Like numerous colleges around the country, computer viruses and worms continue to find their way into Metro State’s computer system, slowing the network down and at times shutting it down completely.

Troubles began last month with the MS Blaster worm. Metro’s network was hit with four variations of the worm. Next came the SoBig virus. “I’ve been here 17 years and we’ve never been hit this hard,” said Sharon McGee-Canady, manager of desktop support/network services in Information Technology.

IT’s response to the attacks was swift. Necessary security and virus protection are in place at the firewall and server levels, and patches designed to fix the problem have been downloaded to campus computers. However, not all campus computers were on and able to receive the patch, and a major problem is people computing from home or bringing infected laptop computers onto campus.

“This worm takes advantage of the vulnerability in the operating system and often you don’t know you’re infected,” she said. “We need people to make sure their computer is clean.”

Also, patching a computer protects it from future infections but if a computer is already infected, the patch won’t remove the infection. Campus computer users are asked to download a virus cleaner from the P: drive. Go to the virus tools folder and then the virus cleaners folder. The software is called Stinger.

For information on protecting your home or laptop PC, go to http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

Computer users who need assistance should call the Help Desk at ext.6-8325.

In addition, IT has enacted a number of other protective measures:

-- Tightening down Internet access points to slow down or eliminate attacks
-- Disallowing connection to the Network of all laptops in student labs
-- Disconnecting non-IT supported labs from the network until they have been certified as cleaned and patched
-- Securing an outside network expert to examine the network and recommend modifications
-- Posting information in all Smart Classrooms discouraging faculty and students from connecting to the network before their machines are certified as virus-free
-- Providing walk-up clean and patching for laptops at the Help Desk and all student labs
-- Providing "local access" in all student labs so users can continue to work during an outage

“We’re doing all we can to contain the viruses,” McGee-Canady said. Her staff consists of six individuals who provide support to 1,257 faculty and staff workstations and 800 lab desktops. Since the viruses hit, 12-14 hour days, even on weekends, have become standard. “It’s pretty overwhelming and my staff deserves tremendous credit for hanging in there and working long hours.” Her team consists of desktop support staff members Don Steffes, Kahnoksak Chan, Skip Miller and Lee Taylor; and network services staff Randy Storm and Bill Emanuel.

Computer networks on college campuses seem to be the hardest hit by the recent rash of viruses. The openness of the networks – to encourage easy sharing of information – makes them more vulnerable to infection than corporate networks, where information is more tightly controlled.

Vanderbilt University found infections in computers of roughly one-fourth its returning 5,000 students. Massachusetts Institute of Technology now shuts off Internet service to computers it determines are infected. At the University of North Texas, students who have infections cleaned from their computers off campus must show proof before they're allowed to log back onto the school network. Infected computers are being assessed a $30 cleaning fee.

IT staff at Metro State are developing a process wherein computers will be required to be certified as infection free and that they have an appropriate, current copy of antivirus software running before access to the network is allowed. “This is a form of terrorism and we have to learn from it and develop a way to deal with it,” McGee-Canady said.