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CAHSS Software Policy

Scope

This policy applies to software on all state-owned computers used by faculty and staff, and computers in CAHSS disciplinary labs and disciplinary software installed in Academic Computing labs.This policy complies with existing State of California, the U.S. Copyright Act (USC Title 17), U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, and HSU’s Administrative Use Policy. (Reference: http://www.humboldt.edu/~its/planning/policy/aup.html)

Policy

Anyone who uses a state-owned computer (the “owner”) has the responsibility to ensure they are in compliance with the above policies and laws. They will bear full responsibility for their actions and be liable for any penalties. The ITC staff is not expected to play the role of software police, however, they will inform users of potential problems and offer advice and assistance in rectifying them. The owner, or department staff, has the responsibility of maintaining copies of purchase orders for custom software and a software inventory list. The ITC will not repair or service any server or workstation that has unlicensed software installed on it. To avoid repercussions and licensing conflicts, CSU site licensed software should be used whenever possible.

Installation

Installation of disciplinary software in any interdisciplinary lab operated by Academic Computing and/or a CAHSS department shall be the exclusive responsibility of the lab administrator and/or CAHSS ITC. All software installations must be authorized by the lab administrator/owner or CAHSS ITC.

Removal

All software installed in labs or faculty and staff computers which does not comply with existing laws (as evidenced by a specific site license agreement and/or which cannot be substantiated by a purchase order) shall be removed by the owner, lab administrator, or CAHSS ITC.

Remote Control Software

Even if it is licensed, software that is used to remotely control a workstation or server, such as, “Timbuktu”, “PC Anywhere”, “VNC”, “Apple Remote Desktop” is not supported by the CAHSS ITC office.

Peer-to-Peer Software File Sharing

The CAHSS ITC was notified by HSU, Telecommunications and Networking Services (TNS) that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) regularly monitors our computers for copyright compliance. By virtue of the MPAA's written communication, they are notifying the University that legal action can be pursued if the matter is not resolved by us. TNS also discovers these types of violations by their own research and monitoring. TNS brings these matters to our attention. This is very serious. The CAHSS ITC are asking for and appreciate your patience, attention and cooperation in understanding and dealing with these important copyright issues.

The installation of peer-to-peer file sharing software is not supported by the ITC Office. Here is a representative short list of program names (there are more):

Napster Kazaa Morpheus BearShare LimeWire Gnutella Gnucleus Hotline Frogblast Carracho iSwipe ShareReactor OpenNap Poisoned FreeNet PitBull BitTorrent KDX

This software is server software and uses valuable bandwidth that HSU normally uses to conduct business (email, internet use, "Meeting Maker", "Banner", etc.). Because of the potential impact it can have on other employees, TNS has the right to terminate the network connection to unauthorized file-sharing software servers.

Note that it is illegal to copy or distribute unauthorized copyrighted materials under the Copyright Act, Title 17, United States Code and Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. Infringements can also violate international copyrights, laws and treaty obligations.

In order to comply with the law, and in response to the MPAA's notification, when CAHSS ITC finds these types of programs and their associated files, we will use the following procedures:

1. Notify the department chair and the person responsible for that computer,
2. Remove the unauthorized program(s), with the permission of the department chair.
3. Notify the HSU Security Officer, HSU Telecommunications and Networking Services (TNS)..

If TNS terminates any Ethernet connections, the situation will be reviewed to have those connections restored. Computers may be confiscated by UPD. Computers will be returned by law enforcement officials upon completion of their investigation.