database type thing

[funkywaggnelz]

I'm not sure if would actually be considered a data base, but in my freshman year of college, a bunch of kids (one of them I knew) some how put like a folder on the school network. What it did was if you typed 'likes paper cuts' under the 'run' option in the start menu, it would bring up a folder that had like dozens of movies and tv shows that you could watch them from the folder, or copy them to your computer. You could bring it up on any computer, as long as it was connected to the schools network. Like if you lived off campus and used your own private internet you couldnt access it. You couldn't add anything to it or delete from it just access and use it.

Well, those kids graduated and I never thought how to do it... How would one go about setting something like that up? Is it even legal? I'm just not too sure what it was exactly.

 

[Ethereal_Dragon]

As far as legality, I would suspect that it would break some copyright laws with having movies & tv programs available like that to a vast number of users. Also, I would think that on an educational network, that would cause you some trouble if it was 'found out' by the admin's, probably resulting in loss of network privelages.

On the side of having a network folder accessable like that, there are only 2 things I can think of, neither of which were probably used.... 1st would be if the folder was mapped as a network drive, you could open it by typing the drive letting in the run box, like C:/ or K:/..... Another way I can think of is using the hosts file on the computer, but I am not entirely sure if it would work that way, and also they would have had to modify the host file on all the PC's able to access it in that way... So, I am not sure...

 

[funkywaggnelz]

I guess it wouldn't do me much good to ask you to help me set something like that up?

 

[Ethereal_Dragon]

Can you try to go into detail on the magnatude you are trying to set this up on? I can help you map a network drive on your home network, or edit the host file.... but anything like you described above I am afaid I don't have the technical know-how in order to accomplish that without sitting at each computer and making a change.... I wouldn't suggest trying it either if you are wanting to still have access to the school's network.

 

[funkywaggnelz]

Ahh, OK. Well I did get into contact with one of the kids who set it up at my school. He is going to walk me through some of it tonight over the phone. He said he can get it set up but one of the other guys did something with something called DSN so that you could type it into run command rather than IE.