Students who upload information to iLocker or iWeb now receive increased security while transmitting information, said Tobey Coffman, University Computing Services security group leader.
This semester, UCS mandated all students use a Virtual Private Network when uploading information to these two sites.
A Virtual Private Network, or VPN, acts as a secured tunnel from the student's computer to a base within the wireless network, Coffman said.
The tunnel prevents people from being able to intercept information as it travels through the wireless network, he said.
VPN is not required for all wireless Internet usage because there are varying levels of security offered through Web sites, he said.
Overall, Coffman said file transfer protocol sites such as iLocker and iWeb are unprotected and susceptible to having their information compromised.
"If someone has your Ball State username and password they might then be able to access your bank account because they assume it has the same username and password," Coffman said about using unsafe Internet connections.
While VPN has been available for student use for the past three to four years, Coffman said that it was only used by a handful of students.
By requiring students to use VPN for transmitting data through the unprotected ftp sites, Coffman said UCS is protecting students' usernames and passwords.
Students can go to bsu.edu/webapps2/vpn/ to download VPN, said Sarah LaChat, coordinator of technical documentation support services.
In essence, LaChat said downloading VPN to a computer is a short, simple process.
However, Coffman said downloading VPN is worth the additional security.
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