You are required to authenticate using your CNS computing ID to get network access from many U of A public labs. This includes public plug-in areas such as in Law, as well as many public microcomputer labs.
Public labs all have an icon on the desktop which says "Network Authentication" You can either click on this icon, or, if the icon is not present (i.e. you are on a laptop) You simply telnet to authgw.labs.ualberta.ca. This will connect you to the gateway to authenticate. You will be asked for your CNS computing ID and password to authenticate for network access. Once you give your ID and password, you will see a short message describing what you need to do,which is to lower (iconize, minimize) the active telnet connection and leave it open while you use the network. You should disconnect the authentication session whenever you leave the workstation.
For a more detailed technical discussion of what's going on, look Here
Labs that use this scheme do not need to use the proxy servers to get access to the internet.
Currently, All CNS public labs use this mechanism. Additionally, there are facilities operated by Business, Chemistry, Law, Civil Engineering, Computing Science, Housing and Food Services (the residences), and others