The Signal

Issue date: 5/20/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Hanna Alldrin

Village residents at California State University, Stanislaus are all too familiar with an unreliable Internet connection. The Internet connection residents are required to use has a tendency to randomly shut out students. David Klein, Director of Network and Communications at Stanislaus, says the problem lies not with the connection, but with the program residents must use to connect.

"It's a combination of Clean Access, wireless Internet and particular laptops," Klein says.

The Sysco Clean Access Agent is a program Village residents are required to install on their computers before they are able to log on to the network. The program is used to verify that students are running an up to date virus protection program and it monitors the amount of data going in and out of every computer. When the program cannot verify a valid virus protection program is running, or it cannot detect an Internet connection, the log in attempt fails. This, according to Klein, is the source of frustration for Village residents.

"They shut it off and it runs really slow," says Nick Webber, a Village resident who is all too familiar with failed log in attempts. "There is nothing you can do. OIT (Office of Information Technology) can't fix it and restarting doesn't always work."

Klein says the reason OIT can't fix this problem and the reason why restarting the computer doesn't always work is because the solution lies within the timing of Clean Access Agent launching.

"A connection needs to be made before Clean Access launches," Klein says.

The reason for this is because Clean Access Agent must be able to detect an Internet connection before it can report any information to OIT about the user's computer. If the Clean Access Agent launches before a Village computer can find an Internet connection, the program will not allow access to the Internet. Klein says this is an easy fix.

"Just close the Clean Access Agent, disable and re-enable the wireless adapter then log back in. If you need help, you can call OIT for assistance."

While this information is beneficial to tech savvy students, most Village residents are still left in the dark.

"Teachers wouldn't believe them if they couldn't do their homework because the Internet is down," Said Webber.

Continued...

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