Campus Internet protection program implemented in Cobb Residence Hall

Students in Cobb Residence Hall are being asked to keep their computers clean. And they aren’t necessarily happy about it.

Information Technology Services is fighting against viruses and bugs transmitted from student laptops to the UNC Internet network by requiring them to download software before accessing the Web.

ITS is implementing the change in Cobb as a pilot program and plans to require more students on campus to do the same if it is successful.

The new software — referred to as Network Access Control — was implemented in Cobb last week.

Jim Gogan, director of networking systems for ITS, said the network scans the user’s computer to make sure it is up to date with all antivirus software before a user signs onto the Internet.

“This agent makes sure that the computer is safe to be working on the network,” Gogan said

But Lucy Skeen, a senior living in Cobb, says she hasn’t seen the positive effects of the new agent.

“It cuts in and out,” Skeen said of her Internet connection. “It’s not good.”

Gogan said ITS implemented the change because individual computers were transferring problems like viruses to the UNC network.

“We are trying to make sure that machines are protected from all the crap that shows up from the Internet,” Gogan said.

Chris Williams, ResNet service director for ITS, said once the program was implemented in Cobb, staff checked with residents to make sure they understood the change. Williams said they received very few complaints.

“It was such an easy thing to work out,” he said.

Jonathan Branch, a freshman Cobb resident, also expressed dissatisfaction with the change.

“I was on the Internet, and then I suddenly was not on the Internet,” Branch said.

ITS officials said they had received no official complaints once students understood how the program worked.

ITS is currently providing the program for free. It plans to roll out the change to other parts of campus in the next few weeks, and residents will be notified prior to the installment.



Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.