If you run fire wall software, you may be concerned that something on the UVM network is scanning your computer from time to time. If the scans are coming from the IP address 132.198.111.250, 132.198.203.10, or 132.198.101.182, there's nothing to be alarmed about.

The University's security team scans devices on the UVM network for known vulnerabilities, and to be sure systems aren't infected by certain software trojans, such as Back Orifice.  The IP addresses above belong to the systems used for the scanning, and some fire wall software will confuse their scans with intrusion attempts.

When a system is found to be vulnerable or infected,  the security team will attempt to determine who is responsible for that computer, and will require that person to eliminate the exposure.  The security team may act immediately against systems that pose a sufficiently high risk to the network or to other computers.  Network access may be suspended if the responsible person can't be contacted or doesn't respond.  

For more information on information technology security at the University, including policies, please see the security team's web pages at:

  http://www.uvm.edu/networksecurity/  

If you believe your computer is being attacked or scanned maliciously, please report the situation to:

   report.abuse@uvm.edu  

Security scanning is intended to protect computer and network users by identifying vulnerable or compromised computers; it does not afford any protection from viruses, trojans, or worms.  It is essential for all computers on the UVM network to be protected by up-to-date antivirus software, available in the software archive.