As a result of security precautions put into place by Iowa State, many network users will need to download upgrades in order to use certain programs.

Academic Information Technologies, the department in charge of monitoring and supporting the campus network, released multiple security upgrades on its Web site Jan. 6. The upgrades were put in place in order to fully encrypt users’ Net-ID passwords as they pass over the network to decrease the likelihood of those passwords being stolen.

Frank Poduska, systems analyst for Academic Information Technologies, said the upgrades are a precautionary measure.

“In the past, someone could potentially watch from their computer as we entered our passwords,” Poduska said. “We have had no reports of ID theft here at Iowa State.”

Upgrades were required for hundreds of ISU students and faculty who use specific outdated applications to access e-mail, telnet and file transfer protocol.

“There is such an increase in Net-ID use that we needed some additional security there,” Poduska said.

The change, which affects common Web site publishing software such as Dreamweaver or GoLive, is the result of more than 18 months of planning and cooperation between multiple college and department support specialists.

“This was a major effort that wouldn’t have been successful without the support of our IT partners in the colleges and departments,” said Jim Davis, interim director of Academic Information Technologies.

Although Academic Information Technologies planners estimate as many 75 percent of all ISU clients have completed the necessary updates, many students have been confused with the process and did not realize they needed an upgrade.

James Niffenegger, junior in marketing, is the webmaster of a Web site featuring ISU men’s basketball player Andrew Skoglund. He said he was upset when he first couldn’t log on.

“The people of the world need their Big Skogs news; when I first couldn’t log on to update the site, I was rather upset,” Niffenegger said.