The terms and conditions of MacOnline usage are designed to best serve its users, to comply with various regulations and codes imposed by government, the University and the shared Internet communities, and to ensure that inappropriate use by one individual does not interfere with others. This document is intended to supplement the
McMaster Code of Conduct for Computer and Network
Users.
The MacOnline network service includes a
connection to the McMaster University network and to the internet via the
McMaster University network. Each residence student at McMaster has the
privilege of using the MacOnline service. Certain restrictions apply and
the privilege may be revoked at any time without notice (see the section on
abuses). You may incur charges while using the service. For
example, charges may be incurred as a result of accessing certain information,
or purchasing or subscribing to certain offerings. You are responsible
for charges, including all applicable taxes. These are not the
responsibility of the University.
Any computer or other device connected to
the McMaster University network must use a McMaster University IP number.
McMaster University owns all of the IP addresses and may change them at any
time. Your computer will be assigned an IP number via the Dynamic Host
Configuration Protocol (DHCP). Your Operating System must support this
protocol. You must use only the IP number assigned, no exceptions.
McMaster University computer networks and
services, like all University facilities, are to be used only by persons
authorized by the University, and only for University purposes. These computer
networks include all of the MacOnline network connections. These services
include but are not limited to accounts for E-Mail, Enhanced Modem Pool (EMP),
printing, Proxy, world wide web (WWW) home pages and access to Lan
servers. University purposes include the educational programs of the
University, as well as its research, administrative and outreach
activities.
You are the person who will be held
accountable for any use or abuse on the connection. Students are assigned to a
particular bed in each room. Each bed has a network jack associated with it.
You must use the network jack associated with your bed. Protect your computer
with power on passwords and screen savers with passwords. Lock the door to your
room when you are not there. Do not share your passwords with anyone. Laws,
policies and rules against fraud, harassment, obscenity and the like apply to
electronic communications no less than other media.
What
about Monitoring:
UTS routinely monitors the various
University computer networks and systems but does not routinely monitor the
activities of individuals. In case of system or network problems, the
appropriate staff are authorized to look at network packets on any part of the
network for information necessary to solve the problems or to protect the
systems and information that they contain. Staff are instructed to treat, as
confidential, any information they see that turns out to be unrelated to the
problem.
As part of normal network management, the
University may collect various types of network information. This information
may include but is not limited to the number of packets sent and received, the
amount of data sent and received, and the type of network protocols
used.
What about Network
Sniffing:
Your MacOnline connection is a private
connection within the MacOnline part of the University network. No other
MacOnline customers can see your non-broadcast network packets. This means that
the person in the next room cannot "sniff" your network packets from their
MacOnline connection. However, remember that your network packets could be
sniffed outside of the MacOnline part of the University network. This includes
other parts of the University network and the Internet.
Who owns What:
When we talk about your MacOnline
connection, this does not mean that you own it. The computer, the ethernet
card, and the patch cable that goes from the ethernet card to the MacOnline
connection are your property. The University owns the MacOnline connection on
the wall and all of the network wiring. You must not modify or tap into this
wiring in any way.
Network Bandwidth
Availability:
It is a privilege of the user to make use
of MacOnline. It is also the responsibility of the user to regulate his/her
usage patterns. The network is a shared resource and fellow users should be
treated in a respectful manner. A network connection in your residence room is
helpful for academic pursuits. A specific amount of Internet bandwidth is
purchased by Housing and Conference Services each school year. This bandwidth
is dedicated for use by MacOnline customers only and is not shared with the
rest of the University. There is a finite amount of bandwidth available. Once
consumed, speed to Internet destinations will begin to degrade.
