In recent months, K-State has experienced a rash of compromised campus computers used by hackers to send tens or hundreds of thousands of spam messages to the Internet. Besides the embarrassment of having K-State labeled as a source of spam, some of these instances have resulted in K-State being placed on spam block lists where all e-mail from K-State is blocked. To remedy this problem, K-State intends to start blocking the protocol used to deliver e-mail off-campus on three selected portions of the network that typically have the largest percentage of compromised computers — the campus wireless network, and both the wired and wireless networks in the residence halls. This will only affect computers on these three segments of the campus network. All other network segments, including the guest wireless network (SSID=k-state.guest), will be unaffected.
This will take effect during the break between the fall and spring semesters. All students living in the residence halls will be notified about the change before they leave at the end of the fall semester. Continue reading “SMTP to be blocked on residence-hall networks and campus wireless”
