Worm virus strikes campus

by Ryan Floersheim

Daily Lobo

The fast-spreading computer virus that has wreaked havoc worldwide found its way to UNM last week, infecting thousands of computers and causing untold damage throughout campus.

The hacker-developed virus, named "Blaster Worm," infected UNM after spreading across corporate and home networks in Europe, Asia and Australia, said Jeff Gassaway, the Computer Information Resources and Technology Department's security administrator.

Gassaway said the "Blaster Worm" is especially dangerous because unlike traditional computer viruses that rely on user actions to move, it is capable of spreading as fast and far as it can on its own.

"Every computer affected by the virus experienced varying problems, but the most common was an inability to use the search functions at Web sites, to cut and paste and to check e-mail," Gassaway said.

This problem arose even though CIRT had recently taken extra steps to ensure the privacy and security of UNM computer system users by installing Secure Shell programs that provide fail-safe channels for computer users to do their bidding.

Linda Miller, CIRT's associate director, said UNM's computer system was vulnerable to the "Blaster" virus because it travels through the network looking for vulnerable computers and then transmitting copies of itself.

Miller said there is concern that with the huge influx of people returning to UNM for the beginning of the fall semester next week, computers that had been infected with the virus off-campus will bring it into the campus network.

"There is little we can do about that problem other than prepare as best we can and educate computer users about the steps they can take to minimize the virus' lingering effects at UNM," Miller said.

Scott Parker, technical support analyst at CIRT, said system upgrade CDs are available that, when downloaded, update the level of security and lessen the susceptibility of the entire system that the computer is on.

Parker said those CDs are available at a cost at the UNM Bookstore and at CIRT and that similar downloadable programs are available online.

Miller recommended that students subscribe to CIRT system information listserv that keeps the UNM updated on any potential problems facing the University's computers and what is being done to fix it. The address is www.list.unm.edu/archives/sysinfo-l.html.

Windows 2000 and XP are the most vulnerable, and although Windows was the most affected server by the virus, users of Windows 98 or later are not at risk, he added.

"The lesson to be learned from all of this is that it is critically important to update your computer system often," Gassaway said. "Always make backups of important documents and take every precautionary step to secure the safety of your computer, because as evident through this problem all it takes is one vulnerable computer to infect an entire system."