2008 Woodie Awards
University Computing mandates anti-virus software
University Computing Press Release
Issue date: 1/24/07 Section: News
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The Safe Computing Initiative, designed to protect student computers and the campus network from damaging computer viruses and malware, will be implemented the week of Jan. 23, beginning with the 87 residents of Gilliam dormitory. Following a successful implementation in Gilliam, the Initiative will be applied to other campus residence halls, including on-campus sororities.
The Initiative will require student computers, when connecting to the network from a residence hall, to undergo a screening process to ensure their computers are equipped with software to protect them from viruses and malware. If the screening determines that the required software is not installed, students will be prompted to download and install it. Student computers will be prevented from accessing the network until the required software, which is free of charge to students, is installed. The list of required software is available at http://computing.wlu.edu/services/safe.html .
Screening and software requirements, which are increasingly common in higher-education institutions, were initiated at W&L after several years of increasing threats to the computing environment. Despite the many tools in place to intercept computer viruses and malware, hundreds of student computers are infected each year. The main source of these infections is other W&L student computers, because of students' patterns of computer use as well as the constant movement of those computers between an unsecured outside environment and the W&L network.
The costs of W&L's exposure to these threats are considerable. The greatest cost may be the risk to data, such as student assignments, graduate school and job applications, but another, and perhaps more measurable cost is the time needed to repair infected computers. More than 300 W&L students reported infection of their personal computers by viruses, spyware, malware and other malicious software during the 2005-2006 academic year, according to John White, Manager of the University Computing HelpDesk. In many cases, removal of this malicious software requires a day or more of work by the HelpDesk and often involves complete erasure of the hard disk and reinstallation of all software. The productivity loss by students is compounded by other problems associated with malicious software: W&L staff time in combating the problems, loss of network availability caused by spreading viruses, and other problems. Universities that have deployed tools to screen student computers have found that the infection rate among these computers has reduced drastically.
The Initiative will require student computers, when connecting to the network from a residence hall, to undergo a screening process to ensure their computers are equipped with software to protect them from viruses and malware. If the screening determines that the required software is not installed, students will be prompted to download and install it. Student computers will be prevented from accessing the network until the required software, which is free of charge to students, is installed. The list of required software is available at http://computing.wlu.edu/services/safe.html .
Screening and software requirements, which are increasingly common in higher-education institutions, were initiated at W&L after several years of increasing threats to the computing environment. Despite the many tools in place to intercept computer viruses and malware, hundreds of student computers are infected each year. The main source of these infections is other W&L student computers, because of students' patterns of computer use as well as the constant movement of those computers between an unsecured outside environment and the W&L network.
The costs of W&L's exposure to these threats are considerable. The greatest cost may be the risk to data, such as student assignments, graduate school and job applications, but another, and perhaps more measurable cost is the time needed to repair infected computers. More than 300 W&L students reported infection of their personal computers by viruses, spyware, malware and other malicious software during the 2005-2006 academic year, according to John White, Manager of the University Computing HelpDesk. In many cases, removal of this malicious software requires a day or more of work by the HelpDesk and often involves complete erasure of the hard disk and reinstallation of all software. The productivity loss by students is compounded by other problems associated with malicious software: W&L staff time in combating the problems, loss of network availability caused by spreading viruses, and other problems. Universities that have deployed tools to screen student computers have found that the infection rate among these computers has reduced drastically.
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