Computing and Network Services has raised the stakes against students who have not had their computers upgraded, even as a new virus is quickly spreading its way across the Internet this week.
To ensure students have installed Norton and the latest Windows Update patches, CNS has begun scanning the network, dorm by dorm, identifying problem computers that have not been updated.
Steve Dailey, academic support manager for CNS, said that the scanning is important to protecting the network. “We’re looking for any sort of virus activity – [the] Welchia [virus] sent out a lot of broadcast traffic [last September] – and we can monitor that. If we monitor the network, we can see where that traffic is coming from and trace back to individual computers. We have a scanner that also looks at the OS patches to see if there are patches that are installed. With Welchia, there was a patch put out that most people weren’t patched for,” Dailey said.
After each dorm has been scanned, a list of noncompliant computers is sent to the dorm, giving RAs one last chance to find the students. Dolan was the first to be scanned, and a list of computer names was sent over. “The RAs were notified on Friday and given a list of machine names – machine names are kind of anonymous though,” Dailey said. “Some machines say Kate Smith – you could walk up and say you need to update your machine and go to this Web site.” However, computer names can’t be used to directly identify a student, so RAs also posted copies of the list around the dorm.
If the computers are still not upgraded, their Internet access will be limited. Dailey explained, “There’s two Web pages – the first is an updates site where students can get information. The second is a redirect site. We’ll scan the student network – if the student machine is vulnerable to viruses or not patched, then that computer gets redirected.”
Macintosh computers are also now being included in the program, a change from the PC-only focus CNS had last semester. “We’ll be screening everybody – anybody on the Fairfield University network can and will be scanned.”
Some students have been frustrated by the new policy. Kate Napolitano ’06 attended a floor meeting about the program, but she unaware that Macs were now required to get scanned until after her first name appeared on the list of noncompliant computers. “I thought it was a little bit much considering they didn’t do such a hot job of notifying people explicitly that Mac users had to go,” Napolitano said. Granted it wasn’t our last name, but it’s not like I don’t have enough do to at the beginning of the semester. I’m happy to comply, but let me know how to do it.”
Emily Mis ’05, another Mac user, was upset when told Macs would have to be updated. “I don’t have time for this! I understand it’s for security reasons, but they’ve said the viruses that are going to get into the school are not Mac compatible,” she said.
Brooke Kolodziej ’07 had her Internet disabled despite her computer being patched, due to another program that was on her computer. “[It was the] day before that a list went up and all of Fairfield’s internet was off, so there was no way of fixing it before the deadline,” Kolodziej said. She did visit CNS on Tuesday, but had not checked her computer’s Internet connection to see if it had been restored as of press time.
Some students were more understanding of the new policy. “I think it’s a good idea beause peoples’ computers would be safe,” said Sheauling Luong ’05. “If they give me Norton for free, I’ll take it.”
Chris DiBiase ’05 agreed, saying, “It’s not that much of an inconvenience to have the updates done.”
The new policy arrived the same week that a new virus began to snake across the Web. First discovered at 4 p.m. Monday, the MyDoom virus masks itself as a returned E-mail, and comes with an attachment that is supposed to fool people into thinking a “bounced” E-mail is attached. Instead, a virus is attached.
If the virus is launched, it will cause a number of problems. Most annoying, but least problematic, a notepad file with a bunch of gibberish will appear on the screen. Copies of the virus will appear in the “My Shared Folder” for Kazaa, with the intent of trying to infect other computers on the Kazaa network.
The virus will also attempt to participate in a denial of service attack in February against SCO, the owner of the Unix operating system. A denial of service attack uses a number of computers to send as much as it can at the server in order to overwhelm it and cause it to be inaccessible.
Students who have been patched and have updated their Norton Antivirus definitions (or have it set to automatically update daily) will have already had their computers patched. Those who have not brought their computers to CNS yet may be vulnerable to this virus.
These policy changes are phase two of a plan implemented last fall, after students returning from school brought two viruses onto Fairfield’s campus. The viruses spread quickly since most students’ computers were left unpatched.
Initially, CNS focused on having students bring down their computers. Later in the semester, judicial action was threatened. However, the latest plans are designed to solve the problem for good, as scanning will be continuous throughout the semester, according to Dailey.
Napolitano was upset that CNS had still not implemented a new procedure for patching the computer, and even then the occasional problem arose. “I had to lug the whole thing by myself. It was there pretty much all day. Then I got it back and I couldn’t print or access the internet. I was getting Type II errors and memory errors. I ended up bringing it back today.”
However, Napolitano was quick to note that CNS was helpful in solving her errors. “Their iMac dude did all the updating and I watched him – he was great. It took about an hour but we got everything worked out. He lifted my computer back to my room because he felt bad.”
While Dailey understands students’ frustration, he thinks the timing is right for this new policy. “It is sort of a hassle to students, but it is extremely important. To put them through that hassle now rather than during finals, I’d rather them do it now then when it’ll really inconvenience folks and anger people.”
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