Overview
The Department of Housing and Residence Education (“HRE”) provides internet access (“UF Residential Network”) for residents in the residence halls and graduate and family housing facilities. Access to the internet via the UF Residential Network is provided by wired Ethernet and wireless network connections. Support is provided by UF Division of Student Life Department of Information Technology (“SAIT”).
The UF Residential Network is designed and intended to support student academic needs for the purpose and mission of the University of Florida. However, the UF Residential Network may be used for recreational and personal purposes provided that this use does not interfere with other residents/users or violate any portion of the UF Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) or this AUP.
The Department of Housing and Residence Education Community Standards cover the usage of the UF Residential Network for all residents. If you violate the terms of this Acceptable Use Policy (AUP), your incident may be reported to the HRE Office of Conduct and Community Standards.
All users of UF Residential Network must abide by this AUP and by the rules contained in the UF Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy. It is your responsibility to be familiar with these policies. If you do not agree by the terms of this AUP, you should stop using UF Residential Network immediately.
Requirements
For a list of requirements necessary for connecting to UF Residential Network, please visit https://it.ufsa.ufl.edu/students/get-connected/.
Security
You are responsible for installing and maintaining the appropriate security software on devices you connect to UF Residential Network. Any automated program installed on your computer that participates in activities banned under this AUP, with or without your explicit consent, may be reported to the HRE Office of Conduct and Community Standards. HRE and SAIT staff are not responsible for verifying whether activity coming from your computer or device is the result of your actions or the actions of malicious software.
UF Information Technology maintains active scanning systems looking for virus, botnets, or malicious software activity. You are required to have a security product installed on your computer with real-time malware scanning and definition updating capabilities while using the UF Residential Network.
Authentication
All devices connected to UF Residential Network must authenticate with a GatorLink username and password. Devices that cannot authenticate with 802.1x may be permitted to access via consultation with SAIT.
Prohibited Activities
Sharing of GatorLink credentials and UF Residential Network Resources and Network Infrastructure
You are wholly responsible for any activity conducted under your GatorLink credentials while connected to the UF Residential Network, regardless of whether you personally participated in the activity or not. You should not permit others to use your GatorLink credentials while connected to the UF Residential Network.
You are not permitted to connect more than one computer at the same time or devices that permit multiple network connections into the UF Residential Network wired Ethernet port. Hubs, switches, wireless access points, routers, and other similar network equipment that constitutes network infrastructure are not permitted.
Residents of Corry Village and Diamond Village are permitted to setup and deploy wireless access points provided that these wireless access points are secured with a password using WPA2 or a better wireless security protocol. The residents of Corry Village and Diamond Village are responsible for all activity that occurs on the provided port in their room including if they share with visitors.
Commercial Use
Using the UF Residential Network for commercial purposes or for personal profit is strictly prohibited. You may not sell or give away your access to the UF Residential Network to other users.
Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Software
The usage of peer-to-peer software is strictly prohibited on the UF Residential Network. Peer-to-peer applications are defined under the purposes of this AUP as being software that connects your computer to another computer for the purposes of file-sharing (uploading, seeding, or downloading) or distributing bandwidth amongst many computers.
Servers
Devices connected to UF Residential Network are not permitted to be servers (such as email, FTP, web, P2P, game servers, BitCoin mining, etfc). Servers are defined as any program or device that has the primary purpose of waiting for connections from other devices or computers in order to provide services to those computers. This does not include programs such as web browsers or instant messengers, which are client programs.
Encryption, Virtual Private Networks, and Remote Protocols
You are permitted to use the UF Gatorlink VPN connection from any of your devices connected to DHNet. Remotely connecting to a device connected to the UF Residential Network from another connection outside, including the UF network, is not supported. Connecting to a device located on another network from your device is permitted provided the network owner has permitted access. The use of VPN software other than the UF Gatorlink VPN is prohibited.
If there is a UF Business or UF Academic need for using a VPN (other than UF Gatorlink VPN) while utilizing UF Residential Network, you may request an exception by sending an email to ithelp@ufsa.ufl.edu. An additional email from your professor or supervisor will also be required to the same email address that will state the academic/business need and the length of the VPN exception (exceptions are not permanent). SAIT will contact you to gather other information after the requests are processed. Requests for exemption are not automatic and each is determined on a case-by-case basis. Please also see the rules for Exceptions below.
Copyright Infringement
Copyrighted files and software cannot be shared over the UF Residential Network unless you are the direct copyright holder doing so in the pursuit of a documentable academic need or you have written permission to do so from the copyright holder. While it is possible to obtain copyrighted materials without using peer-to-peer software, obtaining copyrighted materials without proper authorization is not permitted.
UF, HRE, and SAIT assume no responsibility for infringements of copyright or other laws committed by you during the usage of the service. You are responsible for determining whether material is legally obtained or not.
Connecting to Other Computers on the UF Residential Network
You are not permitted to network computers together on the UF Residential Network or connect to other users’ devices on the UF Residential Network. This includes sharing media devices, music libraries (such as the iTunes library), usage of the Hamachi VPN software or similar software, creating LANs, or creating workgroups. You may not set up ad-hoc networks using wireless adapters or any type of network appliance.
Using Scanning or Other Types of Security Applications
You are not permitted to use any application that scans or catalogs the network or devices connected to the network. You may not use any type of security tool while connected to the UF Residential Network to remotely scan or catalog devices connected outside of the network.
Bandwidth Usage
You may not excessively use bandwidth or the UF Residential Network resources in such a way that causes a disruption or denial of service (DoS) to other users of the network.
Hacking and other Illegal Activities
You may not, at any time, use the UF network, or related resources for hacking or causing harm. You may not use the network in the commission of a crime under UF regulations or local, state, or federal law. You may not use the network to violate any UF regulation or policy.
You may not threaten, stalk, harass, or violate the rights of anyone else while using the network or collect personal data about other users. You may not use the network to transmit malicious software to others.
You may not forge or attempt to hide your identity while using the network. Manually changing the Media Access Control (MAC) address or IP (Internet Protocol) address of any device or equipment connected to the UF Residential Network is not allowed.
Other Prohibited Activities
Any activity not specified under this AUP may be disallowed under the discretion of the Department of Housing and Residence Education if such an activity would:
- Disrupt, damage, or cause harm to the operations of the UF Residential Network
- Interfere with the mission and purpose of either the University of Florida or the Department of Housing and Residence Education
- Circumvent or bypass in any way the monitoring capability of SAIT or UFIT staff to enforce the AUP
- Be significantly maligned with the interests of the University community.
Exceptions
Exceptions to this Acceptable Use Policy may be granted by the Senior Director of Student Life Information Technology under the following circumstances:
- The user is a student of the University of Florida and has demonstrated a clear and obvious academic purpose for the exception. The user must provide supporting evidence and allow us to contact his/her faculty member for verification. In addition, the user must demonstrate that he/she cannot reasonably use a resource other than the network to complete his/her academic task. If the request would cause, in the opinion of the staff member giving the approval, considerable hardship to the network, the request may be denied despite sufficient evidence supporting the request.
- The user is an employee of the University of Florida or the Department of Housing and Residence Education and has a clear work-related reason for the exception. The user must provide supporting evidence and allow us to contact his/her supervisor for verification. In addition, the user must demonstrate that he/she cannot reasonably use a resource other than the network to complete his/her work-related task. If the request would cause, in the opinion of the staff member giving the approval, considerable hardship to the network, the request may be denied despite sufficient evidence supporting the request.
Users with a history of violating this Acceptable Use Policy or providing false information to UF officials may be denied exceptions to this policy without explanation.
Violations
Any violation of this Acceptable Use Policy may result in a report to the HRE Office of Conduct and Community Standards.