Responsible Use of the Campus Network A Student Handbook

Move-in day for a new student is a once-in-a-lifetime experience-- stacks of boxes and suitcases, crowds of new people to meet, paths and places to explore, a room to settle. There will be the telephone, the fridge, the TV and your PC.

Arrival Survival staff, student and alumni volunteers will have answers to a lot of your questions. Residence Hall Computing Consutants--RCCs--will be on hand to answer your PC questions! RCCs are fellow students who are dedicated on Move-in day to helping you connect your PC to the campus network. This connection will be a vital link in getting the good education you came to Delaware to receive.

You and all the other UD students will learn quickly that the campus network is essential to your academic success and you will expect it to do its job well. You have to do your part, too: You will have to understand and follow the policies that ensure its good performance--first and foremost the Policy for Responsible Computing, which contains general principles regarding appropriate use of computing equipment, software and networks.

The Way It Is-at UD

We live by the Code of the Web

We do not violate copyright law.

We respect the laws of the land.

We use virus protection.

We do our part to keep the network secure.

We are good neighbors in the electronic community.

We share the bandwidth.

The Campus Network-What It's For

UD's prize-winning campus network, supporting fast Ethernet connections to the user and gigabit Ethernet connections in the backbone, was built by the University to support its academic, research and public service missions.

All students take classes that require the use of the campus network. Many professors deliver a substantial portion of their instructional materials on the web. You may need to search for information on the web for homework assignments.

The researchers in every discipline use the network in a wide variety of ways for their projects. Some of the most avid network researchers are the thousands of graduate students who say they would be "dead in the water" without the network, as they compose, revise and submit their theses to their advisers.

As a student, you must be available on the UD e-mail service and read your e-mail in a timely manner. Your professors will send you e-mail with important information about your classes. You will receive official messages containing time-sensitive and sometimes critical, public safety and public health notices. These messages will be sent to your "udel.edu" e-mail address. If you prefer to use a different e-mail service, you must be sure you forward the "udel.edu" messages. You are responsible for making sure that your e-mail forwarding is working so that you can continue to receive and read your e-mail in a timely fashion.

You must also make regular visits to the University's web site--www.udel.edu--to know what's happening on campus and to conduct basic University business. You will be able to use "UD&me" to create a personal portal to the University's web of services and information. You can create a personal portal that links to registration, the campus social events calendar, a daily weather report, UDaily (UD's daily news service), and web pages for your courses, for instance. Your portal can help you organize your life.

The University welcomes you to its electronic community where citizens live by the law and practice good citizenship on the electronic frontier. In short, you must follow what's known on our campus as the Code of the Web. As a member of the University community, your network and computing resource access is a privilege. To keep it, you are required to make responsible use of computing and information resources and to guard against abuses.

You Are Not An Island - You're Part of a Commu-net-y!

The computer you bring to campus is personal-yourPC-until you connect it to the campus network. What your PC does while on the network can significantly impact everyone else who is connected-many thousands of fellow students and faculty and staff.

You own your personal computer. The University owns the network-all the wires, cables, routers and network pathways (i.e., the infrastructure). The network exists to support the University's mission of teaching, research and public service. Keeping it running smoothly is a top priority. You are expected to use computing resources responsibly in accordance with the University of Delaware mission and in compliance with its policies and all applicable laws and regulations. This principle is the basis for the following general acceptable use guidelines, which are reinforced through a continuing Western-themed educational campaign known as the Code of the Web.

Be considerate of others. Do not run processes or engage in network activity that denies others the use of shared resources. In the words of the Code of the Web, don't be a bandwidth bandit.

You may not access or use any University computer, facility, equipment, software, network or other resources including e-mail without authorization or for any activity other than that for which access or use was assigned or authorized. Don't be a rattlesnake, the Code advises, but use the network responsibly.

Respect the integrity of the University network. Improperly configured or inappropriate processes running on your system can have a destabilizing effect on the network. The University reserves the right to constrain and remove applications, services or improperly configured systems running on the network that may be negatively impacting its performance. For instance, you may not share your University network access with unauthorized users. If you set up a wireless router and do not secure it, others can use your network connection. You will be held responsible for what they do over your port. Don't be a claim jumper, the Code of the Web encourages, and bar the door to anyone who would jump your claim.

Respect the intellectual property rights of others. Copying or distributing copyrighted movies, songs, software or pictures without permission is against the law. In the words of the Code of the Web, always honor the brand.

As the Code of the Web recommends, abide by the principles of decency, fairness and respect for the rights of others-e.g., the right to privacy and confidentiality. In short, be a good e-citizen.

Bottom line: If your PC violates any of these acceptable use guidelines, you may lose your privilege to use the University network. Although this certainly will create inconvenience, the University has no choice because of its obligations to the members of the University community who do use the network responsibly.

Respect the Laws of the Land

Copyright Law

You must not violate copyright law. Downloading and/or sharing copyrighted videos and songs is stealing. It is no different from walking into a store and shoplifting a CD or a DVD. Downloading and/or sharing a song or a movie that you haven't purchased is illegal. Some songs and movies can be legally obtained through online subscription services, but generally swapping MP3s and MPEGs with Gnutella, BitTorrent, Lime Wire or other P2P applications is illegal.

Copyright law protects a person's property-something original that someone wrote, performed or portrayed. When you make a copy for yourself without the permission of the author or performer, you violate that copyright and break the law.

Students who violate copyright law will - even if their P2P application is sharing without their knowledge - face sanctions in the University student judicial system and may be sued by copyright holders. It is very difficult, if not impossible in some instances to configure P2P applications to not share your legal music or movie collection, or even the contents of your hard drive, including your personal banking and other files. Be safe - the best advice is to delete P2P applications from your system before coming to campus. Click here to read more about P2P applications that share too much.

