Guide to Services 2003-2004: Office of Information Technology

File-Sharing Programs on the University of Alabama Network

Due to copyright violations, bandwidth use, and security concerns, the Office of Information Technology strongly encourages faculty, staff, and students to avoid using file-sharing programs like KaZaa, Morpheus, and Aimster on the University's network.

Copyright Violations

Downloading a song, movie, or other created work from any source without the permission of the copyright holder is a violation of copyright law. Helping to distribute a created work without permission places faculty, staff, and students at an even greater risk of civil and criminal prosecution and penalties.

Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA), the University must act immediately when its designated agent is notified of an alleged copyright infringement. Often this notification is from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) or an entertainment company that has been actively scanning for computers distributing its copyrighted works. The University's actions must include identifying which machine is responsible and preventing it from happening again or the University can be held liable. Recently, the RIAA has also begun requesting (and receiving) subpoenas to require universities and ISPs to identify alleged file sharers so that they may be named in lawsuits.

University network users who violate copyright law are also subject to penalties under various University policies, including the Electronic Media Policy, Code of Student Conduct, and ResNet Acceptable Use Agreement. Penalties under these policies vary widely and depend on the severity of the offense. Student offenders are regularly referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs.

Copyright violations affect the entire University community. Many faculty, staff, and students are copyright holders. Members of an educational institution should respect the rights associated with the creative process. Investigating alleged violations also takes up valuable staff time that could be used to improve computing services and support for the University community. Finally, the University's reputation can be damaged by copyright infringements, affecting all who work, study, or receive a degree at The University of Alabama.

Bandwidth: A Shared Resource

Bandwidth, or the amount of network traffic that can travel at any given time, is finite. The University has a gigabit backbone, which means that there is plenty of room for network traffic on campus. However, the University's connection to the rest of the world does not have as large a capacity, and it is also quite expensive. Almost all of the outgoing and incoming network traffic must go through a single Internet connection, which should be sufficient to support the academic and administrative functions of the University. Instead, legitimate traffic is often slowed down or halted because the "pipe" is full due to traffic resulting from file-sharing programs that "share" the content of one or more folders. One person can download a song onto his or her campus computer and then have it served to thousands of people off campus. This traffic does not benefit anyone at the University, yet interferes greatly with the conducting of normal University business.

Security

Any time University students or employees download files from unknown locations or allow unknown people to connect to their computers, they compromise the security of both their own computers and the University's network.

• When most file-sharing programs are downloaded and installed, they automatically install other "piggy-backed" software as well. This software could be used to deliver pop-up ads or to report Internet activity back to the company. Either way, personal privacy, computer performance, and network capacity are compromised.
• Such add-on software may also be replaced by a Trojan horse, a program that can open up a computer to attack or allow it to be used to attack other machines. These programs can even use a computer to send spam without its owner's knowledge.
• When users download media from someone else's computer, they may get the song or movie desired, or they may download a Trojan horse or virus instead.
• Some file-sharing programs allow their users to specify which folders should be shared on the network. However, people often mistakenly share much more than media folders, including personal and confidential information.

The Solution

File-sharing programs should not be used on the University network. Windows computers have an "Add/Remove Programs" functionality that can be used to remove these programs as well as piggy-backed programs like CommonName, New.net, and Gator. At a minimum, "sharing" should not be enabled in whatever programs used. Instructions on disabling sharing in many of the most popular programs are located at ResNet.ua.edu/subscribers/sharing. For assistance, users of file-sharing programs may also call the HelpDesk at 348-2435.