The rules listed below are currently being revised. The revisions are posted on our web site at www.kennesaw.edu/campus services/ITAC.

An individual's use of the state computing resources in the university environment is not an absolute, personal right; rather it is a privilege conditional on the individual's compliance with state and federal laws, campus regulations and good manners. This section provides guidelines for what typically constitutes acceptable and unacceptable use of the Kennesaw State University computing facilities.

By using the computing resources of Kennesaw State University, the user agrees to abide by the following guidelines and rules regarding computer use at Kennesaw State. Kennesaw State University reserves the right to review any account and files created on its resources.

Below are excerpts from the Georgia Computer Systems Protection Act. These excerpts contain the laws, set forth by the State of Georgia, to be used in dealing with computer misuse.

Section 4. Computer fraud and abuse.
(a) Whoever knowingly and willfully, directly or indirectly, without authorization, accesses, causes to be accessed, or attempts to access any computer, computer system, computer network, or any part thereof which, in whole or in part, operates in commerce or is owned by, under contract to, or in conjunction with state, county, or local government or any branch, department, or agency thereof, any business, or any entity operating in or affecting commerce for the purpose of:

(1) Devising or executing any scheme or artifice to defraud, or
(2) Obtaining money, property, or services for themselves or another by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined a sum of not more than two and one-half times the amount of the fraud or theft, or imprisoned not more than 15 years, or both.

(b) Whoever intentionally and with authorization, directly or indirectly accesses, alters, damages, destroys, or attempts to destroy any computer, computer system, or computer network, or any computer software, program or data shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not more than $50,000.00 or imprisoned not more than 15 years, or both.

Section 6.
It is the duty of every business, partnership, college, university, person, state, county, or local governmental agency or department or branch thereof, corporation, or other business activity who has reasonable grounds to believe that a violation of this Act has been committed to promptly report the suspected violation to law enforcement authorities. When acting in good faith, such business, partnership, college, university, person, state, county, or local governmental agency or department or branch thereof, corporation or other business entity shall be immune from any civil liability for such reporting.

What does this mean?
Accounts are given out strictly in support of academic activities; this includes activities which, though not strictly related to class work, are considered "educational." Below is a list of guidelines for the use of computing resources at Kennesaw State.

Examples of things you MAY do with Kennesaw State University computing facilities.

Use related to class work (Highest Priority):

• Programming and other computer classes;
• Other uses, such as term papers, graphs and reports. Use NOT related to class work
• Electronic mail, bulletin boards, messages;
• Programming for fun;
• Teaching yourself to use a new system or program.

NOTE: If a computer is needed for class-related work, a user who is not performing class related work must relinquish the workstation immediately.

Examples of things you may NOT do with Kennesaw State University computing facilities.

Examples of things you may NOT do with Kennesaw State University computing facilities.

1. You may neither use the account for business nor for profit.
2. You may not allow anyone else to use your account unless explicitly authorized by a faculty or staff member who has the authority to do so; do not reveal your password to anyone.
3. You may not use your account to impair the usability of any computer or related systems for anyone else. This includes: Deliberately attempting to degrade the performance of the computer. Deliberately attempting to degrade the communications systems. Tampering with or destroying someone else's files.
4. You may not use any resource or examine any file for which you do not have specific authorization. This includes: Using anyone Else's computer account. You are authorized to use only your, and no other student computer account. Acquiring or examining someone Else's files when you have not been explicitly and specifically authorized to do so. Even if it is possible for you to read such files, you should not. Honor the privacy of others.

The fact that something is not protected does not mean that you have the right to access it. This includes information and system actions. Most actions and information accesses that are not allowed are prevented by mechanisms built into the systems. However, computer systems are complex and errors may keep the systems from preventing prohibited access.

• Such access is still prohibited. That the system did not prevent your misbehavior is not an excuse for that misbehavior.
• Effort on your part directed towards bypassing a preventive mechanism is an extremely serious offense.
• You may not deliberately overuse or waste computing resources.
• You may not employ lewd or threatening language in any electronic communication. This would violate the bounds of good taste as well as laws and regulations.
• You may not use the resources to play games without specific written permission from the director of Academic Computing Services. This includes MUDing (Multi UserDungeons).
• You may not use any cloaking device to disguise or hide your identity. This includes changing your name on the system. Should a name change become necessary, a request for a name change should be submitted to the director of Academic Computing.

If you are not sure if something is allowed - ask the Director of Academic Computing to tell you whether your task is a legitimate use of your account, or not.

As with any other type of student misconduct, incidents of computer misuse and abuse are dealt with in accordance with the judicial policy outlined in the catalog. Punishments may include fines, academic suspension, expulsion and possible incarcerations.

Computer system utilities permit the tracing of most activities on our computer systems so unauthorized use of the system can be detected. Use the computer properly for the sake of your academic standing as well as your conscience. Willful misuse of the computer is almost always obvious and unambiguous.

Have fun with computers, but not at the expense of others. If you have questions, assistance should be sought first through Kennesaw State University faculty and/or staff. You are not authorized to contact people who provide resources to us.