In response to "PSU's firewall doesn't truly protect students," March 4:

Do a little research first (an excerpt from the residence hall firewall FAQ, available at www.rescom.psu.edu):

"Now that the firewalls are helping to protect my computer, do I still need to worry about Windows updates and anti-virus software?

Yes. The firewall can help prevent some types of viruses from infecting your computer but anti-virus software is still important. For example, firewalls cannot stop some viruses that spread solely via e-mail. Properly installed and updated anti-virus software can protect you from e-mail viruses. Information on how to protect your computer and how to obtain this software (at no charge) is available at its.psu.edu/virus.html."

Computer viruses, Trojan horses and worms that spread solely through the network are becoming an increasingly significant computer security problem. Firewalls can help protect computers from these types of attacks.

Penn State does not monitor the content of information sent across the network. An analogy might be how the post office looks at the outside of an envelope or package to determine where to send the contents and whether it is a package or a letter.

Therefore, the firewall cannot tell if the e-mail message you receive contains a virus.