File Sharing and Downloading

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This policy outlines guidelines for all users when file sharing and downloading files on Adelphi’s network.

Policy Statement

This policy outlines guidelines for all users when file sharing and downloading files on Adelphi’s network.

Reason for Policy

We want your Internet experience at Adelphi to be a positive one. With that in mind, you need to be aware of Adelphi’s Internet Usage policy and how to prevent file-sharing issues that could adversely affect your user experience, as well as the rest of campus.

Who is Governed by this Policy

This policy applies to all individuals who connect to the internet via Adelphi’s network.

Policy

Copyright Law

With so much information available on the Internet, it may appear that most of what you see is in the public domain. But the fact is that just about everything you see or download from the Internet is copyright protected, whether it’s text, art, music, video, or software. Email you send is copyrighted to you; email you receive is copyrighted to the sender; music you download is copyrighted to the artist or producer of the music, etc.

  • It is illegal to download copyrighted music, videos, or other material from your computer without the permission of the copyright holder.
  • You cannot use your computer to distribute material without the permission of the copyright holder.

Piracy is a serious offense, with consequences including hefty fines and expensive litigation. Adelphi University is compliant with all federal, state, and other applicable laws that govern copyrights and trademarks.

Please respect the work of artists, the values of Adelphi, and the Internet connectivity of your fellow students by refusing to download or distribute copyrighted materials illegally.

Sort the facts from the myths about copyright:

Bandwidth Slowdown

Although we have hi-tech equipment and continue to upgrade regularly, excessive bandwidth use can slow the network down for everyone. If you use peer-to-peer file-sharing software (e.g., BitTorrent), please use it responsibly.

To preserve the bandwidth resources for the Adelphi Community, it is vital that file-sharing is turned off by all computer users on campus. These types of downloads from our network have been the single largest problem with our bandwidth resource. The benefits of not sharing files to the Internet are:

  • Increase in speed for all campus computer users.
  • Specialized ports can remain open, allowing games and non-standard Internet applications to be used.

How to Disable File Sharing P2P (PDF)

Campus Disciplinary Action

The Information Security Team in the Office of Information Technology collect data on Internet usage. Students found to be using large bandwidth or disrupting campus networks because of such file-sharing may have their Internet connection disabled, and will need to contact the IT Help Desk to become re-enabled.

Repeated or serious violations will be referred to the Dean of Student Affairs or Assistant Vice President for Human Resources & Labor Relations for further disciplinary action.

Definitions

This policy does not have definitions associated with it at this time. Upon periodic policy review this area will be evaluated to determine if additional information is needed to supplement the policy.

Forms

This policy does not have forms associated with it at this time. Upon periodic policy review this area will be evaluated to determine if additional information is needed to supplement the policy

Related Information

This policy does not have related information at this time. Upon periodic policy review this area will be evaluated to determine if additional information is needed to supplement the policy.

Document History

  • Last Reviewed Date: March 30, 2023
  • Last Revised Date: September 01, 2017
  • Policy Origination Date: Unknown

Who Approved This Policy

Carol Ann Boyle, Chief Information Officer

Policy Owner

Secondary Contacts

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