UTS, in conjunction with the IRC and
Housing Services, may deploy various mechanisms to ensure fair usage of the
available bandwidth. These mechanisms help ensure that no one customer is
consuming more than his or her equal share. The amount of Internet
bandwidth used by an individual during a twenty-four hour period may be limited
and service degraded when the limit is reached. The limits may be adjusted
after review. The speed of data flow you experience will depend on the amount
of Internet traffic at the time of use and is often limited by the server you
are connected to. If usage patterns reveal that a user is monopolizing
bandwidth or is abusing the system, he/she may have their bandwidth limited for
a period of time. If the activity persists, the user may be called upon to
justify their levels of use and may be denied the service in the
future.
To optimize your experience with the
network:
- Read and understand the terms and
conditions of the
Code of Conduct for Computer and Network
Users. Know what is right and wrong and act
accordingly.
- Use the internet during non peak hours
from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. During this time many students are in class and
people are at work, so there is much less load on the network generally and
there are fewer people using the network.
- Choose what to download. Take
your time and select those files and programs that are necessary.
MacOnline is provided as an academic resource and should be treated as
such.
- Visit
www.mcmaster.ca/maconline often. There is a
FAQ site. It holds very important and pertinent questions and could solve
a problem you are having.
Abuses:
In case of suspicion of abuse, your
MacOnline connection and access to other UTS services may be disabled while the
matter is being investigated. If the investigation finds that abuse did not
occur, your MacOnline connection will be restored and access to other UTS
services reinstated. Any information found will be referred to Housing and
Conference Services who will follow the Residence Discipline
Code.
All cases involving harassment will be
reported to the Associate Vice-President (Student Affairs).
Depending on the specific complaint, you
may have your MacOnline connection and/or access to other UTS services
suspended permanently, be reported for academic dishonesty, be reported to the
police or McMaster Security and/or reported to other executive officers at the
University.
Is my computer safe from network
attack:
Firewall. MacOnline is
connected behind a firewall. The firewall permits traffic from your computer to
the McMaster network or the Internet and allows return traffic that is part of
that connection, back to your computer. The firewall blocks all unsolicited
traffic from the Internet to your computer (traffic not requested by your
computer). This means that any sort of Internet server, such as WWW or FTP,
running on your computer will not be accessible from the Internet, only from
within McMaster University. Your MUSS account enables you to publish WWW pages
that are accessible from outside the University.
File and Print
Sharing. The network segment functions as a Local Area
Network (LAN) in that each customer is a node on the network. As such,
other McMaster Network users may be able to access your computer. As
well, some software includes capabilities that permit other users across the
network and the Internet to gain access to your computer and to the software,
files and data stored on the computer. For example, operating systems
such as Windows, Linux and Apple Macintosh include file and printer sharing
capabilities which, when enabled, permit other users to gain access to your
computer (this is not an exhaustive list of applications or operating systems
which include such capabilities). We recommend that you disable file and
print sharing and other capabilities that allow users to gain access to your
computer. Any customer who chooses to enable capabilities such as file
sharing, print sharing, or other capabilities that allow users to gain access
to their computer, hereby acknowledges and agrees that they do so at their own
risk, and that McMaster shall have no liability whatsoever for any claims,
losses, actions, damages, suits or proceedings arising out of or otherwise
relating to such use.
FTP/HTTP Server Setup.
You should be aware that when your computer is connected to the network (and
Internet) there are certain applications, such as FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
server and HTTP (web) server which may allow McMaster University network users
to gain access to files on your computer. If you choose to run such
applications, you should take the appropriate security measures. McMaster
shall have no liability whatsoever for any claims, losses, actions, damages,
suits or proceedings resulting from, arising out of or otherwise relating to
the use of such applications by you, including, without limitations, damages
resulting from other users accessing your computer.
Software or other content downloaded from
the network may contain a virus, lock, key, bomb, worm, trojan horse or other
harmful or debilitating feature and it is your sole responsibility to take
appropriate precautions to protect your computer from damage to its software,
files and data. McMaster shall have no liability whatsoever for any
damage to or loss or destruction of any software, files or data resulting from
any virus, lock, key, bomb, worm, trojan horse or other harmful or debilitating
feature.
Prohibited Uses of MacOnline include
but are not limited to the following
:
