From: tim@wiliki.eng.hawaii.edu (Tim Brown)
Newsgroups: info.policy
Subject: COE Computer Policy
Date: 20 Aug 92 19:02:17 GMT
Organization: University of Hawaii, College of Engineering









		   COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING COMPUTER FACILITY POLICY
		     ON COMPUTER USAGE AND USER RESPONSIBILITIES


			    University of Hawaii at Manoa
			       College of Engineering






	 GENERAL INFORMATION

	 The College of Engineering (COE) maintains an extensive  collection
	 of computer hardware and software for use by its students, faculty,
	 and staff in fulfilling  their  educational  and  research  duties.
	 Students  will  find these facilities essential for keeping up with
	 what is happening in the College and for completing their Engineer-
	 ing  course  work.  The  main concentration of this equipment is in
	 Holmes 244 and COE students, faculty, and  staff  can	access	this
	 equipment on a first come first serve basis by presenting a current
	 UH student ID card.

	 Each student and  faculty  member  in	Engineering  and  all  staff
	 members  whose  duties require computer access are given an account
	 on Wiliki, the College of  Engineering's  HP9000/870  central	com-
	 puter.  These accounts also allow access to the COE's ten HP works-
	 tations in Holmes 244. Through these systems, users have the  abil-
	 ity  to  use electronic mail and the COE's Information System (is),
	 access the  Internet  (a  nationwide  computer  network),  and  run
	 Engineering packages such as Spice, Mapinfo, and ANSYS.

	 Wiliki and the workstations are multi-user computer systems and  as
	 such  require	responsible  behavior on the part of all users. This
	 document lays out your rights and  responsibilities  in  having  an
	 account  on such a system. Those who cannot fulfill their responsi-
	 bilities as users of a multi-user system will have  their  accounts
	 suspended  or	terminated, thus it is essential that you understand
	 what is expected of you. Please remember that an account on  Wiliki
	 is  a	privilege  granted  to	you  as a student, faculty, or staff
	 member in the College of Engineering, not a right, and its  contin-
	 ued  use is dependent upon responsible behavior on the part of you,
	 the user.

	 GENERAL USER RESPONSIBILITIES

	      In the practice of their profession,  engineers  must  perform
	 _________________________
	 August 6, 1992










					- 2 -


	      under a  standard  of  professional  behavior  which  requires
	      adherence  to  the  highest  principles  of ethical conduct on
	      behalf of the public, clients, employers and the profession.

	      Engineers shall be guided in all their professional  relations
	      by the highest standards of integrity.

	      Engineers shall avoid all conduct or practice which is  likely
	      to discredit the profession.


			       --Code of Ethics for Engineers


	 As a shared resource among hundreds of people it is important	that
	 Wiliki function as smoothly as possible with minimal disruptions of
	 service and fair access for all. This means that each user has  the
	 following responsibilities while using this system:

	 1. Do not interfere with the work of other system users.

	      This means that you must	not  send  unsolicited	messages  to
	      other  users'  terminal  screens or engage in other activities
	      which prevent them from accomplishing their work.  Second, you
	      may  not	attempt  to  obtain  the passwords of other users or
	      alter their files in any way, even if they should accidentally
	      leave  their  accounts accessible either by failing to log out
	      or altering their protections. Any user found in possession of
	      other  user's  passwords, copying another's files without per-
	      mission, using another's account,  or  repeatedly  interfering
	      with  the  work  of  others  will have his/her COE access ter-
	      minated.

	      Should you find someone has left a  terminal  without  logging
	      out  of their account, please log them out and notify the sys-
	      tem manager of the user's name by sending electronic  mail  to
	      "sysman" on Wiliki. (You can determine who the user is by typ-
	      ing "whoami" at the terminal before logging them out).

	      Finally, when you are working in	Holmes	244,  work  quietly,
	      keep  conversations  at  a low volume, and help to maintain an
	      environment conducive to work.

	 2. Do not unnecessarily tie up system resources.

	      If you are running a program which makes very heavy CPU  usage
	      (e.g.  a	large  number crunching program) on Wiliki or the HP
	      workstations, you should lower the priority of this program so
	      that  it does not slow down the system for other users, or you
	      should run the program between midnight and  7am	when  system
	      usage is light. (For details on lowering process priority type
	      "man nice" on Wiliki or see one of the Lab Monitors).   System
	      management  reserves  the right to terminate any process which
	      affects the overall performance of the system.









