2008 Woodie Awards
IT Services institutes new fee for removing viruses
Catherine Couretas
Issue date: 12/7/07 Section: Campus
Charging a fee for virus removal, a requirement for "stronger" passwords and a new wireless Internet system are all changes Miami University students can expect from Information Technology (IT) Services next semester.
Recently some students have been prompted to change their passwords to log in to MyMiami and within the near future all students will be required to change their passwords and make them "stronger," or to include a variety of characters.
To make a password stronger any new password created must be at least eight characters in length and include at least one capital letter, one lowercase letter, and one number, zero through nine. The more complex the password, the higher the rating, or strength, according to a university press release issued Nov. 15.
"There was a weakness in the old Miami password authentication system," said Tim Pierson, the senior director of computing and communication services at IT Services. "There was only a requirement for a six character password, a legacy that was there for years and years ... now we're doing pretty much what everyone else is doing out there."
Pierson said that "everyone else," as in most other colleges and universities, already have this requirement for more complicated passwords and that this new requirement for "stronger" passwords will make students' accounts more secure and less susceptible to hackers.
"We hope we've made it easy enough for students and that it's not an inconvenience or a burden for them," Pierson said.
The larger the variety of characters in the password, the "stronger" it is. Because the requirement now calls for at least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter and one number, the combination of characters will strengthen the password.
Beginning next semester, IT Services will also charge for virus removal.
According to Cathy McVey, director of IT customer relations and communication, the charge will be $100 and is applicable to first- and second-year students who do not own a Miami Notebook-a computer that was purchased through the university-or whose computer does not use the free virus protection software offered through Miami.
Recently some students have been prompted to change their passwords to log in to MyMiami and within the near future all students will be required to change their passwords and make them "stronger," or to include a variety of characters.
To make a password stronger any new password created must be at least eight characters in length and include at least one capital letter, one lowercase letter, and one number, zero through nine. The more complex the password, the higher the rating, or strength, according to a university press release issued Nov. 15.
"There was a weakness in the old Miami password authentication system," said Tim Pierson, the senior director of computing and communication services at IT Services. "There was only a requirement for a six character password, a legacy that was there for years and years ... now we're doing pretty much what everyone else is doing out there."
Pierson said that "everyone else," as in most other colleges and universities, already have this requirement for more complicated passwords and that this new requirement for "stronger" passwords will make students' accounts more secure and less susceptible to hackers.
"We hope we've made it easy enough for students and that it's not an inconvenience or a burden for them," Pierson said.
The larger the variety of characters in the password, the "stronger" it is. Because the requirement now calls for at least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter and one number, the combination of characters will strengthen the password.
Beginning next semester, IT Services will also charge for virus removal.
According to Cathy McVey, director of IT customer relations and communication, the charge will be $100 and is applicable to first- and second-year students who do not own a Miami Notebook-a computer that was purchased through the university-or whose computer does not use the free virus protection software offered through Miami.
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