In May 2007, Ohio University cracked down on illegal downloading of copyrighted materials by filtering all peer-to-peer (P2P) activities through their networks. Today, there are almost no lawsuits carried out against students for illegal downloading. The question remains: is the software doing an effective job or have students just gotten sneakier?

Since 2007, there have been three charges of Misuse or Abuse of Computers or Computer Network brought against students at University Judiciaries. In comparison, the three school years from late 1998 to early 2001 saw 38 charges of the same offense. One of the primary reasons for the number of offenses in those years involved Napster, one of the first music sharing programs.

In 2000, P2P downloading was clogging the OU network. Checking e-mail could take 10 minutes. The culprits were Napster and Scour, two popular file-sharing programs. In those days, filtering programs weren’t fast or smart enough. Eventually, university officials blocked the ports that the two file sharing programs used, effectively stopping the programs on their network. Even so, the number of legal offenses put OU on the recording industry’s list of top campuses for illegal downloading.

The recording industry was losing millions of dollars. They needed an effective filtering program. In 1999, a program called Audible Magic came onto the scene. By 2004, The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) embraced the software. University officials bought the software in 2007 and started using it on their own network. Since the incorporation of Audible Magic into the OU network, the school has fallen off of the RIAA’s list.

Audible Magic uses acoustic fingerprinting, a way of tracking songs through the way they “sound.” The program then compares the acoustic fingerprint to a database of 6 million copyrighted works. If a match is found, then whatever computer the download comes from is blocked from the university network.

Audible Magic’s database consists of more than just songs. A publisher of a work, either a company or an individual, must make a deal with Audible Magic to get their work into the database. In other words, not every copyrighted work is in Audible Magic’s database. Besides downloading non-copyrighted materials, there are other ways to get around the software that some students are using.

Eddy, a junior, uses a number of means to get around the network filter. Among his favorites are torrents, a program that downloads by randomizing bit sequences, and large file holding websites like rapidshare.com and megaupload.com.

“There’s always a way around it,” Eddy said. He even knows one friend that used a program that changed his computer’s IP, a type of identifying address for a computer, so when caught, the wrong computer would get shut off from the network.

Kevin, a sophomore, often rips music off of YouTube videos to update his music library. He also uses other websites that allow users to download a limited music selection for free. “I haven’t run into problems yet,” he said.

Other students don’t file share because of the mere threat of getting caught. Alyse Lamparyk, a junior and ARA, doesn’t file share, though sometimes wishes she did. Instead, she gets her boyfriend to get music for her or pays through iTunes. “I’m sure there are ways around,” she said. “Personally, I’m just too afraid to try.”

Ohio University uses a two-strike system to charge offenses. The first strike occurs when Audible Magic detects file sharing. The network connection is immediately cut from the user’s computer. The user then must call the Information Technology service desk to get the connection reinstated. This is no problem, as long as the file-sharing programs are disabled and copyrighted material deleted. If illegal file sharing is detected a second time, University Judiciaries can bring charges to the student. First time offenses are relatively common and second time offenses almost never happen.

Sean O’Malley, IT communications manager, doesn’t take sides on the ethics of file sharing. Rather, OU’s protections against illegal downloading are part of two goals: keeping the network working efficiently and protecting students from getting sued. Even though OU and the students may argue over the means, both can agree on the ends.

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