Northwestern University Information Technology is givingstudents an extra incentive to keep their computers virus free witha chance to win iPods through a computer security contest.
“We are trying to increase awareness amongst the studentpopulation about how they can keep their computers safe and securefrom network threats and viruses,” said Wendy Woodward, director oftechnology support services. “We’ve seen a tremendous increase inthe number of students who’ve been infected on a more regular basisand we’re trying to show them how to protect themselves.”
Students can register for a raffle on NUIT’s Web site. To beeligible to win one of two iPods up for grabs — among other prizes– students must have downloaded the latest version of SymantecAntiVirus and set it to run checks for automatic updates everyday.
Winners will be notified starting May 3, when residentialnetworking consultants will check to make sure winners’ computersare protected according to NUIT’s guidelines.
“We’re trying to do more than get people’s names into a bucket– we’re trying to get people to take action,” Woodward said.
Weinberg freshman Nicole Schwager said awareness is importantbecause many students like her don’t hear about virus protectionuntil they’re already infected.
“My computer got a virus and was sending pornography to peopleand I had to send e-mails apologizing,” Schwager said. “I didn’tknow what was going on until I checked my sent mail and saw thelink and was like ‘Oh my God.’ My res con said ‘Get Symantec’ andit’s been a happy transition.”
Medill senior Jill Mullen said her computer is slow to load,constantly has error messages and her e-mail often malfunctions.Mullen said she was relieved to hear about NU’s free anti-virussoftware.
“My computer’s loaded with viruses so it would be motivationenough just to get rid of them to have my computer work,” Mullensaid. “I’ll definitely do it, if I can get on the Internet.”
Beyond keeping their operating systems and virus scans updated,Woodward said, students looking to avoid viruses should be carefulwhat they download.
“These viruses aren’t just being spread through e-mail butthrough file sharing programs like Kazaa,” Woodward said. “Theseprograms tend to be more serious than the ones transferred throughe-mail since they allow someone to take control of the computerfrom outside. They may not realize they’ve been infected until thehacker takes control and wreaks havoc.”
She also warned that even supposedly safe programs can causeproblems.
“Unfortunately the bad guys out there that are creating theproblems are going to lie to you,” Woodward said. “They’ll tell youthey won’t cause problems but why should they tell the truth?”
For some students just now hearing about Symantec, the iPods arejust an added incentive to download.
“It seems like something that checks viruses every day would besomething people would want anyways,” said Brad Jepson, a McCormickand Music sophomore. “Having an iPod in there too would be a reallysweet deal.”
