In an effort to combat computer viruses that frequently attack the computers of college students, ResNet instituted a program to trace and control problems, according to James Stone, the director of Information Technology.
The Network Registration program, which runs itself as soon as a BU computer is turned on and connected to an Ethernet port, enables BU’s network administrators to diagnose infected computers more quickly and notify their owners more efficiently, Stone said.
Contrary to rumors that have been circulating around campus, the system does not and can not monitor students’ activity online, according to Stone.
“We don’t do that; this system cannot do that,” Stone said. “It’s a one-time use system. It doesn’t go out over the network looking for things.”
Stone added even if the University wanted to monitor student activity online, and had a program, it would be logistically impossible to monitor the movements of each of the roughly 12,000 BU network addresses.
The registration creates an “institutional database,” Stone said, and provides ResNet administrators with the BU login name of the owner of each computer registered to a BU network address, or IP.
According to an informational Web page maintained by ResNet, if a virus, worm or other “malicious intrusion” compromises one computer on the network, it threatens to hinder the performance of the entire network.
“That is a significant problem that we’ve had in the past,” Stone said.
Before this year, ResNet officials could only immediately identify the offending computer by its internet address.
But according to Stone, this process was slow, allowing more time for the virus to spread to other computers. Viruses often spread themselves through infected email unbeknownst to the computer’s owner, Stone said.
“This association is not something new,” he said. “What’s new is that this process that we’re using is much easier and more efficient. And if it’s easier and faster for us, then it’s better for the community.”
The system is also comprehensive, as Stone said BU students cannot access the Internet through a University connection without registering their computer first. Students are immediately directed to the registration page the first time they open an internet browser.
Citing numerous security systems, about which he could not provide specifics due to the their sensitive nature, Stone warned that avoiding registration would not only be impossible but also a violation of BU’s ethics policy.
He also stressed that if the institutional database were to crash for some reason, a number of backup systems would prevent any significant interruption of service.
“I don’t want to get too technical,” he said, “but if the database were destroyed overnight, we have backup systems.”
As of Tuesday morning, Stone said 9,900 computers registered to BU’s 12,000 ports in their residential system.
One network-user, Tim O’Brien, a resident assistant at 48 Buswell St. and College of Fine Arts junior, said he knew how the system worked but nonetheless expressed reservations about the process.
“It is their system, so I suppose they have the right to monitor it, but I cannot help but feel like my privacy is being invaded,” O’Brien said.
As an RA, O’Brien said a representative from ResNet explained the system’s intent and capabilities to him and his fellow RAs, and asked them to pass the information on to their residents.
Despite those efforts and a “Frequently Asked Questions” link from the NetReg website that explains the system, many students said they were unsure why they had to register. However, most students said they thought it was a good idea when they understood its purpose.
“I don’t have a problem with them preventing me from getting viruses,” said Kelly Fowler, a Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Services sophomore.
Some also expressed concern that BU could alter the system to spy on them on the internet.
“I’m normally against any kind of monitoring and policing, but I do like that they look for viruses, but I could do that on my own with Norton [Anti-virus software],” said Scott Johnson, a College of Arts and Sciences freshman. “I’m afraid that they could revamp the system to monitor what I’m doing.”
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