Patching Computer Systems, in the University Setting
Adam Tagert

In the past year several fast spreading computer worms have infected millions of 
computers on the internet.   In both the Slammer and Blaster instances, a patch existed 
before the worm.  At the beginning of this school year, Princeton made a massive 
campaign to patch all the student computers.  The result of this project is to determine the 
best policy for Princeton to have to keep all computers on the network up to date.

The current research has determine the best time to install a patch on a working system is 
to wait two weeks from the release date.  However the major studies have focused on 
network administrators and have ignored the non technical computer users.  Another 
missing aspect is actually asking the user why their behavior is as it is.  This independent 
work will study Forbes College which is a random collection of Princeton 
Undergraduates.  The goal is to collect enough data through surveys and monitoring of 
my hall and create a profile of an undergraduate student.  In addition determine what the 
current policy of patching is and if the Blaster has changed it.  The final result will be a 
paper that determines the best approach Princeton should have towards patching when 
considering the User knowledge.