Non-compromise Problems
There are actions other than computer compromises that will bring you to the attention of the Network Security Center. Most of these actions will result in disciplinary action being taken. Among these actions are:
- Serving copyrighted materials - music, videos, software, etc. Most often this action involves the use of peer-to-peer (P2P) software. Examples of P2P software include Gnutella, KaZaA, BearShare and LimeWire. The NSC and the University do not monitor the use of these programs. Disciplinary action for serving copyrighted materials is always the result of a request for action under the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) made to the University by agents of the copyright holder. Upon receiving a DMCA request, the NSC will immediately remove a computer from the network and notify an authority to initiate a disciplinary review. Your P2P client can be configured to not serve files. Information for configuring common clients can be found at http://security.uchicago.edu/guidelines/peer-to-peer/.
- Email forgery. Forging mail to appear that it is coming from someone else or disguising your true identity in an email message is a violation of the EAUP.
- Illicit access to another user's account.
- Electronic threats. Any threat that is sent to another individual electronically will result in disciplinary action and may also include the involvement of law enforcement.
- Excessive use of network resources. The University has extensive network resources. However, in some areas of the University's network, the resources are not as extensive and heavy utilization will result in an unacceptable degradation of network performance for other people on the network. This excessive utilization is usually the result of P2P file serving or the presence of a compromised machine. Excessive use of network resources is in violation of the EAUP.
