Acceptable Use Policy for ALL users of JiT eEDU Computing Resources

Your responsibilities

Introduction:

Your use of JiT eEDU computing resources is a privilege, and it is your responsibility to help maintain the security, integrity, and functionality of what you use.

About this policy:

This policy applies to anyone who uses JiT eEDU computing resources, whether student, faculty, staff, or guest. This policy will change from time to time, and it is your responsibility to acquaint yourself with those changes. You must adhere not only to this policy, but also to the policies that apply to any computing resources you use, even if those resources do not belong to the JiT eEDU.

Authorization:

The JiT eEDU or JIT or its departments authorizes your use of campus computing resources when it grants you an account for accessing those resources; it revokes your authorization when it terminates your account. Unauthorized use of campus resources is prohibited. Providing false information to obtain an account is prohibited. When you cease to be a student or employee or otherwise assume a new status, you may not use accounts, privileges, information, or other resources for which you are no longer authorized.

Intended Use:

Computing resources are intended for scholarship, learning, community outreach, JiT eEDU and furtherance of the JiT eEDU mission. Limited personal use of JiT eEDU computing resources is welcome, but such use must not interfere with JiT eEDU activities. In addition, you may not use your account or other JiT eEDU computing resources for any unauthorized commercial activity, political campaigning, or for anything likely to subject the JiT eEDU to liability.

Protecting JiT eEDU resources:

You may not lend your accounts or passwords to others, or use others’ accounts. You are expected to take all reasonable precautions for protecting your account, including choosing a secure password and protecting it, logging off correctly, and physically securing your computer and network connection. You are responsible for any activity that comes from your account, your network connection, or your computer. You may not provide access to JiT eEDU computing resources to unauthorized individuals.

Personal Identity:

In email, or through any other mechanism, you may not pretend to be someone else, or claim to represent the JiT eEDU in any unauthorized capacity. You may not use an IP address or computer name other than one explicitly assigned by the JiT eEDU.

Harassment:

The JIT has existing policies on sexual and racial harassment. You may not use computing resources to violate those policies.

Other policies:

In your use of JiT eEDU computing resources, you must adhere to all other computing policies in addition to this one, such as policies on lab usage, and permitted software and hardware and to all other JIT policies.

Intellectual property:

It is easy to copy material from around the world, but you must properly acknowledge work that is not yours. Plagiarism is punishable by failure, expulsion, or loss of employment.

Respect contractual obligations. In most circumstances, redistribution of copyrighted material, including music and pornography, is illegal. You may not use material, including software, that you are not legally entitled to use. You must not allow material licensed to the JiT eEDU to be used by people not entitled to use it.

Common sense, or Additional prohibitions:

If it’s not yours, leave it alone! Among other things, it is therefore a violation of this policy to knowingly or carelessly: inspect, “sniff”, decrypt, copy, transfer, alter, or destroy any file, electronic communication, or any other similar computing resource, without the explicit permission of the owner; access or attempt to access information, accounts, software, networks, or any other resources without the explicit permission of the the owner, regardless of whether the resource is owned by the JiT eEDU or not; damage, or attempt to damage, or degrade, or deny others access to any JiT eEDU computing resource; “port-scan” any computer or network; copy password files, or otherwise attempt to learn others’ passwords; knowingly propagate or use viruses, Trojan horses, or other malicious constructs; send excessive, unsolicited email, or “spam.”

If you find any potential security flaws or attempted violations, please report them the Computer Center as soon as you can.

Limited resources:

Network capacity (or bandwidth), modem ports, and lab computers, among other things, are limited, shared resources. Do not use them wastefully. Class work and employee assignments are the highest priority, personal learning second, and other uses are last. You should relinquish a resource to anyone with a higher-priority need.

Legal restrictions:

You should be aware that there are many laws affecting computing and things you might do. There are statutes covering: system intrusion, harassment, data privacy, fraud, theft of services, use of publicly funded facilities for political purposes, libel and slander, distributing copyrighted material, and much more. If you can’t do something by telephone or in a newspaper or face-to-face, then you generally can’t do it with a computer either.

Computing Privacy:

Protecting your data privacy is a goal of the JiT eEDU, but it is not a guarantee. The JiT eEDU makes reasonable efforts to respect and preserve the privacy of your computer files and usage. In the course of maintaining the health of systems and the network, staff may routinely scan ports and traffic on the network, review audit trails, and inspect and analyze usage patterns like CPU or bandwidth utilization, or network traffic destinations. If staff encounter evidence of policy violations or illegal activities, they may notify the appropriate authorities; the JiT eEDU may monitor the computing activities of suspected violators. Computing staff will not otherwise search through or provide the contents of computer files or traffic except to: authorized JiT eEDU administrators upon request or law enforcement officials under warrant.

Finally, despite our best efforts, your data and network traffic are vulnerable to illegal and unauthorized inspection and modification by others. If you have concerns about your own privacy, consider using off-line storage media, encryption programs, and taking other precautions as you see fit. The ultimate responsibility for protecting your privacy is yours.

Data Protection:

You are responsible for taking precautions to protect files you store on network servers. If you are not sure how to backup files onto separate media, or how to create a backup rotation, talk to a computing staff member. Unless you take precautions yourself, your data may be vulnerable to accidental deletion or corruption.

Your own computer:

The JiT eEDU is not responsible for losses due to theft, a malfunctioning network, problem installation software, or any other hazards, so provide your own insurance if you feel you need it.

Reservations:

Computing services are provided without any warranty, express or implied. Network connectivity and electric power may be disrupted, and any aspect of any service may be discontinued, without notice.