The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, August 25, 2003, Image 1
www.dailygamecock.com _MONDAY, AUGUST 25,2003_ Since 1908
.Worms infest university network
PHOTO BY MORGAN FORD/THE GAMECOCK
j Stephanie Powell, a second-year nursing student, visits
I Computer Services to rid her processor of the Blaster worm.
Computer services receives more than 1,000 calls after
students lose Internet as worms, viruses clog system
JON TURNER
THK CAMECOCK
It’s unusual for USC’s
Computer Services office to re
ceive more than 900 phone calls in
a day. Yet on Thursday, the
Internet help desk received more
than 1,100 calls from students and
faculty after e-mail viruses and
computer worms swept through
the university network, almost
stopping the flow of data.
Melissa Javier, a first-year po
litical science student, said her
Internet connection has been dys
functional for several days.
“It’s really inconvenienced me.
because I’m a freshman and I’d
like to talk to my friends and fam
ily and use my e-mail,” she said.
Such worms as Blaster and
Nachi and a new virus, Sobig, are
loose on the Internet. Students
brought the worms and viruses
back with them when they con
nected their computers to the USC
network, Computer Services
staffers said.
USC’s Computer Services staff
has been working overtime to fight
the spread of the virulent worms.
“Universities are especially hit
with it because, you know, we have
6,000 students coming in one week,”
said Ronni Wilkinson, the infor
mation technology security officer.
Universities, businesses and
government organizations world
wide are being hit hard by the epi
demics.
“Sobig hurt the administrative
e-mail system,” Wilkinson said,
“but none hurt the main systems
like VIP or the registration sys
tem.”
Sobig, an e-mail virus, was dis
uuvei eu duuui a.
week ago. It
comes in an at
tachment and,
when download
ed, searches
through-a com
puter’s address
book and sends a
copy of itself to
each of these addresses. By spread
ing rapidly, it can overload such
mail systems as the university’s
Gamecock e-mail (GEM).
About a month ago, a vulnera
bility was discovered in some
Microsoft software, specifically, ev
ery Windows operating system af
ter ‘98. Microsoft quickly released
a downloadable patch to mend the
problem, but the response wasn’t
fast or comprehensive enough to
prevent the spread of Blaster, a
worm that dogs network data
transfers and copies itself onto ev
ery computer it can find.
The biggest visible symptom of
Blaster is a continual pop-up mes
sage saying that the computer is
going to turn off “in one minute.”
Blaster hit USCat about 10 p.m.
last Thursday.
The next worm, Nachi, exploits
the same weakness as Blaster to
spread; however, Nachi deletes
the Blaster worm and downloads
the Microsoft patch.
positive ef
fects, Nachi
has an even
worse net
work-clogging
effect than
Blaster.
Moreover, it’s
much harder
to detect than its predecessor.
At least one variant of the virus
was also programmed with an ex
piration date, Jan. 1,2004. So, an
easy way to get rid of some ver
sions is to set a computer to 2004
and reboot it, causing the virus to
delete itself.
“The first afternoon Nachi hit,
it almost stopped our Internet con
nection,” Wilkinson said. “All the
switches in the dorms can’t pro
cess it fast enough.”
She said it was normal
for about 250 to 500 packets of
♦ WORM, SEE PAGE 4
“The first afternoon
Nachi hit, it almost
stopped our Internet
connection”
RONNI WILKINSON
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECURITY OFFICER
Business school
gets high ranking
BY ALEXIS STRATTON AND
MICHAEL LAFORGIA
.THE (iAMECOCK
The Moore School of Business
and USC’s first-year programs
were recognized alongside pro
grams of Harvard, Princeton and
other universities in the U.S. News
and World Report’s “America’s
Best Colleges Guide,” which hits
newsstands today.
Carolina’s first-year programs,
which were ranked No. 1 nation
ally in last year’s guide, were list
ed this year under the heading
“Programs to look for.”
“It will tell current students as
well as future students that the
University of South Carolina cares
about its first-year students and
has a program that is dedicated to
their success,” said Mary Stuart
Hunter, director of USC’s National
Resource Center for the First-year
Experience and Students in
Transition.
Dan Berman, director of
Carolina’s acclaimed University
101 program, said he is proud of
the attention the university’s first
year programs have received, but
that he isn’t surprised about it.
