CS 161: Computer Security

Past Announcements

2022-11-28:

• OH this week (all online):
  • Monday, Wednesday: 5-6:30pm
  • Tuesday, Thursday: 6:30-8pm
• Lectures this week (all online) will be review sessions, so come with questions and topics you’d like to see.
• Finalized assignment due dates:
  • Homework 6 is due Tuesday, November 29.
  • Project 2 is due Thursday, December 1.
  • These dates are not changing, but extension requests will still be honored based on these dates.
• Project 3 is released, and is optional. However, it is in scope for the final exam, so we highly recommend working through it if you have time.
  • For grade calculations, everyone gets 100% on Project 3.
• Homework 7:
  • To get credit for HW7, please fill out the course evaluations before they close on Sunday, December 11, and upload proof of completion to Gradescope.
  • The rest of HW7 is on Gradescope and is optional (but also in scope for the final exam and recommended).
• The final exam will still be held as planned.
  • Depending on proctor availability, we may switch everyone to a remote exam (we’ll let you know ahead of time if this happens).
  • Lectures 1-21, Projects 1-3, and Homeworks 1-7 are all still in scope.
  • Lectures 22-25 are out of scope for the final.

2022-11-22:

• OH today (Tuesday, November 22), 5-6:30pm, online.
• Assuming the strike doesn’t end before RRR week, our final assignment deadlines would be:
  • Homework 6: Tuesday, November 29
  • Project 2: Thursday, December 1
  • Homework 7 and Project 3: TBA, some parts will probably be made optional or shortened
  • We’ll honor all extensions based on the new due dates.
• You aren’t expected to work on this class over Thanksgiving break. Enjoy the break!

2022-11-17:

• Next week’s lectures:
  • Monday, 6:30-8pm, online
  • Wednesday’s lecture is cancelled because of Thanksgiving
• TA-held office hours and discussions are cancelled next week as well.
• Instructor OH next week:
  • Monday 5-6:30pm, online
  • Tuesday 5-6:30pm, online
  • You can also come find me on the picket line most afternoons if you want to talk in-person.
• Project 2’s due date will be no earlier than Tuesday, November 22.
  • We’ll honor all extensions based on whatever the new due date is.
• Homework 6 is still due Tuesday, November 22 for now.

2022-11-15:

• Lecture will be held online-only on Wednesday, 6:30-8pm.
• All TA-held discussions and office hours are canceled this week.
• There will be limited instructor-only, online office hours. These are not meant to replace normal TA office hours, so use your best judgment to make sure we aren’t covering TA work during the strike.
  • Tuesday 6:30-8pm
  • Wednesday 5-6:30pm
  • Thursday 6:30-8pm
• Project 2 will not be due this Friday. We don’t have a confirmed due date yet, as it depends on how long the strike lasts, but the due date will be no earlier than Monday, November 21.
• Homework 6 is still due Tuesday, November 22 for now. If the strike continues, we’ll reassess.
• Homework 7 and Project 3 may be postponed, shortened, or cancelled depending on how long the strike lasts; I’ll keep you posted in future updates as we learn more.
• The final exam is still planned to happen at the original time. Scope may be adjusted depending on how long the strike lasts.

2022-11-11:

