Connecting to the Internet has been a hassle for students on the UF campus, but those not in compliance with the requirements will soon have their connection blocked.
On Tuesday, DHNet Internet Services began to enforce all policies. People who want to connect to the university’s network must meet certain system requirements, said Tracy Gale, communications manager for UF Information Technology.
The requirements depend on computer brand and include mandatory installation of antivirus software, a policy key and the latest version of Adobe Reader.
Students, faculty and staff received emails about the requirements, Gale said.
“Last Thursday evening, we ran a report of who is using our wireless network, and a little over 1,000 users still were not compliant,” Gale said. “And of those users, over 600 were Mac users.”
People who have not complied or have trouble connecting to the Internet after downloading antivirus software can go to the UF Computing Help Desk. Students like public relations senior Nichole Teixeira lined up Tuesday to get help. The 20-year-old hasn’t been able to connect with her computer since classes began.
“I keep doing the automatic sign in, and it doesn’t work for me,” she said.
The other primary component of the new infrastructure on the network is making sure spam and viruses don’t affect the system, Gale said.
The university’s network carries personal information about students, financial records, research data and more — all of which could be accessed if the system was compromised.
For more information, visit www.dhnet.ufl.edu.
