Computer and Media Services employees will no longer make free house calls to cure Syracuse University students’ sick computers.

On Oct. 6, CMS will revert back to its 5-year-old policy of charging students a $25 ResCom support service fee.

‘There were some extraordinary problems that happened Opening Weekend,’ said Judy Holmes, a CMS technical writing specialist.

CMS officials feel it is safe to begin charging students, because compared to the first four weeks of school, there have been fewer virus and worm problems.

‘We feel it’s a fair price,’ said Deborah Nosky, the manager for information technology communications and professional development for CMS.

‘The bench charge at most [local computer stores] just to have someone look at your computer would probably be 75 bucks,’ Nosky said.

While CMS officials hope that virus and worm problems have subsided, the Microsoft Corporation announced Sept. 10 that a security flaw affecting Windows 2000 and XP could potentially lead to another worm infestation.

Nevertheless, CMS officials doubt that they will ever waive the entire charge.

‘It really was a timing issue,’ Nosky said.

Many of the new computers on campus brought viruses, and students weren’t adequately educated about how to protect their computers, Nosky said.

CMS officials believe that the problems caused by the worms inspired students to learn how to update their virus protection.

‘Students have a responsibility to maintain their machine,’ Nosky said. ‘We’ve communicated this to death.’

The university provides students with McAfee AntiVirus and also posts the latest patches online for students to download.

If another severe worm situation arose, Nosky said they might waive the fees for fixing the worm problem, but would still make students pay for other services such as printer or PC repair.

While CMS officials haven’t made any changes to the policy as a result of the recent worm problems, they have changed the way in which students can pay for services.

Students used to have to go to the University Bookstore to buy a coupon for a CMS person to come fix their computer, Nosky said. But as of this year, students can purchase the service through their bookstore account or by credit card when the CMS employee arrives.

Because of the recent attention to these problems, some students might believe that the problems are more serious than in past times. In fact, CMS has tried publicizing these problems to increase student awareness. Microsoft has been releasing security updates since the early ’90s.

Butch Auchterlonie, the academic support coordinator for the SU bookstore’s computer department, said the purchasing rate of ResCom support system coupons has been fairly consistent.

‘There haven’t been any radical jumps that I’ve noticed,’ he said.

Published on September 24, 2003 at 12:00 pm