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www.guilfordian.com
Carlos D'Agostino
Staff Writer
Since early July, members of
Guilford College's Information
Technology Services (IT&S) have
been working diligently to remove
computer viruses present in the new
network installed in the institution's
directory. The primary motive for
installing a modified network was to
speed up the typing process and elim
inate the Blaster Worm Virus, which
plagued the system a year ago, caus
ing the IT&S staff to initiate a campus
wide shut-down.
In the past, such an event would
cause students to lose hours of work,
in addition to radically slowing down
the typing process - not to mention the
burden on the IT&S staff, who had to
reboot the system.
"We've been working day and night
over the past six weeks to tweak out
all the bugs in the new system," said
IT&S director Leah Kraus.
"Among two of the technological
dilemmas currently attacking the sys
Clubs participate in activities fair
Rebecca Spence
Staff Writer
On Friday, Aug. 27, more than
30 of Guilford's student clubs
set up tables outside Founders hall to
share information and recruit new
members.
Despite the warm weather, students
lined up to sign e-mail lists, talk to
club leaders, and enjoy free goodies
given out by the different organiza
tions. The Student Union table was a
popular one on the hot afternoon, with
free sunglasses and snow cones.
Among others were WQFS (Guilford's
radio station), who distributed stickers,
and Pride who provided visitors with
free condoms.
First-year Jack Samuels was disap
pointed that he "browsed by the fair
too quickly."
"I didn't get any free stuff," he said,
"but I wish I had."
The lucky students who did receive
freebies were pleased. Ben Yocum,
also a first-year, said, "the snow cone
I had from the Student Union was
iTaS: back on-line
tern are the
Sasser Worm and the Korgo Virus,"
said junior James Lyons, an IT&S staff
member.
A computer worm and a virus are
alike in that they both have the poten
tial to shut down a system, but they
differ in the way they penetrate it. A
worm spontaneously generates itself
and spreads, whereas a virus is gets
into a system through a personal com
puter (PC) user, either accidentally or
intentionally.
With the help of Guilford students
and two sub-contracted consultants
one from Elon University and the other
from Data Services Incorporated
(D.5.1.)-the college's network was sep
arated into two independent systems.
One system controls residential build
ings, while the other revolves around
academic, administrative, and staff
buildings.
Overall, the network received a 14
mega-byte per second (mbps)
increase from 6 to 20 mbps, which
drastically speeds up access to the
Internet and office software programs.
absolutely fabulous!"
Student Union helped plan the event
along with Adrienne Craig, Director of
Student Involvement and Leadership.
Craig has been at Guilford since July
and was excited to be a part of this
long-standing tradition.
In organizing the fair, Craig and
Student Union sent e-mails to every
club who got a budget last year and
put up flyers letting them know about
the event.
"It is a great opportunity for every
one to see the really diverse number
and type of activities that students
may not know about," said Sarah
Green, Student Union president.
Despite these efforts, Heidi Mclver,
vice president of the Revelers for the
fall semester, did not feel well
informed. "There doesn't seem to be
an effective system in place for the
organizers of the activities fair to com
municate with participants in the activi
ties fair," Mclver said.
Other club leaders, however, had no
problem with the organization of the
event. Jonathan Henderson, a senior
FF.ATTTKFS
Several new software programs
have been implemented into the direc
tory, among them Windows XP
Professional.
Prior to the recent installation of
Windows XP, Guilford students had
access to Windows 2000, a four-year
old software program that was limited
in mbps.
"With Windows XP Professional,
users have increased security access
control, further allowing them to block
out unwanted pop-up ads," said Geoff
Leister, director of IT&S user services.
Additionally, Microsoft Office 2003
was installed, which helps speed up
the typing process. Students now
have the capability of performing mul
tiple tasks at once without losing valu
able work.
Furthermore, Lotus Notes received
an upgrade to version 6.5.1, which at
this point only affects freshmen. Now
students can send e-mails with col
ored text. Unfortunately, upper-class
men will not be upgraded until around
October due to the virus elimination
process.
and a member of Guilford Action
Network (GANe), had no complaints
about the communication. "I didn't see
a problem with it," he said.
Henderson was pleased about hav
ing the chance to recruit new mem
bers for the organization. "GANe had
a tendency to be really cliquish in the
past," Henderson explained. "The
more perspectives, the better"
The table run by GANe generated
great enthusiasm. They gave away
their traditional Disorientation Guide,
which includes advice on how to be
environmentally friendly, suggestions
for activism, and information on
health, voting, and campus resources.
Several students walked away with
the guide exclaiming: "This is awe
some!"
The only complaint about the stu
dent-produced guide was that it was
hard to read.
'They wouldn't let me leave without
it," said first-year student Scott
Reichhelm, who signed up for GANe's
mailing list. "It's ok, but it's kind of
unintelligible."
Sept. 3, 2004
Greensboro. NC
r
* .-''if
In terms of sta
tistical data,
153,624 out of a
total 249,524 e
mail messages
were blocked as
a result debug
ging the system
of the worms and
viruses still pres
ent.
On a more pos
itive note, howev
er, 4,613 viruses
were blocked out
of the system, fur
ther illustrating
the new network's
capabilities.
IT&S is also
providing a Virtual
Private Network
(V.P.N) for off
campus students,
which allows
undergraduates
to access
IT&S Help Desk work(
Guilford's network without having to
worry about being infected by viruses.
In the upcoming months, IT&S
expects to have wireless access to the
college's directory from the soon-to
be-completed Founders terrace. This
will increase computer access and
ease campus-wide clutter. Other
Reichhelm still plans to become
involved in the organization. "They
seemed like anarchists. I want to
check it out to make sure those kids
don't get into any trouble," he said with
a grin.
The Guilford College Democrats
were also active at the fair, registering
voters and recruiting volunteers.
Adam Waxman, College Democrats
president, made clear the importance
of the club's presence at the fair.
"Where there are a lot of people, you
have to have organizers," he
explained. "We're going to invest a lot
of time and energy to make sure
everyone on campus is registered to
vote."
Many students signed up to be on
three, four, or even more mailing lists.
First-year Katie Yow was excited
about taking part in new activities. Yow
hopes to become involved with the
Guilford College Democrats, GANe,
the Revelers, Pride, and WQFS.
"It rocks!" she said, "I'll get over
whelmed really quickly, but it will be
awesome."*