By Meredith O’Donnell and Jeanine Poggi

Students are having difficulty accessing and staying on the Internet due to viruses polluting the University’s network.

The Sesser, Kongos and Sdbot viruses are hitting about half of the University, particularly Colonial Square dorms.

Jim Shuart, manager of Resnet, explained that Colonial Square seems to have the most problems because there, each house is connected to the same router. As a result, viruses can travel from house to house.

“The University installed machinery in Colonial Square at the beginning of the semester to prevent viruses from spreading, but most of the damage was already done,” Shuart said.

Most students, especially those with a dial-up connection, do not update their virus protection or Windows system before coming to school. As a result, students’ computers wind up getting infected quickly. The viruses are able to find holes in the Windows program that haven’t been updated, Shuart said.

“One machine could take down an entire building, that’s how powerful the problem is,” Resnet student aid Andrew Rodriguez said.

These viruses are also causing working Internet connections to run slowly, but Shuart assures the new machinery is getting the connection back to speed.

Last fall Resnet had to shut down Internet in all the dorms when students first came back to campus so the system would not get overhauled with viruses.

“We didn’t want to do that again this year,” Laurie Harvey, director for student computing services and help desk, said. “To me Internet is air and students need it to do homework, go on Blackboard, send email and just to chat.”

This is why at the beginning of the semester, Resnet required students to register their computers before accessing the Internet for the first time. Before the system allowed the student access, it performed a quick check for any virus vulnerabilities. If a computer either had or was prone to getting a virus, the Resnet system redirected the computer to a quarantine site where the student was given directions on fixing the problem.

“This was the best thing we could have done,” Harvey said. “It stops one computer with a virus from taking down the computer next to them.”

The current Internet equipment installed in the dorms has been in place since 1997 and there are plans to install new equipment by sometime next year. They are also planning on upgrading the entire North Campus by next summer.

“The viruses and spyware now are a lot different than how they were back then,” Harvey said.

The old switches couldn’t handle the viruses and took down large areas of Internet. The new switch, which costs close to $20,000 to install, has blades that will prevent this from happening, Harvey said.

“Each blade holds only 48 computers instead of all the computers in one building. So if one person has a virus it will affect far less people,” she said.

Meanwhile, students are piling into Calkins Hall and Hammer computer labs in order to get their work done.

“The Internet has been unreliable. I keep getting kicked off,” Colonial Square resident James Strouse said.

“When it works, it’s poor quality, bad connection. I haven’t been able to check my e-mail at all this year,” added another Colonial Square resident Chris Weidman.

Weidman’s complaint is an example of the virus affecting only certain areas of the computer by spyware, Rodriguez said.

Spyware can affect your computer by keeping track of web browsing, adding extra pop-up ads, slowing the system and even shutting Internet connection, Harvey said. She suggests downloading software such as SpyBot and Ad-Aware to help defend computers against potential problems. She also said to get and running Spysweeper to ensure spyware doesn’t return. The Computer Center gives students the opportunity to download anti-spyware tools and links at www.hofstra.edu/scs/spyware.

Paul Long, a student aid in Hammer Lab, suggests checking computers daily for viruses, worms or Trojan horses. Unfamiliar e-mails should not be opened and deleted immediately. Long also suggests checking downloaded items for viruses. Students can use McAfee Virus Protection software, available for free download off the Hofstra portal.

Resnet cannot predict a time frame for when the problems will be fi xed. “It’s a matter of verifying each machine,” Rodriguez said.

Students can make an appointment with Resnet technicians to visit dorm rooms or have the option to bring laptops to room 244 in the Student Center.

“Everyone, not just the students, must be vigilant in using virus software,” Harvey said.