• Here’s the 161 specific strike logistics post mentioned in #815. We highly encourage you to read through that post before reading this one.
• What does the strike mean for 161?
• TAs will not be participating in student facing operations for the duration of the strike. What does this mean exactly?
  • Discussion sections will be canceled.
  • TA office hours will be canceled.
  • TAs will not be responding to course related questions on Ed or over email, however, we may be able to answer questions strictly pertaining to the strike.
  • TAs will not be grading during the strike.
  • Manually reviewed extensions will not be processed.
  • We don’t know how long the strike will last, but Peyrin will do his best to keep you updated.
• For the TAs who decide not to strike, they will be working behind the scenes if they so choose. You will not be able to tell which TAs are and aren’t striking in order to preserve their anonymity.
• I will be processing the last batch of extension requests Monday around 7:30am before the strike begins. Please make sure to get your extensions in by then if you’d like a confirmation email.
• We will try to grade all design docs submitted by Sunday before midnight so you have feedback to continue working on your implementations of the project. If you need a design review during the strike and haven’t already had one, please contact Peyrin.
• We will be implementing the following policies to give you some time off during the strike to learn more about why it’s happening, and how it may impact the university:
  • There will be no assignments due during the strike. If the strike lasts long enough to bleed into deadlines, we will be further extending those assignments.
  • We’ll make sure to grant course wide extensions long enough to make sure you get the office hours help you need as well. Since the strike is so variable, we can’t make broad guarantees, but we’ll do our best to make it fair.
  • The automatic extension approval threshold will be increased to 7 days.
  • Peyrin will hold limited instructor office hours for emergency and urgent questions only, but these are not designed to replace our regularly held office hours. These will be held 5-6:30pm Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays, and 6:30-8pm on Tuesdays & Thursdays. They will be held on the online queue.
  • Lectures will be held online.

2022-11-07:

• Homework 6 has been released and is due Friday, November 18th at 11:59 PM.
  • Attached at the end of this homework is an optional web lab on SQL injection. If you have the time to work through it, we recommend it, as it is hopefully interesting and good practice for project 3!
• Project 2 has been released.
  • Design review slots are still open! Sign up here.
    • More slots will be released for this Wednesday and Thursday.
  • Due to the late release of design review slots, the final design doc and code have been extended by one week and are now due Friday, November 18th at 11:59 PM.
• We will have a project party for Project 2 on Thursday, 3:00–5:00 PM in the Woz.
• There have been a lot of questions regarding the TA strike next week. We will release more announcements as the situation progresses, however.
  • For now, you can assume that there won’t be TA staffing during the strike, but there will be barebones instructor staffing to make sure the course keeps running.
  • We want to make it clear that there will be no negative effects on your grade. We will adjust deadlines accordingly with the strike (to make sure you still get office hours help, etc), so please do not stress!
  • We will keep you updated with any additional policy changes.

2022-10-25:

• Homework 5 has been released and is due Friday, November 4th at 11:59 PM.
• Project 2 has been released.
  • The design doc checkpoint is due Friday, October 28th at 11:59 PM.
  • The final design doc and code are due Friday, November 11th at 11:59 PM.
• We will have a project 2 party on Thursday, October 27 from 3:00 to 5:00 PM in the Woz.

2022-10-18:

• Homework 4 has been released and is due Friday, October 21st at 11:59 PM.
  • There is no lab portion for this homework!
• Project 2 has been released.
  • The design doc checkpoint is due Friday, October 28th at 11:59 PM.
  • The final design doc and code are due Friday, November 11th at 11:59 PM.

2022-10-13:

• Homework 4 has been released and is due Friday, October 21st at 11:59 PM.
  • There is no lab portion for this homework!
• Project 2 has been released.
  • The design doc checkpoint is due Friday, October 28th at 11:59 PM.
  • The final design doc and code are due Friday, November 11th at 11:59 PM.
• We aim to release midterm solutions and grades by the end of the week!

2022-10-03:

• The midterm exam is on Friday, October 7 from 7:00 to 9:00 PM PT.
  • All exam logistics are available on the website.
  • If you would like to request an online exam or would like to request an alternate exam time, please fill out the exam adjustments form as soon as possible. Please submit the form by Wednesday, October 5th at 11:59 PM PT. If you encounter extenuating circumstances after this time, you may still fill out the form, though we can’t guarantee any last-minute adjustments.
• We will be holding two midterm review sessions (likely on Tuesday and Wednesday), the details of which will be released in a separate post shortly!
• Homework 3 has been released on Gradescope and is due Monday, October 10th at 11:59 PM PT.
  • This homework contains a hands-on lab portion, so please make sure you allocate enough time to complete the lab portion before deadline!
  • We have extended the deadline so that it doesn’t coincide with the exam!

