Policy
Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file sharing of copyrighted material is prohibited on the campus network at the University of Nevada, Reno. Use of P2P software is discouraged and may be throttled or blocked if it becomes detrimental to the proper functioning of the network.
Reason
P2P applications are considered a security risk because they use direct communications between computers (or "peers") to share or transfer data. They require client software to be installed and, by so doing, expose the network to a number of risks.
Security flaws in P2P applications may provide attackers with ways to crash computers, access confidential information, or infect the entire network. In addition, P2P applications can consume large amounts of bandwidth that are reserved for academic and administrative purposes and are, therefore, considered network abuse.
Resolution
Any computer running P2P software will be blocked from campus network access until the software has been removed from the computer. A Systems Administrator in the Information Technology division must verify removal of the copyrighted material and possibly the P2P software before network access is restored.