“We feel that we probably are
the most caring and the most con
cerned first-year program in the
country,” he said. “We really want
our students to succeed, and oth
er schools know what we do.”
In addition, USC’s international
business department was ranked
No. 1 in the undergraduate inter
national business category.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecockudesk@hotmail.com
Custodians take time
for own Olympic games
BY Z ANNE COVELL
THK (JAMECOCK
USC’s first Custodial Olympics,
held Friday in the Blatt Physical
Education Center, gave university
custodians a respite from their ev
eryday duties.
The event was sponsored by
Sertoma, a civic organization that
sponsors such projects to Deneut
the community. Ron Farkas, pres
ident of Columbia’s North Lake
Sertoma club, said the Custodial
Olympics reflect a wave of custo
dial recognition spreading across
the nation.
“There have been a number of
♦ OLYMPICS, SEE PAGE 2
Index
Comics and Crossword 8
Classifieds _ 11
Horoscopes 8
^ Letters to the Editor 5
Online Poll 5
Police Report 3
Weather
TODAY | TOMORROW
iji
High 94 High 93
Low 71 Low 71
wmmmmmmmmmmm
In This Issue
♦ NEWS Local organization
lobbies for legalization. Page 2
♦ VIEWPOINTS Anna Lake tells
why school is her vacation.
Page 5
♦ THE MIX The newGMP
shocks and amazes. USC
students sound off on the
revamped Grand Marketplace.
Page 6
♦SPORTS The SEC strives to
get back on top in college
football. Page 9
—r -—
‘Legalize it’
PHOTO BY MORGAN FORD/THE GAMECOCK
Marijuana legalization supporters rally outside the State House on Friday waving signs as drivers honk while passing.
* PRO-MARIJUANA GROUP NORML HOLDS RALLY TO EDUCATE ABOUT THE DRUG, PAGE 2
Sororities welcome new members
BY KEVIN FELLNER
THE GAMECOCK
It’s not every day that hun
dreds of sorority girls flood the
Horseshoe reciting cheers and
handing out memberships to a
new class of female freshmen. But
on an overcast Sunday afternoon,
they arrived sporting brightly
colored shirts with prominent
Greek letters and ready for Bid
Day 2003.
It’s the culmination of Rush
Week. It’s a time for hundreds of
eager freshman students to open
their envelopes in front of
McKissick Museum to find out
which sorority has invited them
for membership and then sprint
across the Horseshoe toward
Sumter Street to the open arms of
their new sisters.
“I’ve been working out at the
Strom Thurmond Center all
»
week,” said first-year nursing stu
dent and potential new member
Mary Ellen Horn, who vowed be
forehand to be the first one to
reach her new sisters.
“It was exciting and a little bit
reckless not knowing where
you’re going,” said first-year busi
ness student Kim Perlick, who
had been accepted to Alpha Chi
Omega just moments earlier.
“It definitely pumps you up
when you’re running toward
them,” she said.
Sorority members huddled to
gether behind signs and under
balloons matching their shirts as
much as an hour before the po
tential new members opened
their envelopes. The groups were
strewn well past the Maxcy
Monument.
Many of the sororities sustain
friendly rivalries from year to
year, and nearly every member
strives to pump the crowd up
the most.
“We are the loudest and most
spirited sorority out here,”
boasted fourth-year English stu
dent and Alpha Delta Pi member
Katie Glaze, even though other
sororities were making the same
claim. Glaze said much of the
group’s spirit this year stemmed
from them accepting their
largest group ever with 70 new
members.
Since students went through a
series of interviews and parties
throughout the past week, many
were relieved to s^e it end and
were ready to focus on school
work.
“You get to let the girls know
what your philanthropy is and
what your sisterhood is about,”
said Anna Rasmussen, a second
year business student and Alpha
♦ BID DAY, SEE PAGE 3
“You get to let the girls know what your
philanthropy is and what your sisterhood is about.
We get to meet tons of them, as many as possible,
and then try to get a feel for what they’re like
and if they would fit in.”
ANNA RASMUSSEN
SECOND-YEAR BUSINESS STUDENT AND ALPHA CHI OMEGA MEMBER