To All Students, Faculty and Staff:
Bitorrent, Ares, Kazaa are some of the names of “peer to peer” (p2p) programs that allow users to share files with other users across the Internet. There are legitimate uses for these file sharing programs, but a significant amount of users utilize them to share copyrighted materials without a license.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and other organizations monitor unlicensed file sharing activity on the Internet on a regular basis. If any of those organizations notify the University about a copyright infringement we are required to take action by removing your network access. The infringement notification will then be reported to the Dean of Students or other appropriate departments.
Distributing copyrighted materials without a license is subject to disciplinary action according to University policy. Additionally, further legal action may be taken against you by the copyright holder.
We appreciate your attention in this important matter and urge you to consider removing p2p programs from your computer while connecting to the University network. If you choose not to remove those programs you should ensure that your computer is not providing unlicensed materials to other users. Should you require further assistance, uninstalling or disabling such programs, call the helpdesk at 381-2020.
Sincerely,
Information Security Office
