Re: Do you block P2P ?

[Kevin Wilcox <wilcoxkm () APPSTATE EDU>]

2009/9/3 randy marchany <marchany () vt edu>:

> > At 15:12 -0400 9/3/2009, mike corcoran wrote:

> > > How many of you block P2P on your campus?  If you do block it, how many
> > > complaints do you receive because of it?

> Whenever I hear the "do you block XXXX", I have to ask "what is the
> purpose of the block?" The reason why I ask the question is to make
> sure the "solution" doesn't introduce a worse problem than the one it
> was trying to solve.
>
> Obviously, I presume the block is to limit your liability with regard
> to illegal downloads.  I also presume you have an extensive awareness
> campaign on the dangers and merits of P2P downloads. Without that, you
> won't be able to solve the problem. However, you really need to ask
> the question "does the block prevent legit uses of P2P?".

<snip some good stuff>

Randy - this is the idea I was hinting at with my earlier comment
about treating the symptom.

When we first discussed what to do with P2P here, my knee-jerk
suggestion was just to block it completely. Instead, we had a lot of
success with sending emails to student that were using P2P and letting
them know that

they were seen using p2p software,

it may have been for legal, legitimate purposes, in which case they
could ignore the email

it may have been a result of viral or some other infectious activity,
in which case they needed to have their machine checked at our tech
support centre,

or it might have been a result of illegal file-sharing, in which case
they could possibly face legal action.

Very few students received multiple emails and you could watch P2P
usage drop sharply after emails started going out. In addition,
legitimate users aren't being penalised aside from receiving the
occasional email that they were seen using P2P software and that it is
in their best interest to only use it for legitimate purposes.

kmw

-- 
Kevin Wilcox
Network Infrastructure and Control Systems
Appalachian State University
Email: wilcoxkm () appstate edu
Office: 828.262.6259