TheUniversity of Florida has developed an open-source program called Icarus to cut off and prevent users from using peer-to-peer applications. Last Spring, up to 90% of their network traffic was from peer-to-peer applications and 3,500 of 7,500 students used P2P applications in an average 24-hour period. With 40 notices of copyright violations being
received by the University per month, they decided to develop software to stop
users from using P2P applications.
When Icarus (anti-P2P software) is running, it keeps an eye out for any programs on the network acting as a server which includes P2P applications and even worms and trojans. If a student tries using a P2P application, Icarus will automatically send an E-mail and an immediate pop-up warning to the offending user and disconnects the user from the network for 30 minutes. A second offence will result in a network cut-off period of five days. A third office will result in an indefinite cut-off and the user is subject to the school's judicial process.
In the summer, Icarus caught 769 first-time offenders, 90 second time offenders and 4 third time offenders. In the fall, Icarus detected only 300 users running P2P software which is over a 90% drop in P2P usage. When Icarus was first run, network bandwidth usage fell by 85%.
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Integrated Computer Application for Recognizing User Services, commonly called Icarus, debuted over the summer on the network that links all the residence halls on the UF campus. The open-source program was developed by campus programmers to cut off the file sharing going on among students. Housing officials say the application educates students as it restricts them from peer-to-peer services. Last spring, the university received about 40 notices of copyright violations per month. At peak file-trading periods, 90 percent of the traffic on the housing network was peer-to-peer. In an average 24-hour period, 3,500 of the 7,500 students in the residence halls would use P2P services like Kazaa. "We needed something to stem the flow. We were spending too much time tracking people down," said Robert Bird, supervisor of network services for the UF department of housing. "There were too many of them and too few of us." "Icarus has detected about 300 people using P2P this fall," Bird said. "That's an over 90 percent drop in people using P2P. That's a dramatic reduction in user behavior." This summer, Icarus nabbed 769 first-time offenders and 90 second-time violators; only four tested the system for a third time. "When we turned the program on, our bandwidth usage dropped by 85 percent," said Norbert Dunkel, director of housing and residence education for the university. "People simply stopped trying," Bird said. When students first register on the network, they are required to read about peer-to-peer networks and certify that they will not share copyright files. Icarus then scans their computer, detects any worms, viruses or programs that act as a server, such as Kazaa. Students are then given instructions on how to disable offending programs. If a student is on the network and tries to share files, Icarus automatically sends an e-mail and an immediate pop-up warning and disconnects the student from the network. The first violation disables network access for 30 minutes; the second cuts off access for five days. Third-time offenders are subject to the school's judicial process, and their network access is cut off indefinitely. Read the full source here. |
This software not only blocks users from running P2P applications in their dorms, but also disallows any other application that runs as a server which includes web and file servers and even LAN games. It does seem like going to the extreme to block illegal file sharing, but some Universities prefer to take this approach rather than have to deal with threatening letters about copyright violations.
Source: Wired News
