============================================================================ Connecting to the Mount Holyoke College Network: Facts and Policies about Networking and Your Legal Exposure Michael A. Crowley, Department of Networking Revised: August 14, 2005 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This document will accompany a confirmation that an ip-request has been processed. If you have seen a similar copy, check the revision date to determine if you should read it again. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This document briefly describes some issues you should consider when accessing the Internet and some of our policies concerning connecting your computer to the college network. Other documents that expand on these topics are also referenced. College policy The Mount Holyoke College network and the computer systems attached to that network must not be used for any illegal activity. The college expects users of the campus network, which includes accessing the internet, to behave in accordance with copyright laws. If we receive complaints or subpoenas from organizations such as those mentioned below, we will take appropriate action. Your computer is your responsibility When you connect a computer to the college network, you are responsible for how that computer is used, or misused. If that computer is being used for illegal purposes, such as downloading or distributing copyrighted materials without proper authorization, you are responsible for those actions. Computer security It is your responsibility to maintain your computer in a secure fashion. Insecure machines pose risks to the network and the college and will not be permitted to remain on the network. Weak passwords, operating system vulnerabilities, viruses, or other unsafe computing practices may allow an intruder to gain access and control of your computer, often without your knowing about it. This is often referred to as being "hacked". If a computer has been compromised (hacked), the hard disk should be reformatted and the operating system should be reinstalled. Lack of Anonymity The use of the Internet is not anonymous. Your computer is assigned an unique IP number by which it connects to other computers on the network. That IP number is ultimately able to be traced back to your computer. The courts have been favoring the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) subpoenas to ISPs to provide identity information about users who are apparently engaging in copyright infringement (as of August 12, 2003). Potential lack of privacy Any site you visit on the Internet can record your IP number. Information you provide to other sites can be recorded under your IP number. The software you use for browsing the web can also obtain and redistribute that information. Web browsers can also send more information about your computer than you might think. (See the "privacy" URL listed below.) Be careful what personal information you choose to provide to sites you visit. Be careful about what programs you load on your computer. Lots of programs send information from your computer to others. (Do a Google search on "spyware".) Copyright infringement, the law, and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) programs Copyright law is complicated and its interpretation can be controversial. It also evolves as cases are heard and new laws are passed. Under current copyright law, obtaining or distributing copyrighted material without proper authorization is copyright infringement and is not legal. This includes the downloading and sharing of music, videos, and software. Just because "everyone is doing it" does not change the fact that under current law, it is illegal. The risk to you personally and to the college is increasing as companies become more aggressive about pursuing instances of copyright infringement in the courts. Students at Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College, and UMass have been sued by the RIAA in 2004/2005. It can happen to you. Whether or not you believe the laws are reasonable is, unfortunately, not relevant. It is also not relevant whether or not you were aware of the filesharing from your computer. Whether it was you, a friend, or a virus or other compromise that caused the files to be shared, you will be the one facing the legal actions. Peer-to-Peer (P2P) programs such as KaZaA, Gnutella, Morpheus, Limewire and others are commonly used to share music and videos. Most commercially produced music and movies are copyrighted and cannot be freely shared. That is the current law. A number of these programs have versions you can purchase (for example, Morpheus and Limewire). It is a mistaken belief that this makes everything legal. It does not. You are still obtaining, and probably distributing, copyrighted materials. Computer-to-computer sharing of copyrighted materials not only allows you to illegally obtain such materials, it can also set you up as a DISTRIBUTOR of copyrighted material. This greatly increases your legal exposure and the size of damages for which you may be liable. (This document only has related the current legal status and potential consequences. There is active discussion in Congress, on the Internet, and among artists about copyright law in general and the RIAA responses in particular.) Quarantining If we discover an insecure machine, or a machine that appears to be hacked by its pattern of network behavior (bandwidth use, open ports, etc), the machine will be quarantined by limiting them to on-campus access until the problem is resolved. Computer systems that are taking more than their fair share of the available bandwidth to off-campus locations may be quarantined to on-campus access until we are assured that further direct Internet access will not be abused by that computer. Attempting to circumvent the quarantine process is contrary to our acceptable use policies and may result in loss of network privileges. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other documents or web sites: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/lits/network/p2p/filesharing.shtml http://www.mtholyoke.edu/lits/network/doc/bandwidth.txt http://www.mtholyoke.edu/lits/network/doc/security-net.txt http://www.mtholyoke.edu/lits/network/doc/security-win.txt =============================================================================