Since ÚJOP is a full-fledged part of Charles University, students of our courses have access to a large part of the university infrastructure. In particular, they get free access to the Eduroam wi-fi network. This short article will tell you how to use it without being disconnected.
What is Eduroam
Eduroam is a global project that allows researchers and university students to have free access to the Internet. Today, universities, libraries and research centers in over 100 countries are connected to the network. A special feature of this network is that user accounts function regardless of geographic location.
This means that while walking around Prague, you can approach any university building and will be automatically connected to the network. Moreover, the same rule applies, for example, in other European countries. If you are traveling and you urgently need internet connection, just find the nearest university building. That’s it, you are in touch. Follow this link to find all Eduroam hotspots in the Czech Republic. There is also a link to download a smartphone application, which will show you the coverage areas of the network.
Turn off your Torrent
However, there is an important rule to follow. It concerns copyright matters, which are taken much more seriously in the European Union than in our countries. If you use torrents to download movies, books or music, you need to turn off file sharing. You can download files, but torrenting is prohibited. The Eduroam system automatically recognizes a torrent transfer of some movie on which you do not hold the copyright, and blocks your access for 20 days. For the first time – for 20 days, if you violate the rules again, the system will block you for a longer period of time or even disconnect you forever.
Practice shows that this rule applies only to torrent trackers. In other cases, you can safely send files by mail, watch online movies, download music, and so on. Nevertheless, it should be noted that these actions are considered illegal on the territory of the European Union.
General information about copyright
In general, if we touch upon copyright matters, in the Czech Republic there is a certain ambivalence towards the issue. On the one hand, you will be required to indicate the sources of a photo you used in your presentation. On the other hand, during your studies at a university, your teachers will be sending a huge number of scanned books through a closed university system.
On the one side, a teacher can play a film in Czech for the entire class. On the other side, a teacher of audiovisual arts may stop playing a film after 30 minutes from its beginning with the words: „I have the right to show you only this fragment, it is against the law to show the whole thing.“
Basically, the attitude towards copyright issues is much more strict than ours, but lots of things are still possible. It needs to be mentioned that in Czech society in general, the attitude towards copyright and access to information is ambiguous. For example, in the Czech Republic there is a very active political party called the Pirate Party (Pirátská strana). Among other things, its supporters are out to ensure that the state does not have the right to disconnect someone from the Internet or deny access to certain Internet resources. But while Czechs are arguing, I recommend that you take a look at the current legislation (link to the law in Czech) regarding copyright, since violation of the rules can lead to unpleasant consequences.
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