Recently, the Information Technology department instituted a new policy for blocking virus-infected computers from the network.

It has been the policy of the department to block infected machines for some time; until now, however, manual identification of infected machines was required. Under the new policy, an automated program is used to watch for computers that frequently scan for other computers on the network. "Scanning behavior is most commonly associated with a computer virus or worm," said the IT department in its announcement of the policy, and hopes to prevent then from having free reign on the Stevens network.

Some students reported their computers had become infected immediately after reinstalling Windows.

Joe Haydu '05 believes the new policy will make the network safer. "Hopefully it will cut down on the viruses on the network. I just reinstalled Windows, and I was worried my computer would get a virus before I could patch it," explained Haydu.

The change affects primarily affects student computers, as the computers used by the administration are maintained by the IT department. Students who have their network access blocked should contact the Information Technology Help Desk at x5500 for more assistance.

The policy is intended to do more than just keep more computers clean. The IT department is also hoping the new policy will ease "an overload on routers and Internet bandwidth."

The department's efforts to ease overload extends beyond blocking virus-infected computers from the network. Network traffic both into and within the Alpha Sigma Phi house is being throttled. As a result, "network access is much slower," according to Brian Quinn '05, an Alpha Sigma Phi brother affected by the slowdown. Ellis Farmer '05, vice president of Alpha Sigma Phi, said the move indicated a "lack of quality service" and was an "unnecessary hindrance." The fraternity is considering the purchase of a cable modem for Internet access.

The head of the IT department, Eric Rosenberg, was unavailable for comment.