Internet connections for all of the residence halls have been slow and sporadic this week due to an overflow of viruses on RESNET, or the Residential Life Internet network.
With the slew of computer viruses such as W32.swen.AMM, Worm.Automat.AHB and W32.Dumaru@mm plaguing LSU’s network, the Office of Computing Services estimates more than 2,000 computers are infected or susceptible to infection by these viruses.
According to an e-mail sent to students living in residence halls, virus-infected computers on RESNET are slowing down network connection speeds for all students in all residence halls.
Charlie McMahon, director of telecommunications for Computing Services, said around 60 to 70 percent of computers on RESNET are either infected or vulnerable to infection.
“All of the residence halls are connected through a common router,” McMahon said. “The colleges have someone to take care of their computers, but students in the residence halls are in charge of their own computers.”
Aaron St. Pierre, a landscape architecture sophomore and an East Laville resident, said his Internet has been running slow for almost a week with no end in sight.
“Sometimes I’ll lose the connection completely,” St. Pierre said. “But mostly it’s non-LSU based Web sites that are practically inaccessable.”
St. Pierre said he bought a brand new computer this year and originally thought there was a problem with it, but after talking to friends who live in the East Campus Apartments, he realized the problem was universal.
“People in the ECA have been having the same problem and we have all been plagued by it,” St. Pierre said. “It’s extremely inconvenient, especially since it’s midterm week.”
Ron Hay, executive director of the Office of Computing Services, said although the network is slow, it’s not completely down and students can still access PAWS or use a public access computer to surf the Web.
“Students understand they can go to public places to use the Internet, but they are paying for this service and it needs to be fixed,” Hay said. “Residential Life is over-run with calls so we have written a prescription for students to fix the computers themselves.”
McMahon estimates the majority of the problem to be alleviated in four to five days.
“The problem with all the machines being infected is hard to fix,” McMahon said. “We have put together a package that fixes everything in one click.”
McMahon said that soon, all computers on RESNET will be required to download anti-virus software from LSU. The new measures also require computers to have the latest virus updates before logging onto RESNET, or they will not be able to access the Internet.
McMahon said after the students apply the package and download the software he hopes to have the network running smoothly again within a week.
“By then, just a few machines will be slowing the network down,” McMahon said. “We can identify what the problem is and have a technician contact them to fix the problem.”
St. Pierre said he understands Computing Services employees have a lot to deal with but thinks he should receive a monetary credit for service lost.
“It’s been a week, and quite frankly, I pay for this service and over the past year I have been dissappointed with these constant complications,” St. Pierre said. “It leaves me handicapped.”
McMahon said the problem can be traced back to students bringing viruses onto the campus network.
“Viruses slow down computer hardware as well as slow down the network,” McMahon said. “It’s kind of a double-whammy.”