Network security:a concern on campuses

safe using the computers on campus. "I use the computers on campus all the time, and I only had one problem in the beginning of the year in my dorm. It's great when you are in between classes and need to check your email on the Internet."

Pat Kelly, a sophomore English and communications major, disagrees with Reich. "In the communication and newsroom computer labs it is hard to check your mail if you have America Online. Only some of the computers will actually go to the sign on screen and let you sign in. Sometimes I will leave not being sure if -I am completely signed off."

The computers in the computer lab in the new computer lab on the third floor of Founders Hall, pictured above, as well as all the computer labs on-campus and most of the computers in the dorms, houses and apartments are connected to the school's network.

by Paul Williams assistant sports editor

Is your computer safe from hackers through the network at Cabrini? The infonnation technology and resources department has taken precautions and fixed problems regarding the network and its security. The ITR department, unlike some other universities and colleges, cannot see your e-mail or the Internet pages that you access.

The ITR department at Cabrini does not have the capability to accomplish this. However, Drexel University, who is Cabrini's ITR partner, can view them if their current policy changes. Drexel's current policy forbids them from viewing any email or web pages accessed from the campus of Cabrini College.

Network security is based on a program that protects outside forces, like hackers, from entering a private domain. According to

John McIntyre, director of the ITR department, "There is a firewall that is a configuration from Cisco located at Drexel. This not only protects Cabrini from hackers but monitors when a hacker tries to hack into the system."

Cabrini has had problems with Internet hackers before. The most notable of hackers was an exemployee of the school.

According to McIntyre, "An employee was asked to leave last

February. The employee had created a direct link from the Cabrini homepage to a pornographic site. The employee was dismissed, and we (ITR department) have taken more precautions to prevent this from happening again."

The ITR department will be doing more to maintain privacy.

"On the ITR website there will be a personal directory, ensuring that the personal accounts of Cabrini students will only be accessed by the person using a password," McIntyre said. "The only piece of information that the ITR department would be able to view is anything that is saved onto a server."

Megan Reich, a freshman business administration major, feels

Kelly Lohr, a sophomore secondary education major, had a similar experience in the Library. "I couldn't be completely sure if I was signed out, so I started to check by going to aol.com again. I worry about someone else accessing my email, especially if it was because they went to aol.com after me.

The problems that face Cabrini students are small compared to the problems facing students at other colleges and universities. Because of inappropriate behavior in email, many educational institutions have issued acceptable-use policies.

According to The Chronicle of Higher Education issued in Sept. 17, 1999, "A.U.P.'s define what behaviors are inappropriate or appropriate for users of campus networks and computers." These institutions provide these policies

School rashes Continued from page 1

"We also have a rash report. We have been reporting all rashes to the Montgomery County Department of Health." Quinlan said. "They then have the option of contacting the child's physician concerning the rash."

The final measure of precautions in the Lower Merion School District deals with the basic operations of the schools. "The operations department looked into heating and ventilation to make sure all the filters were being replaced," Quinlan said. However, not all schools in the area have been implementing such extra provisions. The Tredyffin/Easttown District sees nothing wrong with the current policy and feels it is the best defense the school has. Dawn

Zrebiec, school nurse coordinator, explained, "We are taking no special precaution and following our normal procedure. We double allergic reaction or if it's a children's sickness like fifths disease or chicken pox, then we deal with that rash."

Zrebiec further checked with our "Thismysteryrash comesand goes." explained that if the rash was unidentifiable, the child was sent Dawn Zrebiec, home to see his or her school doctors and they've decided that our normal procedure is the best one." in handbooks and on the Internet. Institutions like Cornell University, Salisbury State University and Harvey Mudd College all have computer-use policies that restrict a person's Internet and email practice. The ITR and computer departments of these schools will exercise their right to access the email and Internet pages that are accessed on a campus. Most ef the rules are broad, but they all contain some of the same aspects. Sending viruses, spam email, or mass email is prohibited according to these policies. Also prohibited under the computer-use policies are Internet pages that have information about how to perform or cause harm to someone. According to The Chronicle of Higher issued March 19, 1999, a professor at Clark College can no longer send emails using a computer on campus, because he did not follow the acceptable-use policies regarding email. seems to be limited to the elementary and middle schools. Unlike in the middle and elementary schools, there have not been any reported cases in high schools that are linked to this unknown rash.

Finally, there is one way for a network to keep their system safe. According to The Chronicle of Higher Education on Jan. 21. 2000, Randy C. Marchany, a security expert at Virginia Tech, said. "Every computer in the network should be updated with the latest virus protection system. There should be a broad acceptable-use policies for using a computer on the network."

Districts like Tredyffin/Easttown cleared by the doctor.

"This mystery rash comes and goes. It appears very quickly and we haven't had any cases like that in any of our schools," Zrebiec said.

The rash that is infecting many children school nurse coordinator of physician and then was Tredyffin!Easttown permitted to come back to school when it was already have an extensive procedure, which guards against the spread of rashes, not just this mysterious rash, in the schools. "If a· student comes in with a rash we try to identify the rash," Zrebiec said. "We find out whether it's caused by poison ivy or an

Unlike the middle and elementary schools, high schools in the area are not too concerned about the rash. Because of that, precautions have not been put into effect to guard against the rash.

"We're doing nothing," Edward Monastra, principal of Phoenixville Area High School said. "It's going to middle and elementary schools and infecting that age group as opposed to high school students. So, we're just going from day-to-day like we always do."