Copyright Infringement resulting from use of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) programs
Welcome ( Back ) to Muhlenberg College! One way OIT knows you're back on campus is an influx of Copyright Infringement Notices. Muhlenberg College is bound, under the terms of the DMCA, to investigate all allegations of copyright infringement, identify the individuals responsible, present them with the notifications we receive, and prevent further infringement activity. There are an escalating series of Student Code of Conduct policies the College applies to students who do not comply. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) have successfully sued and recovered damages against many students. Protect yourself and don't use P2P applications at all. If you cannot resist, ensure they are configured to minimize your chances of distributing infringing content.
So it's time to turn off the file sharing options on any of the file sharing programs on your computers and laptops. Just having these programs installed can lead to file sharing even if you don't use them, as many run silently in the background. It’s just another part of responsible computing.
Another way to minimize risk is to power off / standby / sleep your computer when not in use. If your computer is not on, it cannot be accidentally sharing music (catching viruses, let someone read your e-mail, etc.) As an added bonus, you are saving the planet, and reducing the costs of operating the College.