Federal, State and Local Laws

You know that harassment, fraud and identity theft are criminal behavior. You should understand that criminals who use computing and network facilities in committing these crimes are not, somehow, innocent or different or "excused".

The State of Delaware and the federal government have laws that make computer crimes a serious offense.

You Must Secure Your PC

A National Priority

The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace asks us "to secure the portions of cyberspace" that we own and operate. For most of us, this means our own PCs.

You are responsible for securing your piece of cyberspace--your PC--from the threats of intruders who may want to use your network identification and authorization to cause national harm. Be sure your PC operating system is updated with the latest security patches; protect your PC with a password; install and update virus protection software; and do not do anything that would cause your PC to be open to others on the network. For more information on securing your PC, see the Security Tool Chest on the UD Computer Security web page.

Secure your Wireless Access Point (WAP)

If you set up a wireless access point in your room, you are responsible for whatever goes over the port. If it is not secured, any wireless-capable system within range is free to jump on - with all traffic being attributed to you. It's like lending your car to bank robbers - the tag is registered to you and you will have an uphill battle proving you weren't driving or didn't authorize its use. Click here to learn more about securing your WAP.

Run Anti-Virus Software

Remember all those shots you got before you started school? They protected you from germs and viruses. You need to take the same good care of your PC, now that it is plugged into the campus network and exposed to the world beyond. You are required to install anti-virus software on your PC and keep it updated. The University provides the software free of charge.

Be cautious of freeware and shareware. Be sure your anti-virus software is configured to scan all executable files for viruses before running them. This will help protect your PC from viruses, worms and trojans that corrupt files and system software, and it will help keep these foreign invaders from spreading to the PCs of your fellow students and others, as well.

Keep Operating System Up-To-Date

Unfortunately, PC operating systems have holes in them that often expose them to being hacked and used by others for their purposes without the PC owner's knowledge. You must do this-routinely update your PC operating system as holes are discovered and patches are issued so you can fulfill your responsibility to help keep the campus network secure. Microsoft, Apple and others issue operating system patches and updates from their web sites that close these holes. Microsoft NEVER sends patches by e-mail. Beware of e-mail claiming to be from Microsoft with attached Windows patches (See How to Tell if a Microsoft Security-Related Message is Genuine). Microsoft does provide an e-mail alert service informing subscribers when security update announcements are released.

Password Protect Your System and Accounts

PCs are often compromised because they lack strong passwords or any password protection against unauthorized changes by others. Be sure to set a good password for your PC and all computer accounts.

Your UDelNet password is a valuable secret key. It protects your personal files, information-even your money. And it makes certain that the privilege the University gives you to use its electronic campus is not stolen or "orrowed" by someone else.

Don't let fellow students, relatives or any other person gain access to the campus network through the access code given to you. This destroys accountability. You will be held responsible for any abuse of the network by persons you allow to use your access code or password.

You are required to choose a password that is 5 to 8 characters long and combines letters, numbers and special characters. Do not choose a password that is part of your birth date. The year of your birth is most likely no secret to your classmates. Commit your secret password to memory. Don't write it down and don't tell it to anyone-not even your best friend.

Stamp Out the Bandwidth Bandits

Should you ever find yourself in the infuriating situation of needing desperately to finish an on-line homework assignment when the network slows down to the speed of a turtle, then you will know why we use the term, bandwidth bandits.

When network users run peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing software-e.g., KaZAa-and download copyrighted movies and music, they not only break the law and University policy, they usually use an excessive amount of network bandwidth, without a care or thought about those who are trying to complete assignments. If your P2P software is configured to share downloaded files, the strain on the network is multiplied because a single downloaded file will be automatically offered, or shared-out, to the world through your peer-to-peer software. When others make copies of the file, more and more bandwidth is used, slowing things down for everybody.

Download anything from a source you don't know or trust can cause many problems. If the downloaded file contains a worm, virus or trojan and you have not been vigilant in securing your system, it can not only affect your PC but others, as well. Your PC may be used remotely to spread the malicious code by network scanning for vulnerable systems to infect. It may become a busy file-swapping server or spam relay, sending out files you didn't know you had or spam you've never seen and consuming large amounts of network bandwidth in the process. Remember, you are accountable for what you or your PC do on the network, whether it is intentional or not.

Most of what you need to do takes up very little of the high-speed network's capacity. When you are working on the network, you generate quick, short bursts of activity, which leave the network open and ready for the next person.

Bandwidth bandits and negligent users lose their privileges on the campus network. When their PCs hog bandwidth, and worse, break laws, they will be subject to full disciplinary action within the Student Judicial System and/or face legal liability. Most of what you need to do takes up very little of the high-speed network's capacity. When you are working on the network, you generate quick, short bursts of activity, which leave the network open and ready for the next person.

Don't ride with the outlaws! Don't be a bandwidth bandit! A good way to avoid this is to not run P2P applications. If you are using a P2P application for legal purposes, be sure to turn off or responsibly manage the file-sharing feature. Likewise, limit shared directories on your PC so that they are not available to anyone in the Internet, and only place non-copyrighted material in them, such as digital photos or videos you or your friends have taken.

Be a Civilizing Influence on the Electronic Frontier

The vast and unexplored spaces and places on the Internet make us think of it as the "electronic frontier". The Internet is in many ways a frontier, a wilderness, a community-in-the-making. On the frontier, you need to be an active participant in establishing a civilized settlement by following the code of behavior that stakes a law-abiding and responsible claim into unsettled territory. At UD, that's the Code of the Web. Responsible computing is one section of the Student Guide to University Policies. These rules for acceptable behavior must guide you in your use of the campus network.