Who's Responsible? Users

The effectiveness of a worm or virus is often determined by the number of hosts it can infect. This is then determined by how easiy the hosts can be infected. Many users, either through ignorance and somtimes laziness, run unpatched machines on the network. This has no doubt contributed to the number of infected machines on the network. RCCs (Residential Computer Consultants) advise their residents to run various patches and install different kinds of software(like Norton Antivirus) that aid in the fight against computer worms and viruses. However, many residents ignore such advise. The reasons range from not knowing how to install or patch their systems to being too lazy or busy that day to carry out the required actions on their computers. Such users have to understand that not patching or installing the required software affects not just them but anyone else connnected to the Internet. One's ignorance or laziness eventually results in some unrelated user bearing the consequences of such actions. Hence, it is vital that campus students and staff realize the importance of patching and installing the required security software for their computers. Combatting campus computer break-ins and violations is a group effort in which everyone should play a part.