The first week of classes can be hectic enough, but for students whose computers have been infected by the "blaster" worm or other computer viruses, functioning without bedroom access to ISIS or AOL Instant Messenger has become increasingly frustrating.
As of yesterday afternoon, ITC had found 340 infected computers in dorm areas and 903 throughout rest of the University.
These latest numbers represent the first noticeable decrease in compromised computers since the outbreak of the blaster worm, which affects many newer versions of Windows, including 2000 and XP, on Aug. 11.
"We've had a record number of help desk calls," said Mark Smith, manager of the ITC help desk and desktop support, who noted that the previous monthly call record was reached in nearly one week.
In a room at their Astronomy Building office, several ITC representatives have been working full-time to allay damage from the two related worms and seven currently-detected viruses.
"This is really an ad-hoc group," said Terry Lockard, ITC director of computer support services. "It's a war room."
Each day, the staff examines the latest count of compromised computers and takes the necessary actions, including software updates on the ITC Web site and isolating blocked students by user ID, then sending them e-mail notification messages. In addition, ITC has made various outreach efforts to students, informing many on move-in day by staffing tables and providing handouts.
"It's been very, very stressful," Lockard said. "We've tried to get the word out so students can help themselves."
For second-year College student Kristen Bailey, life with an infected computer has been inconvenient.
"I've been having to use friends' computers and going to computer labs," said Bailey, whose computer was infected on move-in day. "I haven't been able to communicate with anyone for a week. They probably think I'm dead or something."
Because ITC quarantines computers immediately following contraction of a worm, students are left with only limited access to University Web sites, at which point ITC recommends that the user reinstall the computer's operating system.
While unfortunate for computer users, the infected computers have widened the market for professional and even amateur repair services. Justin Belcher, a second-year Engineering student, has advertised a blaster worm solution that allows users to retain files on their hard drives.
Through a roughly five-hour process, Belcher uses a series of virus updates, patches and original software to remove the worm for a fee of $80.
"A couple of my guy friends came to me complaining that they didn't want to reformat their hard drive," Belcher said. "It took me pretty much all of Monday to develop the process."
After hanging fliers throughout Grounds on Tuesday, Belcher estimates that he has fixed about 10 computers, all successfully.
"Everybody that I've helped is up and running perfectly," he said.
Local agencies also have seen an increase in business. Michael Burton, who runs a business called the Computer Man, charges an hourly rate of $90 for worm removal. Located on Blenheim Road, Burton goes to his customers and says he can usually fix the problem in under an hour.
"It's a nasty worm, but the damage [to the hard drive] isn't terrible," Burton said. "It prevents Internet connections so you can't get on to update."
Echoed by ITC and other computing services, Burton emphasized three recommendations to avoid worms: keep anti-virus protection up to date, run all Microsoft updates, especially critical updates and run a firewall.
As for viruses, ITC Webmaster Keith Donnelly advises, "If the attachment just looks funny, don't click on it."
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