					- 3 -


	      Avoid excessive disk  utilization.  We  have  several  hundred
	      users  on  Wiliki.  If you have files you are not using and do
	      not anticipate a need for in the near  future,  please  either
	      compress	them  down  (type  "man  tar"  and "man compress" on
	      Wiliki or see a Lab Monitor for more details) or copy them  to
	      diskette	and remove them from the system. If you receive mes-
	      sages from the system about being above quota, please  try  to
	      drop  your disk usage below the level requested in the message
	      as soon as possible. We recognize that there are times when it
	      is  necessary  to exceed the limits temporarily, but if you do
	      so, you should return to your allowed quota  in  a  reasonably
	      short  period of time. If an individual user stays above quota
	      for too long, the system management may move some  of  his/her
	      files to temporary storage.

	      COE facilities are intended for educational and research	pur-
	      poses  and  these have higher priority than other types of use
	      (e.g., game playing or reading electronic news).	If  you  are
	      using  a	terminal for games or for reading news and there are
	      other users waiting, you are expected to yield the terminal to
	      them.  As  a  matter  of courtesy in situations like this, you
	      should give up the terminal voluntarily without having  to  be
	      asked.

	 3. Do not allow others to use your account and report	unauthorized
	 access.

	      Your COE account is issued solely for your use. Under no	cir-
	      cumstances should you allow ANY other person to access it. Use
	      of another user's account or  loaning  account  privileges  to
	      others   is  prohibited  and  will  result  in  loss  of	your
	      privileges with the COE.

	      You are further  required  to  notify  the  system  management
	      immediately  of  any  unauthorized access to your account (for
	      example, if you find your files missing or  changed,  or	find
	      someone  else logged into your account from another terminal).
	      You may do this by sending mail to "sysman" on  Wiliki  or  by
	      seeing  one  of the Lab Monitors in Holmes 244 and asking them
	      to pass the information on to the  system  management.  It  is
	      essential  that  such  access  be detected and the responsible
	      person located to ensure that system security on Wiliki is not
	      compromised which could result in the loss of everyone's files
	      or interference with normal operation of the system. If you do
	      find  someone  has accessed your account, change your password
	      immediately and then check with the Lab Monitors on what other
	      steps  you should take (e.g., checking network files, checking
	      protections on your files, etc.).

	 4. Do not make copies of any software from COE machines for use  on
	 other computers.

	      Unless the documentation EXPLICITLY states otherwise, you  may
	      NOT  copy  any  software	from  COE  machines  for use on home









					- 4 -


	      machines or any other machines  on  or  off  campus.  The  COE
	      operates most of its software and hardware under very restric-
	      tive licenses, the violation  of	which  have  serious  conse-
	      quences for the College. Any user who copies licensed software
	      will be denied further access to COE machines and may be	sub-
	      ject to legal action by the software manufacturers. Similarly,
	      the use of illegal or unauthorized software on COE machines is
	      prohibited.

	 5. Do not use your account for any commercial endeavors.

	      COE facilities, including hardware,  software,  and  networks,
	      are  intended  exclusively  for  educational and research pur-
	      poses. Any commercial use of COE facilities is prohibited.

	 6. Guard your password carefully and change it frequently.

	      Passwords guessed or determined by watching users log  in  are
	      still  the most common means by which accounts are penetrated.
	      Users can help to prevent this by the following measures:

	      a.   Never give out your password to anyone else.  NOTE:	this
		   includes  the  system  management.  No  legitimate system
		   manager will ever ask you for your password.

	      b.   Do not type your password while someone else watches you.

	      c.   Change your password frequently with  the  "passwd"	com-
		   mand.

	      d.   Never use a password based on  personal  reference  data,
		   e.g.,  names  of family members, birthdates, social secu-
		   rity numbers, etc.

	      e.   Never use a password which would occur in a dictionary.

	      f.   Use passwords with combinations of upper and  lower	case
		   letters and special characters. For example, cat9Frog, or
		   big!Apple. Pass phrases, made from the  first  letter  of
		   each  word  of  a  phrase, with the addition of a special
		   characters are an especially good choice (e.g., "Lucy  in
		   the sky with diamonds" becomes "!LitswD").

	 7. Always cooperate with requests from  the  system  administrators
	 for information about
		 your computing activities.

	      From time to time,  the  system  administrators  may  find  it
	      necessary  to ask you why you are consuming resources, whether
	      you were logged in at a particular time, or some other  infor-
	      mation  about  your use of the system. If asked, please assist
	      them in whatever way you can. Their only reasons for  request-
	      ing  this information will be to pursue possible security vio-
	      lations, close security loopholes, and see to the  fair  usage









					- 5 -


	      of the facility by all users.

