Now that the Fall semester is in full swing, IT Services would like to remind students, faculty, and staff of the Peer-to-Peer policy for Internet access.
Peer-to-peer (P2P), bit-torrent, and file sharing programs that send or receive data with P2P protocols are prohibited on the UALR network. While not all P2P, torrenting, or file sharing is illegal, UALR does not allow P2P protocols to run on devices while connected to the university’s network.
Many programs, such as Blizzard Games (World of Warcraft, Starcraft), use P2P to download updates. Other programs that use P2P for torrenting and file sharing include:
- uTorrent
- BitTorrent
- Vuze
- FrostWire
- LimeWire
You can avoid a P2P violation by making sure you do not have any programs on your computer that use P2P protocol. If you do have a program that uses P2P, make sure that it is not running while you are on the UALR network. Also, be sure the program is not set to run automatic updates; if the updater starts while you are on campus, you could be flagged for a P2P violation.
Getting a Peer-to-Peer Redirection Error?
“Network access has been partially suspended. Your computer is running a peer-to-peer (p2p) file sharing application. This is in violation of the UALR network security policy and the UALR acceptable use policy.”
If you receive a P2P error when trying to log into the wireless network, you have been put in P2P Quarantine, and your access to the wireless network has been temporarily limited to the ualr.edu webserver.
In order to be removed from P2P Quarantine, contact the IT Services Assistance Center.
