P2P File Sharing
Policy:
Peer-to-Peer file sharing (P2P) is prohibited on the campus network at the University
of Nevada, Reno.
Reason:
P2P applications are considered a big 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 P2P software before network
access is restored.