	 8. Report any security flaws immediately.

	      All multi-user  systems  have  security  flaws.  You  may  NOT
	      exploit  such  flaws  in	any way. The only acceptable course,
	      should you detect such a flaw, is  to  notify  the  management
	      immediately  by sending email to "sysman" on Wiliki. Trying to
	      explore the flaw on your own, testing it out to see its extent
	      or  effect,  is  unethical and unacceptable because the system
	      management has no way to distinguish curious exploration	from
	      malicious exploitation. If you wish to help the system manage-
	      ment track down bugs, contact them  and  volunteer  your	ser-
	      vices.

	 MISUSE OF COMPUTING RESOURCES AND PRIVILEGES

	 Misuse of computing resources and privileges includes, but  is  not
	 restricted to, the following:

	      +    Attempting  to  modify  or  remove  computer   equipment,
		   software, or peripherals without proper authorization.

	      +    Accessing computers, computer software, computer data  or
		   information,  or  networks  without proper authorization,
		   regardless  of  whether  the  computer,  software,  data,
		   information,  or network in question is owned by the Col-
		   lege (That is, if you abuse the  networks  to  which  the
		   College belongs or the computers at other sites connected
		   to those networks, the College will treat this matter  as
		   an abuse of your COE computing privileges).

	      +    Sending fraudulent computer mail or breaking into another
		   user's electronic mailbox.

	      +    Violating any software license  agreement  or  copyright,
		   including  copying or redistributing copyrighted computer
		   software,  data,  or  reports  without  proper,  recorded
		   authorization.

	      +    Harassing or threatening other users or interfering	with
		   their access to the College's computing facilities.

	      +    Taking advantage of another user's naivete or  negligence
		   to  gain  access to any computer account, data, software,
		   or file other than your own.

	      +    Encroaching on others' use  of  the	College's  computers
		   (e.g.,  sending  frivolous  or excessive messages, either
		   locally or off-campus; printing excess  copies  of  docu-
		   ments,  files,  data, or programs; willfully writing pro-
		   grams to tie up resources; modifying  system  facilities,
		   operating  systems,	or  disk  partitions;  attempting to
		   crash a College computer; damaging or vandalizing College









					- 6 -


		   computing  facilities,  equipment,  software, or computer
		   files).

	      +    Disclosing or removing proprietary information, software,
		   printed  output  or	magnetic  media without the explicit
		   permission of the owner.

	      +    Reading other users' data, information,  files,  or	pro-
		   grams  on  a  display  screen,  as printed output, or via
		   electronic means, without the  owner's  explicit  permis-
		   sion.

	 In addition, some of the above actions may constitute criminal com-
	 puter	abuse,	which  may be punishable under State or Federal sta-
	 tutes.

	 Unless specifically authorized by a class instructor,	all  of  the
	 following  uses  of  a  computer are violations of the University's
	 guidelines for academic honesty and are punishable as acts of	pla-
	 giarism:

	      +    Copying a computer file that contains  another  student's
		   assignment and submitting it as your own work.

	      +    Copying a computer file that contains  another  student's
		   assignment  and  using it as a model for your own assign-
		   ment.

	      +    Working together on an assignment, sharing  the  computer
		   files   and	submitting  that  file,  or  a	modification
		   thereof, as your own individual work.

	 SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR'S RESPONSIBILITIES

	 The system administrators' use of the College's computing resources
	 is  governed  by  the same guidelines as any other user's computing
	 activity. However a system administrator has  additional  responsi-
	 bilities  to  the users of the network, site, system, or systems he
	 or she administers:

	      +    A system administrator ensures that all users of the sys-
		   tems,  networks,  and  servers that he or she administers
		   have access to  the	appropriate  software  and  hardware
		   required for their College computing.

	      +    A system administrator is responsible for the security of
		   a system, network, or server.

	      +    A system administrator must make sure that  all  hardware
		   and	software  license agreements are faithfully executed
		   on all systems, networks, and servers for which he or she
		   has responsibility.

	      +    A system administrator must take  reasonable  precautions









					- 7 -


		   to guard against corruption of data or software or damage
		   to hardware or facilities.

	      +    A system administrator must treat information  about  and
		   information stored by the system's users as confidential.

	 In the case where a system administrator has  reasonable  cause  to
	 believe that system response, integrity, or security is threatened,
	 a system administrator is authorized to access the files and infor-
	 mation necessary to find and resolve the situation.

