Mass General Brigham (MGB) Wireless Internet Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)

All users of MGB's Internet services agree to and must comply with this Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). MGB does not exercise editorial control or review over the content of any Web site, electronic mail transmission, paper printout, newsgroup, or other material created or accessible over or through the Services. However, MGB may remove, block, filter, or restrict by any other means any materials that, in MGB's sole discretion, may be illegal, may subject MGB to liability, or which may violate this AUP. MGB may cooperate with legal authorities and/or third parties in the investigation of any suspected or alleged crime or civil wrong. Violation of this AUP may result in the suspension or termination of either access to the Services and/or MGB account or other actions as detailed below.

The following constitute violations of this AUP (this list is intended to be illustrative and not exhaustive; other uses may violate the AUP and MGB remains the sole and final arbiter of acceptable usage of its Services):

  • Illegal use: Using the Services to transmit any material (by email, uploading, posting, or otherwise) that, intentionally or unintentionally, violates any applicable local, state, national or international law, or any rules or regulations promulgated there under.
  • Harm to minors: Using the Services to harm, or attempt to harm, minors in any way.
  • Threats: Using the Services to transmit any material (by email, uploading, posting, or otherwise) that threatens or encourages bodily harm or destruction of property.
  • Harassment: Using the Services to transmit any material (by email, uploading, posting, or otherwise) that harasses another.
  • Fraudulent activity: Using the Services to make fraudulent offers to sell or buy products, items, or services or to advance any type of financial scam such as "pyramid schemes", "Ponzi schemes", unregistered sales of securities, securities fraud and "chain letters."
  • Forgery or impersonation: Adding, removing or modifying identifying network, message, or article header information in an effort to deceive or mislead is prohibited. Attempting to impersonate any person by using forged headers or other identifying information is prohibited. The use of anonymous remailers or nicknames does not constitute impersonation.
  • Unsolicited commercial email/Unsolicited bulk email: Using the Services to transmit any unsolicited commercial email or unsolicited bulk email. Activities that have the effect of facilitating unsolicited commercial email or unsolicited bulk email, whether or not that email is commercial in nature, are prohibited. Using deliberately misleading headers in e-mails sent to multiple parties is prohibited.
  • Unauthorized access: Using the Services to access, or to attempt to access, the accounts of others, or to penetrate, or attempt to penetrate, security measures of MGB's or another entity's computer software or hardware, electronic communications system, or telecommunications system, whether or not the intrusion results in disruption of service or the corruption or loss of data.
  • Copyright or trademark infringement: Using the Services to transmit any material (by email, uploading, posting, or otherwise) that infringes any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, or other proprietary rights of any third party, including, but not limited to, the unauthorized copying of copyrighted material, the digitization and distribution of photographs from magazines, books, or other copyrighted sources, and the unauthorized transmittal of copyrighted software.
  • Collection of personal data: Using the Services to collect, or attempt to collect, personal information about third parties without their knowledge or consent.
  • Reselling the services: Reselling the Services without MGB's authorization.
  • Network disruptions and unfriendly activity: Using the Services for any activity which adversely affects the ability of other people or systems to use MGB Services or the Internet. This includes excessive consumption of network or system resources whether intentional or unintentional. This also includes "denial of service" (DoS) attacks against another network host or individual user. Interference with or disruption of other network users, network services or network equipment is prohibited. It is the users's responsibility to ensure that their system is configured, operated, and used in a manner to avoid excessive consumption of network or system resources. It is the users's responsibility to ensure that their system is configured in a secure manner. A user may not, through action or inaction, allow others to use their system for illegal or inappropriate actions. A user may not permit their system, through action or inaction, to be configured in such a way that gives a third party the capability to use their system in an illegal or inappropriate manner.
  • High Volume, Server Hosting, and non-traditional end user activities: The Services are intended for an end user's periodic active use of email, instant messaging, browsing the World Wide Web, and other typical end user activities. High volume data transfers, especially sustained high volume data transfers, are prohibited. Hosting a web server, IRC server, or any other server is prohibited. Accordingly, MGB maintains the right to terminate any user's connection following the detection of any high volume data transfer, server hosting, or non-traditional end user activity as determined by MGB.

MGB requests that anyone who believes that there is a violation of this AUP direct the information to: IS HELPDESK

If available, please provide the following information:

  • The IP address used to commit the alleged violation
  • The date and time of the alleged violation, including the time zone or offset from GMT
  • Evidence of the alleged violation

When reporting an issue regarding unsolicited email please provide a copy of the email messages with full headers which typically provides all of the above data. Other situations will require different methods of providing the necessary information.

MGB may take any one or more of the following actions, or other actions not listed, at MGB's sole discretion in response to complaints:

  • Issue warnings: written or verbal
  • Terminate the user's service
  • Bill the user for administrative costs and/or reactivation charges, with a minimum administrative cost, if assessed, of $250 per incident.
  • Bring legal action to enjoin violations and/or to collect damages, if any, caused by violations.

MGB reserves the right to revise, amend, or modify this AUP, and our other policies and agreements at any time and in any manner.

MGB provides public access to the Internet. There are potentially serious security issues with any computer connected to the Internet without the appropriate protection. This can be true of connections made through a wireless network, a cable modem, dial-up access or otherwise. These security issues range from viruses, worms and other programs that can damage the user's computer to attacks on the computer by unauthorized or unwanted third parties. These parties, known commonly as "hackers" may attempt to penetrate the user's computer and download information from the user's computer. If the user has unprotected files on the computer, these files may be visible to hackers on the Internet, potentially including parties with criminal intent. Hackers also exploit vulnerabilities in operating systems to cause malicious damage to a user's computer or even a whole company's network, up to and including the destruction or deletion of files or the re-formatting of drives. It is recommended that the user uses either a personal firewall or Virtual Private Network systems to protect this information. MGB advises the user that the user should consult a security expert to determine whether there are any potential security holes in their computer's configuration. MGB SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY LIABILITY FOR UNAUTHORIZED THIRD-PARTY SECURITY BREACHES OR THE RESULTS THEREOF. MGB PROVIDES ACCESS TO THE INTERNET AND THE MGB NETWORK ON AN "AS IS" BASIS WITH ALL RISKS INHERENT IN SUCH ACCESS. BY CONNECTING TO THE MGB NETWORK, THE USER ACKNOWLEDGES THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE INTERNET OR DOCUMENT PRINTING AND HEREBY RELEASES AND INDEMNIFIES MGB FROM ANY DAMAGES THAT MIGHT OCCUR.

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