ResComp deserves our recognition

While we thank The Daily for their praise, especially on behalf of our RCCs, we would like to clarify a few points in the piece:

• ResComp does not officially "maintain" the security of Stanford servers or the network. While we do administer a handful of our own servers for ResComp operational purposes, the Leland servers (the ones which serve up Stanford Web sites, email accounts, etc. and to which we assume The Daily was referring) are maintained by ITSS. Additionally, while the residential network is co-managed by ResComp and the Networking group at ITSS, the rest of the Stanford network is managed by ITSS. Nevertheless, ResComp does play a significant role in maintaining the health of the Stanford network through the RCCs. RCCs are the local network administrators for their residences and they are often the ones who first discover and diagnose security problems that quickly grow to affect all of campus, such as email viruses, operating system exploits, denial of service attacks, etc. And of course, RCCs are the first line of support for residential students and are usually the ones who educate and help students keep their computers secure and virus-free through general consulting and support as well as residential programs.
  
  
• Applications for the RCC selection process were due last Friday (2/20), but only for the Row houses (coinciding with general Row manager selection). You can still apply to be a dorm or graduate RCC-- applications will become available at the beginning of March. For more information on the RCC selection process, visit our RCC selection information page.
  
  
• ResComp does not provide any specific software for network or desktop security. ITSS provides a number of tools at its Secure Computing Web site and RCCs (and ResComp in general) work hard to inform students about these tools as well as other software and practices that can help keep the network and your computer secure. For more information on security resources in general, visit our Security Resources FAQ.

We do understand that because so many students live on-campus, RCCs are generally the public face of computing and security at Stanford. We sincerely appreciate The Daily's praise for hard work that is usually only mentioned when things go wrong.