A computer update is only a click away.

The Office of Academic Information Technology in Durham Center is on campus to help ISU students with software to protect and update their computers, paid through student computer fees and the office budget.

“Everyone needs to keep their anti-virus package up to date and running,” said Mike Bowman, assistant director of Academic Information Technology.

McAfee VirusScan is one of the programs available to students on the Academic Information Technology Web site, he said.

VirusScan protects against viruses in e-mail, downloads and the computer in general, Bowman said.

And best of all, it’s at no additional cost beyond the student fees.

“Two renewal periods for the virus software licensing fees have come from the Computer Advisory Council,” said Dorothy Lewis, interim director of Academic Information Technology.

The Computer Advisory Council is made of faculty and students who decide how student computer fees are spent, she said.

In addition to the McAfee software, programs available for download range from e-mail and Internet programs, such as Eudora Pro and Netscape, to networking with campus printers in Durham, Bowman said.

The cost of printing is deducted from each student’s $20 per semester Project Vincent print quota, he said.

The Scout program, which is the key to all the free software, is a distribution management and version control software package for the most popular networked software, Bowman said. The program is free to download, and ISU students and faculty can download other site-licensed software.

This software makes it easier for students and faculty to access the network package, Bowman said.

Iowa State pays the licensing fee for the use of the site-licensed programs and then provides them to students.

“Scout is really user friendly,” said Mike Schaefer, senior in construction engineering. “Students need to be informed about the security software at their disposal on the AIT Web site.”

For more information, visit the Web site, http://www.ait.iastate.edu.