Responsible Use

Harvard Wide Responsible Use Requirements

Harvard neither sanctions nor censors individual expression of opinion on its systems. The same standards of behavior, however, are expected in the use of electronic mail as in the use of telephones and written and oral communication. Therefore electronic mail, like telephone messages, must be neither obscene nor harassing. Similarly, messages must not misrepresent the identity of the sender and should not be sent as chain letters or broadcast indiscriminately to large numbers of individuals. This prohibition includes unauthorized mass electronic mailings. For example, E-Mail on a given topic that is sent to large numbers of recipients should in general be directed only to those who have indicated a willingness to receive such E-Mail

HKS IT Services Responsible Use

In addition to the standards of behavior addressed above, HKS IT services enforces the following:

• Only work related documents should be stored on HKS servers (personal files may be stored on local hard drives).
• All confidential, financial, and HR data should be stored on a special secure server with limited access.
• Access to secure data must be approved by supervisors or owner of data.
• Large unauthorized mass electronic mailings are prohibited. These mass mailings are considered spam.

Software

• Only properly licensed software may be installed on HKS computers.
• Care should be taken in downloading and installing free software on HKS computers as it may compromise your system and the network.
• Illegal software will be deleted by network administration at their discretion. The network must not be used for downloading copyrighted data such as MP3 files and application executables.
• ITS Staff must be consulted with before designing a database or buying software to insure compatibility and conformity with network standards. Contact your FSA for more information.

Hardware

• ITS staff should be consulted with before purchasing school computers and printers to insure compatibility and conformity with network standards. Lenovo is the preferred vendor for HKS computer, and HP is the preferred vendor for HKS printers.
• It is prohibited to connect any physical network components such as servers, hubs, routers etc. to the HKS network without authorization from the IT Department.
• When staff members leave HKS, all HKS hardware, software and manuals must remain at HKS as they are the property of HKS.

Security

• All requests for exceptions to standard security practices must go to the Director of IT Services.
• IT reserves the right to disconnect any server from the network if the server is, or threatening to, compromise the HKS network.
• IT reserves the right to disconnect any connection from the network if the connection is, or threatening to, compromise the HKS network for reasons of hacking, interfering scripts, or any other unauthorized security or performance compromise.