PAWS users have been flashed with red text while logging on to their personal pages this semester. The announcements all warn of possible viruses infecting the University’s computer system.
Computing Services Executive Director Ron Hay said the SoBig.F virus is the primary threat to LSU’s computer systems.
“That virus is killing us,” Hay said. “It comes at a bad time, classes have started and everyone is moving on to campus.”
According to Synmatec, the makers of Norton Antivirus, the SoBig.F worm is a highly distributed, medium damage virus that is easily containable. Synmatec rates the worm a category 4 out of 5, and along with other anti-virus software makers offers updates of virus definitions to help control the virus.
Hay estimated around 800,000 transactions, which include scheduling classes, checking e-mail and any other PAWS activities, were performed on the first day of classes, Aug. 25. On a normal day, 150,000-200,000 transactions are performed.
“It hasn’t been as bad this week as it was last week,” Hay said. “It’s just a bad week to have computer attacks like that.”
Hay also said other schools such as Boston College were having problems with the Sobig.F worm and registration, and LSU was one of the most prepared institutions around, despite the increased computer traffic.
“The state’s computers shut down the other day because of it,” Hay said. “So I don’t think they were exactly looking at our academic calendar.”
Hay said one way the Office of Computing Services is trying to combat computer virus outbreaks around campus is by educating new students when they move into their residence halls.
Angela Bartheleny, biological sciences freshman, said when she moved into her dorm room, someone from computing services helped her set up her computer and log onto the campus network.
Another major problem for LSU students is the amount of junk email they receive in their PAWS e-mail boxes.
“I had like 15 repetitive e-mails just yesterday – it told me there was an attached file and there was nothing,” said John Robinson, international studies sophomore. “Looked like a virus to me.”
Robinson said he tries to prevent junk e-mail by not signing up for promotional items online, but he still bombarded by viruses and junk e-mail.
“I had one virus come through this summer,” Robinson said. “Luckily, my anti-virus software picked it up.”
Hay said he receives up to six pieces of junk email a minute.
SPAM, or unwarranted junk mail, plagues PAWS inboxes around campus but is not as harmful as viruses can be.
“SPAM and viruses are completely different,” Hay said. “We try to block spam from known addresses at all five of our gateways.”
Hay estimated that 30 percent of the more than one million pieces of mail that enter LSU’s online system daily are blocked because they are classified as SPAM.
“We’re blocking a whole lot of SPAM,” Hay said. “But we’re looking at software that would filter out spam. The problem is, sometimes they filter out real e-mail as well.”
More than half the 70 percent remaining is also SPAM which could not be picked out by the filters, Hay said.
“I’m getting invited to join singles clubs and I’ve been married for years,” Hay said. “They are hitting hard at a peak time.”