Greg Horne, executive director of Information Technology Systems and Services, said students are barred from using popular video chatting service, Skype, on campus to protect the university’s computers.
He said this is due to the way Skype transfers information.
“Skype sessions (voice, video, IM, file transfer) are encrypted in a single tunnel, making the traffic invisible to network security systems,” he said.
Similar video chatting programs, like ooVoo, are not blocked because they do not use this system.
“Unlike Skype, most other services use standard communication protocols, which do not prevent network security systems from detecting and eradicating malicious traffic from entering the NSU network,” Horne said.
Horne added that the office is working to make the service available on campus without presenting threats to the university’s network, but there is no time frame as to when it will happen.
