Online class scheduling isn’t the only computing problem some Syracuse University students are facing this week.

Despite successful efforts to limit the amount of viruses and worms infecting SU’s Internet service ResNET, staff at Computer and Media Services is still receiving hundreds of calls a day from students unhappy with their service.

The vast majority of calls are coming from students who have forgotten their ResNET password that they need to register their computers onto the system, said Deborah Nosky, manager of IT communications and professional development for CMS. This problem is much more pronounced than last year, when all that students needed to log on was their student ID number.

‘I’m surprised at the number of returning students who have forgotten their passwords,’ Nosky said. ‘We were averaging 300 to 400 calls a day over the weekend.’

The problem is made worse, Nosky said, because students can change their passwords themselves by logging onto the CMS Web site, clicking on ‘accounts’ in the navigation bar and then hitting the ‘forgot password’ button.

Once there, students will be presented with a challenge question they created when they initially set up their accounts. If answered correctly, students can finally change their password on the site.

Although the password confusion has been an issue, Nosky expects calls to taper off as students start getting back in the swing of things.

‘I think we’re headed to a good place where everyone will use (his or her) NetID and password, but it’s just a little painful getting there,’ Nosky said.

The CMS hot line is open between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. at 443-2677, where consultants are available for those students still having password issues.

Along with the computer registration problems, CMS is dealing with students who set up wireless connections in residence halls against university policy, which essentially crash ResNET in the dorms, Nosky said.

When students attempt to install a wireless access point to set up an account, computers in surrounding rooms see the point as their Internet Service Provider. Almost instantly, CMS is flooded with calls from students whose Internet has stopped loading. An engineer then has to go out and track down the offending student.

‘I don’t want to say it’s hard, it’s just time consuming,’ Nosky said of responding to the problem. ‘The real issue is that wireless access points should not be set up in your residence halls.’

But many of the students are not aware of the CMS policy banning wireless connections in residence halls, Nosky said, and continued violations will result in a referral to judicial affairs.

CMS still encourages students to use AirOrange, SU’s wireless Internet provider, in designated wireless areas of campus, but strictly forbids its use in residence halls.

On top of chasing down wireless offenders, CMS is also seeing a large amount of computers infected with viruses, which has created a backlog in repairs, Nosky said.

Forty-five computers were dropped off on Monday, most coming from students who either caught a virus before they came to school or stored an infected one over the summer.

The number of infected machines should begin to drop off, Nosky said, as computers get fixed and ResNET remains virus-free.

‘Machines always need repairs, but not at this level of 45 machines a day,’ Nosky said. ‘We think this will drop off as soon as we get these machines fixed.’

Overall, CMS is confident about the semester, Nosky said, with only a small, dwindling amount of students experiencing problems – a far cry from last year when CMS was hit with virus after virus.

‘This year so far has been phenomenal,’ Nosky said. ‘I feel bad complaining about password reset. We should have been so lucky last year.’

While the relative smoothness of ResNET has probably been appreciated by most students, some are waiting for the other shoe to fall as new viruses pop up on campus.

‘I think that they’re doing a better job than they did last year, but I think it’s impossible to eliminate every virus that causes problems,’ said Mary Thayer, a junior marketing major.

But some students are optimistic about the security of ResNET due to the changes made by CMS.

‘They’ve really shifted things around, and things are going to be better this year,’ said Haddon Fisher, a sophomore computer science major, whose computer was knocked out for a month last year due to problems with ResNET. ‘It’s so much better. It’s apples and oranges.’

Published on August 31, 2004 at 12:00 pm