October 2002
Since the beginning of the academic year, students in residence halls have been reporting periodic network and Internet slowness despite the university's increased Internet capacity. This is the most visible consequence of using peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing programs like Morpheus, Kazaa, and Gnutella. More serious consequences can include loss of privacy and identity theft, computer damage caused by viruses and malicious software, civil or criminal legal action, or university disciplinary sanctions for improper use of copyrighted material.
*File sharing programs slow down your computer and network performance*
P2P file-sharing programs allow other users to access your computer by sharing your files with the outside world. This often happens automatically, potentially sharing files you mean to be private.
As people find and download files from your computer, they use a significant portion of your computer's processing power and network bandwidth. Even with our expanded Internet connection, dorms are becoming "choke points." A small number of computers can consume nearly all of a building's bandwidth, affecting everybody in the dorm.
*File sharing increases vulnerability to viruses and spyware*
P2P file sharing programs make you more vulnerable to attacks by computer viruses and malicious programs. Some newer viruses are specifically designed to target these programs by using the names of popular music files or programs. All computers operating on the university network must be running up-to-date anti-virus software. Norton AntiVirus is available to all students at no cost. You can download it from http://http://uis.georgetown.edu/content.html?ID=207 or borrow a CD from Hoya Computing in St. Mary's G-36.
Many P2P programs are also embedded with spyware programs that report personal information about you and the things you do on the Internet. Spyware developers are free to share or sell this information to whomever they wish. Your "consent" to do this is often hidden in the license terms to which most users agree but never read. And since spyware programs need to send your personal information back to the developers, they also use your bandwidth and can disrupt your network connection. Spyware is difficult to detect and cannot be stopped by anti-virus software.
*Unauthorized sharing of copyrighted material is illegal*
Downloading or sharing copyrighted material like music and movies without the owner's permission is a violation of Federal copyright law and Georgetown's Computer Systems Acceptable Use Policy.
When copyright holders or industry groups such as the Recording Industry Association of America contact the university about specific incidents of infringement, the university has a legal obligation to act expeditiously to remove or disable access to the infringing material. Consequences for copyright violations include disciplinary action through the Office of Student Conduct, lawsuits by the copyright holders, and/or action by federal agencies.
*P2P file sharing programs are not free*
P2P file-sharing programs waste university money and resources. Whenever staff and equipment are used to respond to the variety of problems caused by P2P programs, they cannot be used to add or improve other technology services.
Sincerely,
Office of Student Conduct and University Information Services
Peer-to-Peer Primer - Information and educational resources on file sharing and the risks and implications of using peer-to-peer technologies.
Related links - More information on the DMCA
Complying with Copyright Laws - More on DMCA and File-sharing