WebCT and Security: Allowing your browser to interact with WebCT

With the increasing security threats on the Internet dealing with email and browsers, WebCT users, both students and instructors, are running into security measures that inhibit or prevent WebCT from working properly. There are a few steps that WebCT users need to take to allow their browsers to use WebCT properly.

1. Firewalls: Firewalls must allow access to WebCT and the University of Utah. Otherwise you will not be able to use WebCT or other course related sites from the University of Utah. These firewalls vary from firewall settings on individual computers to firewalls set on company or service provider servers and networks. In any case, you need to allow two-way access for web pages from domains in utah.edu and specifically webct.tacc.utah.edu.

2. Cookies: Many web sites use cookies to save and transfer information between web pages and for future visits of the site. Cookies are small information packets that are stored on the user's computer and are therefore considered a security risk since they are possibly readable by other web sites. Generally cookies should be allowed only from the originating sites. Browsers must allow WebCT to process cookies.

3. Pop-up Windows: Unwanted advertizing uses pop-up windows and some browsers allow blocking of pop-up windows. WebCT uses pop-up windows for some functions. WebCT must be allowed to bring up pop-up windows.

4. JavaScript must be enabled. Some functionality of WebCT tools requires the use of JavaScript.

How to adjust your browser and computer system to allow WebCT to work

Note: In these instructions, the web server address given for allowing services is for the WebCT main server: https://webct.tacc.utah.edu. You should also include other servers that require permission to use cookies, pop-up windows, etc. They include: The WebCT activation page server: https://www.utah.edu (which includes other campus functions as well), and the Uonline server: https://services.tacc.utah.edu.

On Windows PC systems:

For Netscape, go to the Edit menu and then choose Preferences. Then look for Cookies and Pop-up Windows settings under the "Privacy and Security" section. Pop-up windows can be allowed by specifying the particular site domain, e.g. webct.tacc.utah.edu. JavaScript settings are under "Advanced:Scripts & Plugins".

For Internet Explorer, go to the Tools menu and then choose Internet Options. Cookies settings are found under the "Privacy" tab, but the best thing is to set up WebCT in the "Trusted Sites Zone". For this, go to the "Security" tab, then click on the trusted sites icon and add https://webct.tacc.utah.edu. Specific settings can be made in other areas, but sites in the "Trusted Sites" zone are given special privileges regardless of the other settings.

On Macintosh system OSX:

Under the program menu (the menu with the same name as the browser you are running), there is a Preferences item. This is where you view and change settings, regardless of which browser you use.

For Netscape, look for Cookies and Pop-up Windows settings under the "Privacy and Security" section. Pop-up windows can be allowed by specifying the particular site domain, e.g. webct.tacc.utah.edu. JavaScript settings are under "Advanced:Scripts & Plugins".

For Internet Explorer, Cookies settings are found under the "Receiving Files" section. To allow WebCT to work properly, look for "Security Zones" under the WebBrowser section, then go to the trusted sites list and add webct.tacc.utah.edu.

WebCT problems with chat or whiteboard

In addition to using TCP ports 80 and 443, WebCT uses ports 10768 and 10769 for chat and whiteboard services. This has caused problems for some users that are behind restrictive firewalls. The firewall you are behind will need to allow communiction over ports 10768 and 10769.

as of 5/12/05 - jnp