The best way to avoid being a bandwidth hog is to remove all peer-to-peer file-sharing programs from your computer.

The easiest way to stop people from downloading from your computer is to turn your computer off.

If you insist on keeping your file-sharing programs on your computer, learn how to use them so that you do not use up more than your fair share of the University's network resources: make sure that they are not set to share files over the network or to start automatically every time you turn on your computer.

Most peer-to-peer file-sharing programs are engineered to remain running on your computer, even when you are not using them. However, you have the ability to limit the amount of information your computer shares with others.

With most file-sharing programs, simply clicking on the "X" in the upper right hand corner does not actually close the application. You will still notice an icon in the system tray (lower right corner of the screen). Icons for some common programs are:

		Aimster/Madster
		Audio Galaxy
		KaZaA
		Morpheus

Note: Do not select any menu item containing the word “Hide.” That will keep the program running in the background; it will not turn the program off.

Closing AudioGalaxy

With Audiogalaxy, you can close the program by going to the File menu, and select Exit File Agent. You will get a confirmation window -- click Yes to close the application.

To disable the program from automatically running when you start your computer, check to see if it is in the StartUp folder under the Start Menu. Right click on the Start button and click Options. Double-click on the Programs folder and then double click on the StartUp folder. In the StartUp folder, if you see Audiogalaxy Satellite, go ahead and delete the icon. Deleting this icon will not remove the program from your computer, but will prevent it from starting automatically.

Closing KaZaA or Morpheus

Kazaa and Morpheus are essentially the same program, with the same
interfaces and operations. To close either program, right-click its icon in the
system tray, and select Close Kazaa or Close Morpheus.

You can also configure Kazaa or Morpheus to limit the information it shares.
With the application running, go to the Tools menu, and select Options....

A window will open, with a series of tabs at the top. Click on the Traffic tab. By checking the box next to Disable sharing of files..., you can prevent other users from extracting files from your computer. (This will not affect your ability to download files.)

Next, click on the Advanced tab. Check the box next to Do not function as a supernode. This will prevent your computer from being used as a search engine for files on the network, which can drastically slow your computer's performance.

Finally, click the OK button.