2022-09-28:

• Project 1 has been released.
  • The full project (Q1–Q7 plus write-up) are due Friday, September 30th at 11:59 PM PT.
  • We will be holding a Project 1 Party on Thursday, September 29th, 5:00 to 7:00 PM PT in the Wozniak Lounge (Soda 430).
• Homework 3 has been released on Gradescope and is due Friday, October 7th at 11:59 PM PT.
  • This homework contains a hands-on lab portion, so please make sure you allocate enough time to complete the lab portion before deadline!
• As we get through Project 1, please use the template provided in #64 to format your private posts.
• Additionally, please make sure to fill out the OH template before submitting a ticket. TAs will put your ticket on hold until the template is filled out. (#175)
• The midterm exam is coming up next week. We will be releasing an exam conflict form within the next couple of days, so be on a look out for that!

2022-09-20:

• Project 1 has been released.
  • The full project (Q1–Q7 plus write-up) are due Friday, September 30th at 11:59 PM PT.
  • We have released a Project 1 Q1 (and a small GDB) walkthrough, available here.
  • We have issued a new VM update that will allow you to correctly complete Q7. Note that you will have to copy over your solutions from your previous iteration on the previous VM so make sure to save your previous exploits somewhere too. Instructions for copying your submission to the new VM are provided in the follow-ups to this announcements post.
• Homework 2 has been released on Gradescope and is due Friday, September 23rd at 11:59 PM PT.
• We will be holding a Project 1 Party on Thursday, September 22nd, 5:00 to 7:00 PM PT in the Wozniak Lounge (Soda 430).
• As we get through Project 1, please use the template provided in #64 to format your private posts.
• Additionally, please make sure to fill out the OH template before submitting a ticket. TAs will put your ticket on hold until the template is filled out. (#175)

2022-09-13:

• Project 1 has been released.
  • The checkpoint (Q1–Q4) are due Friday, September 16th at 11:59 PM PT.
  • The full project (Q1–Q7 plus write-up) are due Friday, September 30th at 11:59 PM PT.
  • We have released a Project 1 Q1 (and a small GDB) walkthrough, available here.
• Homework 2 has been released on Gradescope and is due Friday, September 23rd at 11:59 PM PT.
• We will be holding a Project 1 Party on Thursday, September 15th, 3:00 to 5:00 PM PT in the Wozniak Lounge (Soda 430).
• As we get through Project 1, please use the template provided in #64 to format your private posts. Staff will not be looking through and answering project 1 related private posts if they do not follow the structure provided in the template.
• The extended time discussion with Abhi and Akshit has been finalized for Monday from 3:00 to 4:30 PM PT in Soda 380.

2022-09-06:

• Project 1 has been released.
  • The checkpoint (Q1–Q4) are due Friday, September 16th at 11:59 PM PT.
  • The full project (Q1–Q7 plus write-up) are due Friday, September 30th at 11:59 PM PT.
• Homework 1 has been released on Gradescope and is due Friday, September 9th at 11:59 PM PT.
• The midterm date has been confirmed to be Friday, October 7th, 7:00–9:00 PM PT.
• As a reminder, extended-time sections (#48) and exam-prep sections both begin this week. Make sure to check out the course calendar for more details.
• There are some OH and discussion room changes from last week. Make sure to check out #47 for more details. All these changes are updated on our course calendar too!

2022-08-28:

• Discussion sections and office hours will begin from this week. You can find the appropriate schedules on our course calendar.
  • As a reminder, there is no required attendance for discussion sections (attendance is highly encouraged, but completely optional). You can attend any section that you want. If you are unable to make it to a section, we will post a recorded walk-through of the worksheet to the website by the end of the week.
  • We will be holding a BRIDGE discussion section as well as an exam-prep discussion section starting next week, so be on a lookout for those as well!
  • Some discussion sections will have hybrid support. For more details about the sections (and their zoom links), please see #17.
  • While we highly encourage attending office hours in-person, we will have support for remote office hours too as all our office hours will be held in a hybrid format meaning that TAs will take both online and in-person tickets.
• Homework 1 has been released on Gradescope and is due Friday, September 9 at 11:59 PM PT. Please ask all homework 1 related questions in #19.

2022-08-22:

• Please fill out this short introduction form by the start of class on Wednesday, August 24th, so that we can get an idea of student preferences and schedules.