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ECS Acceptable Use Policy of Electronic Resources

Engineering Computer Services (ECS) maintains computing resources for the instructional, research and support needs of the College of Engineering (CoE.) Access to these resources is a privilege, not a right, and, as such, this privilege imposes certain responsibilities and obligations. The use of the computer systems and network in the College of Engineering is subject to both college and university policies, as well as local, state and federal laws and regulations.

The following policies outline the acceptable use of College computing resources, including computers, networks, software and electronic data. These resources are provided to the faculty, staff, students and guests of the College. Members of this community are expected to exercise responsible, ethical behavior when using both the College's computing resources, as well as those systems outside of the College that are accessible over the network.

Engineering Computer Services does not routinely search user files for suspicious activity. However, if in the course of normal system maintenance suspicious activity is found, the proper authorities will be notified.


ECS Policies

  • Do not give out your password to anyone else, regardless of how well you know them. Do not share your account with others. Do not send passwords via email, as this constitutes a security risk. ECS encourages users to change their password regularly.
  • You must only use those resources for which you have authority. Any attempt to guess passwords, or probe for security weaknesses is considered a violation of University policy.
  • Refrain from running certain server applications on the College network. ECS is the only group authorized to run DNS and DHCP services on the CoE network. Duplicate instances of these services run by other individuals will interfere with the normal operation of the network environment.
  • The use of network monitoring tools is prohibited, unless it is cleared with the ECS Director for research and/or instructional purposes. Such tools are a potential infringement on the privacy of other users.
  • You must only use the IP address assigned to you by ECS. Attempts to use an unauthorized IP address are disruptive to the network, and will be disconnected when detected.
  • The College computing resources are shared by the community. Refrain from using excessive network bandwidth, or performing tasks that degrade the performance of the systems. While ECS will attempt to contact the individual involved to determine the situation, we will halt activity that restricts access for the community as a whole. In the case of excessive bandwidth use that doesn't pertain to research or instructional purposes, ECS will limit network access.
  • The College is bound by copyright laws. Do not download or share copyrighted materials. When ECS receives notification of a copyright violation, we will terminate the offending network connection immediately.
  • Do not use or share pirated software. You must be a aware of software license restrictions, and abide by those limitations.
  • ECS computers and networks are property of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. They are not to be used for personal profit or commercial use.
  • You are expected to respect the rights and privacy of others. Do not attempt to access another user's files, data or email without permission. Do not use or attempt to use another individual's computer account.
  • ECS provides the network services for the College of Engineering. Since misconfigured equipment may disrupt the network, ECS reserves the right to remove unapproved network hardware (hubs, switches, routers) from the network that is not installed by ECS or with prior agreement with ECS.

Enforcement

The College considers any violations of these policies to be a serious offense. Individuals found in violation of the above policies face either the possible suspension of their computer account or network connection, or the limitation of their network bandwidth, depending on the nature of the infraction. Violations of the acceptable use policy will be referred to the Dean for further action.

ECS Wireless Airspace Policy

Engineering Computer Services (ECS) provides wireless network services for the College of Engineering in a number of areas in the College's buildings. This service is available to faculty, staff, students and guests of the College. Please see the ECS wireless information page for further details on this service. The use of this wireless service is governed by the College and University computing policies. The radio frequency airspace used for this service is a shared and finite resource. Consequently, use of this resource is governed by the following additional policies:

  • Only access points installed by ECS or approved by ECS will be allowed within College buildings. Given the limited resources for wireless service, ECS must ensure that access points do not interfere with the operation of either ECS maintained access points or those that are supported by other major University groups, such as OIT or Computer Science.
  • Access points that are installed and operated within the confines of the College of Engineering space must provide suitable restrictions for access to the network, to guarantee that only authorized individuals have access to the network. These access points tie into the College network, which provides access to both the campus network and the Internet.
  • ECS reserves the right to remove or reconfiguration of access points that are not installed by ECS or with prior agreement with ECS. ECS will make every effort to accommodate groups that need wireless access for research or instructional purposes, within the restrictions of this policy. Since the College is part of the larger campus, members of the College community must work to cooperate with other member of the University community.
  • The cloning of MAC addresses in the configuration of an access point (or other network equipment) is prohibited. Connections using cloned MAC addresses will be disconnected by ECS when they are found.
  • ECS will scan the the College network periodically for wireless equipment.