	 CONSEQUENCES OF MISUSE OF COMPUTING PRIVILEGES

	 Abuse of computing privileges is subject to disciplinary action. If
	 system administrators of the COE Computer Facility have strong evi-
	 dence of misuse of computing resources, and if that evidence points
	 to the computing activities or the computer files of an individual,
	 they have the obligation to pursue any  or  all  of  the  following
	 steps to protect the user community:

	      +    Notify the user's instructor, department chair, or super-
		   visor of the investigation.

	      +    Suspend or restrict the user's computing privileges	dur-
		   ing	the  investigation. A user may appeal such a suspen-
		   sion or restriction	first  with  the  system  management
		   (send  mail	to "sysman" on Wiliki and request a meeting)
		   and, if this is insufficient to resolve the	matter,  may
		   subsequently  petition  for	reinstatement  of  computing
		   privileges through the COE Assistant Dean.

	      +    Inspect the user's files, diskettes, and/or tapes. System
		   administrators must be certain that the trail of evidence
		   leads to the user's	computing  activities  or  computing
		   files  before  inspecting  the  user's  files. The system
		   administrators shall maintain a  written  record  of  the
		   reasoning  and  evidence  which justifies inspection of a
		   user's files.

	      +    Refer the matter for processing through  the  appropriate
		   University	department.   This  would  be  the  Dean  of
		   Engineering or the Dean of Students in the case  of	stu-
		   dent  abuse	and  the  UH personnel office in the case of
		   staff or faculty abuse.

	 Disciplinary action may include the loss  of  computing  privileges
	 and  other disciplinary actions. It should be understood that these
	 regulations do not preclude enforcement under the laws and  regula-
	 tions	of  the State of Hawaii, any municipality or county therein,
	 and/or the United States of America.

	 NOTE TO STUDENT USERS: Students whose	accounts  are  suspended  or
	 removed  should be aware that this may make completion of Engineer-
	 ing coursework difficult or impossible. However, this will  not  be









					- 8 -


	 grounds  for  restoration of an account. All students must read and
	 understand the policies in this document and  understand  that  the
	 consequences	of   their   violation	include  loss  of  computing
	 privileges which may seriously affect their ability to continue  as
	 students in Engineering.

	 NOTE ON PRIVACY OF FILES: Under  normal  circumstances  the  system
	 administrators  will  NOT  access  a  user's files. However, should
	 there be reasonable cause to  believe	that  an  account  has	been
	 compromised  or  is  being  used  in a manner inconsistent with the
	 above policy, examination of files by the administrators is permit-
	 ted.

	 As a general rule, users of the system should be aware  that  files
	 and electronic mail are not secure on the COE systems or the Inter-
	 net. Even if the administrators do not access a user's files, there
	 is  always  the  possibility of a security flaw that allows another
	 user access to anyone's files. Similarly, mail sent  electronically
	 may  be  intercepted  at  any number of points along the way to its
	 destination and mail  files  at  either  end  are  not  necessarily
	 secure.   Users  should keep this in mind and NEVER store confiden-
	 tial, sensitive, or potentially embarrassing information  on  these
	 systems.  No one can give you a guarantee of the confidentiality of
	 files on COE systems and the College makes no such claims of confi-
	 dentiality.

	 Furthermore, in a multi-user environment of this type	the  College
	 can  make  no	guarantees about the integrity or protection of pro-
	 grams and data stored on its systems. Users are cautioned  to	make
	 frequent  backups  of important files to diskettes or on other sys-
	 tems to which they have access.

	 QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS

	 Any questions of interpretation of or comments regarding this	pol-
	 icy	   should	be	 mailed       electronically	  to
	 "sysman@wiliki.eng.hawaii.edu" or surface mailed to:

		 System Management
		 College of Engineering Computer Facility
		 2540 Dole Street
		 Honolulu, Hawaii 96822

	 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

	 This policy draws heavily on the policy of the UCLA  SEASnet  which
	 in  turn was adapted from those of numerous other policies, includ-
	 ing but not limited to those of: the Columbia	University  Computer
	 Science  Department,  the  California	Institute of Technology, the
	 UCLA department of Computer Science Academic  Honesty	Policy,  the
	 University of Delaware's Guide to Responsible Computering, and com-
	 ments	from  SUNY-Albany,  University	of  Washington,   Washington
	 University   (St.   Louis),   Indiana	University,  Michigan  State
	 University, the University of New Mexico and the Smithsonian Insti-
	 tute.