Though the Anna Kournikova computer virus is spreading through University computer systems faster than the Lovebug virus — freshman class president Eli Goldsmith sent it to the entire Class of 2004 — its damage is minimal, according to Rita Saltz, CIT policy and security advisor.
"Out of the viruses that have plagued the campus, this one has been the least troublesome," Saltz said, comparing the worm to the latest outbreaks of the Blebla.B, MTX and Hybris a.k.a. "Snow White" viruses. "It is benign," she noted.
The Anna Kournikova virus, which is sent through an e-mail with an attachment of a picture of the tennis player, does not damage files or hinder the operations of the system. However, it enters the Microsoft Outlook address book of the infected computer and e-mails itself to all the people on the list.
This mode of transmission is instrumental in the rapid spread of the virus because the sender of the worm appears to be someone whom the recipient knows. For this reason students and staff should be suspicious of any files with the extention ".vbs" attached to their e-mail or subject lines such as "Here you have ;0)" or "Here you go ;0)," according to John Burns, who works at the CIT Help Desk Support.
"We recommend that if you see an e-mail from a friend or someone you don't know with the attachment ["AnnaKournikova.jpg.vbs"], you delete the e-mail," Burns said. "Ask the sender if they just e-mailed you. Clicking on the attachment will execute the virus."
The entire Class of 2004 almost contracted the virus from an e-mail sent by their president.
"Needless to say, I was more than slightly peeved when I realized I had infected 1,200 people with one click," Goldsmith said.
The only alarming characteristic of the virus is how rapidly it spreads. Currently, the number of infected computers on campus is in the hundreds — complaints started at 2 p.m. on Monday, according to Burns.
The subdivision of CIT in charge of e-mail services took action to prevent additional infection by filtering messages and separating the ones with suspicious subject lines. Even though around the world, companies fear server crashes because of mass e-mails triggered by the virus, the University is not in danger.
"We have a pretty heterogeneous environment on campus where not everyone uses the Microsoft Outlook," said Donna Tatro, a manager in the e-mail division of CIT. "For this reason we have not seen dramatic change in the number of e-mails."
As a precaution, Burns also recommended students to update their versions of Norton Anti-Virus, McAffee or any other anti-virus software. McAffee and Norton have already posted specific updates on their Websites.
In case of infection, students and faculty members should contact the University CIT Help Desk immediately, Saltz said. The support staff can scan the entire drive, delete the infected files, replace them and insure the system will not contract the virus again.
Both Saltz and Burns agree the Anna Kournikova worm is more of an annoyance than dangerous when compared to other, more harmful viruses, which can corrupt files beyond repair.
"These viruses are psychologically upsetting more than anything," said Saltz.
Read More
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ’03 ‘plagiarized’ small portions of his senior thesis, experts say. But how serious is it?
Sena ChangA review of the senior thesis of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ’03 by The Daily Princetonian, in consultation with three plagiarism experts, found eight instances of uncredited material, sham paraphrasing, and verbatim copying. According to the experts, each passage violated Princeton’s academic integrity policies but varied in severity.
A review of the senior thesis of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ’03 by The Daily Princetonian, in consultation with three plagiarism experts, found eight instances of uncredited material, sham paraphrasing, and verbatim copying. According to the experts, each passage violated Princeton’s academic integrity policies but varied in severity.
CPUC discusses University policy changes and classroom scheduling in final meeting of academic year
Cynthia TorresPresentations included minor changes to Title IX policy, Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies (ODUS) protest policies, and updates to the classroom scheduling process.
Presentations included minor changes to Title IX policy, Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies (ODUS) protest policies, and updates to the classroom scheduling process.
Federal funding cuts hit McCarter, Princeton University Concerts
Devon RudolphThe Trump administration announced plans to end the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) on May 2. Both the McCarter Theater and Princeton University Concerts have received notice that federally awarded NEA grants have been rescinded.
The Trump administration announced plans to end the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) on May 2. Both the McCarter Theater and Princeton University Concerts have received notice that federally awarded NEA grants have been rescinded.