With more and more of the campus going wireless, it has become increasingly difficult to locate and identify computers which are degrading service for the rest of campus. One example of such degradation may be an infected computer sending out spam, which clogs the network, slowing down access for everyone. Starting this fall, all wireless computers on campus and all desktop computers in the residence halls will be prompted to authenticate once each semester before access to the network is permitted. After the initial authentication, during which each user will be prompted to enter a campus email username and password in a browser, the user will then be able to access the Internet, library databases, Moodle, MyForester, and all other online resources.

This method of identifying users of the network will enable IT staff to determine the origin of viruses and other malicious software that can attack the network and cause the network to slow down or create connection failures. Each year our network has improved in speed and reliability. This authentication requirement will enable network staff to manage network resources even more efficiently.