Students who are accustomed to using Skype, the Internet-based program that allows people to video chat with one another anywhere in the world, cannot do so on campus. The service is blocked.
Greg Horne, executive director of Information Technologies, said students are barred from using the 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.
For Huda Khan, sophomore biology major, the ban prevents her from keeping in touch with her family in a way that a regular phone call or instant message does not provide.
“I use it at home, but when I tried to download it here to talk with my mom, it didn’t work,” said Khan. “I could have called her but she wanted to show me something, so Skype would have been better.”
Skype is not only used to connect with family and friends, but the program is also used in many universities to acilitate students’ learning of other languages and cultures.
Lisa Vignola, senior business administration and marketing major and resident student, said students could benefit from this aspect of service at NSU.
“In regards to school, it can enhance students’ educational experience because they could communicate or converse with their professors and even do group projects using their webcams through Skype,” she said. “And for students who come from out of state or several hours away, it is a good way to keep in contact with loved ones.”
But last semester the Undergraduate Student Government Association started working to get the service on campus. They conducted a survey of 354 residential students, which showed that nearly 97 percent of respondents wanted access to Skype.
Daniel Brookins, sophomore legal studies major and SGA senator, proposed the petition. He said he did not understand OIT’s reasons for blocking the service.
“The way they block Skype is that you can’t log in on campus, but if you go somewhere, log in and come back you can use it,” he said. “It’s just an annoyance to students because they have to go off campus to access it.”
Horne 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.
Grant Johnson, senior biology major and resident in the Founders residence hall, said he used ooVoo to keep in touch with his family.
“I think it’s a good alternative, but I actually have not heard of any other services similar to [Skype],” he 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.
