Computer Policies:

Boston University Computer Ethics Policy

(The following policy statement concerning use of computer facilities at B.U.has been approved by the Provost's Office. It is enforced strictly by PRCF staff. Please read it carefully because it will govern your life as a PRCF user.) Thousands of users share the Computer facilities at Boston University. Most people use these resources responsibly. However, a few users who misuse the computing facilities have the potential for seriously disrupting the work of other users. You are expected to exercise responsible, ethical behavior when using the University's computing facilities. This includes the following:
  1. You must use only those computer accounts which have been authorized for your use by the University. The unauthorized use of another's account, as well as the providing of false or misleading information for the purpose of obtaining access to computing will be treated accordingly by the University.
  2. You may not authorize anyone to use your account(s) for any reason. You are responsible for all usage on your accounts. You must take all reasonable precautions, including password maintenance and file protection measures, to prevent use of your accounts by unauthorized persons.
  3. You must use your accounts only for the purposes for which they were authorized. For example, non-funded research or student accounts may not be used for funded research or private consulting without prior approval from the University. You must not use your accounts for unlawful purposes, such as the installation of fraudulently or illegally obtained software.
  4. You must not access or copy files (including programs, members of subroutine libraries, and data) that belong to another account without prior authorization from the account holder. Files may not be taken to other computer sites without permission from the holder of the account under which the files reside.
  5. You must not use the system irresponsibly, or needlessly affect the work of others. This includes transmitting or making accessible offensive, annoying or harassing material; intentionally damaging the system; intentionally damaging information not belonging to you; or intentionally misusing system resources or allowing misuse of system resources by others.
  6. You are responsible for reporting to Information Technology any violation of these guidelines by another individual. You are also encouraged to report any information relating to a flaw in, or bypass of, computer facilities security.
Failure to comply with the above guidelines, or the unauthorized or illegitimate use of Boston University's computing facilities or resources, shall constitute a violation of University policy and will subject the violator to disciplinary or legal action by the University. In addition, the University may require restitution for any use of service which is in violation of these guidelines. Any questions about this policy or of the applicability of this policy to a particular situation should be referred to Information Technology.

Backup Policy

1. Backup Schedule

UNIX: Backups of user files are done daily at 6 a.m. Please note: Only your local user directory is backed up, not the temporary areas or system mail spooling areas so you are encouraged not to keep any mail in system mailboxes on a permanent basis . See section on mail policy .

2. Retrieving Lost Files

Policy on retention time for backup tapes. (Set by Computer Committee on November 1994)

The computers maintained by the Physics Department Computer Resource Facility personnel are regularly backed-up. Purpose of the backups is to safeguard users' and system files against accidental erasures and other possible mishaps. BACKUPS ARE NOT DONE TO PROVIDE AN INDEFINITE STORAGE OF THE INFORMATION EXISTING ON THE COMPUTERS. Information such as important experimental data, old records etc. which the users wish to maintain for very long or indefinite periods should be stored on tape by the users themselves. Doing so is an easy task which can be accomplished by the users on the CRF tape drives, with help from the CRF personnel if needed. At a recent meeting of the computer committee it has been decided that THE RETENTION PERIOD FOR BACKUP TAPES WILL BE ONE YEAR. After this period the backup tapes will be recycled. This is really not a new policy decision, since backup tapes have been reused also in the past. But the committee felt it would be appropriate to set a definite retention period and, at the same time, that it would be helpful to remind the users, as done in this message, that the long time storage of any information is their own responsibility.

4. Personal Backups