help Desk at (310) 267-HELP (4357), option 1, or at consult@ucla.edu.