State Computers Systems completely shut down in Arkansas....

4/16/2004 | Me

[TheBattman]

I hadn’t heard anything via the news today, but the DIS (Department of Information Services) the department responsible for upkeep of the state’s computer systems (Government, Schools, etc.) instructed all schools statewide that all computers, including workstations, servers, etc. MUST be shut down at the end of the school day today (Friday 4/16/2004). This is to apply to ALL computers tied in with the state network.

The reason? An unmanageable number of viruses and an attack by hackers (probably allowed in via the email worms infecting the system).

The network is suppose to be completely down through 8:00 AM Monday morning.

Locally, our technology folks are having to change all passwords on EVERY workstation on campus because of one of these hacker attacks that supposedly compromised passwords campus-wide.

[TheBattman]

I guess that's what this computer is running on----

[null and void]

ping...

[sweetliberty]

Wonder if this will furthur delay review on my potential new job.

As an aside, for the past week my firewall has blocked a whole bunch of attacks...the traces show mostly from news sources, but predominantly from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. What's up with that? Any idea?

[sweetliberty]

We must have been posting at the same time. See my post after yours.

[sweetliberty]

Actually, I think the gerbil died.

[null and void]

So close, yet so far. *sigh*

[null and void]

Leave Richard Gere out of this...

[sweetliberty]

"Yes, but can you do all that for under $50.00? If not, the State of Arkansas would prefer just to take its chances."

No, they'll just use it as an excuse for another tax increase.

[LasVegasMac]

Hey, understand. Just the normal thought process.

This spam thing is really taking up way too much of my time. We have about 12 users that are getting hammered hard with spam. Perhaps those that did not heed the advice of not publishing your address.

A while back I add the words "mortgage, refinance, reward, degree and weight" to the spam subject line filter rule.

People are bitching. Our line of work does not even remotely include those words.

What is the old saying, "can't please everyone all the time.."

LVM

[sweetliberty]

*Smooch* Can I do that here?

[Palladin]

You have to be a bloomin' idiot to open every email, especially chain letters and pass-along jokes, etc.

Thisdoes not say much for Arkansas teachers.

[Focault's Pendulum]

Arkansas has electricity?

Stop spreading rumours.

[sweetliberty]

LOL!

[null and void]

Apparently, you can...

[TheBattman]

Interesting - I wonder if the DFA system is seperate from the centralized Arkansas Computer system.

All I know is that the email that was forwarded to us, via the technology co-ordinator, indicated that this was a State-wide shut-down. All departments were to shut down all networked computers at the end of the day.

I wish I had forwarded the email to my home address before I shut down the computer in my room. When I thought about it, the network was already down.....

[taxcontrol]

Here is something to fix the user problem.

First, shut down access to the Internet to fix the mail server (late at night?). Kill the offending 12 accounts, make 12 new accounts with different name / password combinations. Turn Internet back on. Leave a voice mail for the new users to call you when they come in.

Give them their new account but remind them, if they give out their email accounts to the wrong people, you will have to do the same thing over and over and over and over again.

[TheBattman]

Actually, though - these viruses are rampant all over, not just at schools. There are a LOT of bloomin' idiots out there - that's why these email bugs keep going.

What amazes me are the ones I still see every so often that are from computers infected with worms that are over a year old! Even a little BASIC care and maintenance would prevent such trouble...duhhh.

[LasVegasMac]

Ha. That was my suggested remedy.

Over ruled by the powers that be.

I'm almost to the point of just not worrying about it. Don't filter anything (except for virus of course), you can have it all.

Mgmt certainly has no concept. They believe in making the user happy. We are currently configured that no users have local admin permissions. That is about to change, I think. The user power whine.

My suggestion to fix that is in line with what you said about e-mail. We have a standard load. User complains about machine. We see software that we did not load. "Oh, sorry, I have to take your machine to fix it." Standard load ready to be blown down, wipe drive, done. Here is your machine, works fine - for the software that we support. Bye."

Not the ideal solution, more of a drastic reaction to weak mgmt. Perhaps someone's light bulb will go off that maybe, just maybe, users should not be able to load what ever they want.

LVM

[DeaconBenjamin]

We never received notice to shut down our computers for the weekend, either. I guess state-wide may have several definitions.