It starts with an instant message from a friend, inviting you to click on a link, but seconds later your computer has been compromised, sending data to spyware Web sites across the world. The virus then spreads itself to members of your buddy list.

Since Aug. 26, Campus Information Technologies and Educational Services have been fighting to stop computer viruses, which spread through AOL’s Instant Messaging service.

“It’s fairly safe to say that in a day-to-day sense, this instant messaging virus is now our number one problem,” Mike Corn, director of security services and information privacy at CITES, said.

In a typical semester, CITES removes an average of 400 computers from the University network because of security incidences. In little more than a month, CITES has had to remove more than 600 computers because of the AIM virus alone, said Corn. The majority of the infected computers belong to students in University residence halls, although a few have come from departmental computers.

While the University does offer free virus-scanning software from McAfee Inc., the instant messaging virus that CITES had dealt with keeps changing and redefining itself before updates can be written to block it, making the process for removing the virus from a compromised machine more difficult.

Once CITES notices that a computer has been infected in the residence halls, it is relocated to a quarantine network, which notifies the user that his or her computer has been infected and needs to be fixed before it can return to the University network. In the quarantine network, the user cannot access or receive any information from the Internet.

Students might be tempted to simply unplug and re-plug into a hub next door. Corn warns that being sent to the quarantine network is not a punishment, but actually a method to protect users from the dangers of a compromised computer.

“There’s a problem with their machine that could compromise everything on there, and you really don’t want your banking information, your social security number, your letters to your girlfriend e-mailed off,” Corn said. “That’s what people need to understand. They think they’re getting around us, and all we’re doing is seeing a problem on their computer.”

Corn said that the viruses have not caused any damage to students’ computers, but serious security issues could be exploited that could harm both the user and other networks. The virus installs itself on the computer and begins to communicate with spyware sites waiting for instructions from a central location. Hackers could execute commands that force a compromised computer to be part of a coordinated attack on various servers, or even send out private information as the user surfs Web sites, Corn said.

Assistant Director for Information Technology Services, Rick Ruppel, has worked to remove the virus from residence hall computers and has witnessed how the always-online culture of college students has led to more computers being infected.

“I’ve had one where (a student) said ‘As soon as I clicked on it, my friend down the hall came running down, saying don’t click on it, it’s a virus,'” Ruppel said. “I think it’s just a culture where (students) have so many buddies, they exchange IMs all the time and they just don’t think viruses can come in many forms.”

The easiest way for students and faculty to avoid getting the virus is to remain skeptical and ask what their friends send them over instant messenger. Another method is to copy the link location and paste it into a browser before clicking on it. CITES has also created a Web site to promote awareness for instant messaging security at www.cites.uiuc.edu/security/imvirus.html.

“The big thing is checking the links,” Brian Mertz, who works in CITES’ Strategic Communications, said. “It’s pretty easy and takes two seconds to do it, as opposed to the hours it could take to fix it.”