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Schools to Avoid: University of Florida
Iphtashu Fitz writes "The University of Florida has apparently come up with a technological approach to deal with P2P file sharing on their campus networks. According to this article on wired.com they have developed a program that scans the PCs of students in the UF dorm rooms. The program, dubbed 'Icarus' not only detects P2P applications but viruses, worms, and other trojans. If a P2P application is found then an e-mail is sent to the user, a message is popped up on their screen, and their internet connection is disconnected. First time offenders lose their connection for 30 minutes. The second offense results in a 5 day loss. The third strike results in an indefinite loss of connectivity. An editorial in The Independent Florida Alligator, the student newspaper, called the use of Icarus 'an invasive and annoying system that further deters students from living in dorms (see also another story).'"
When students first register on the network, they are required to read about peer-to-peer networks and certify that they will not share copyright files.
Yup. That's the only thing P2P is good for: downloading copyrighted files. Certainly no one like me would use it to share GPLed software.
Somehow I'm sure Icarus cares not about that distinction.
"When we turned the program on, our bandwidth usage dropped by 85 percent," said Norbert Dunkel, director of housing and residence education for the university.
Good job. You wouldn't want anyone to use all that bandwidth now would you. Better just have people checking their email, after all, if you are using more than average, you must be up to something bad.
Correct...but you could (and probably did) figure that out by following my home page link.
Or else my description of the situation might have sounded awfully familiar.
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It's justification for doing something about it. My school did not want to completely block access to arbitrary ports, but reducing P2P to 10% practically equates to banning it. If a university has issues with their hardware and bandwidth being used to pirate music, movies, and software...that's their decision. With a big school, you either have to be draconian or submit to anarchy. A smaller school can deal with issues like "but all I have is legal/free/my own music on here."
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