Last week, Geneseo faced multiple issues related to its webmail stability, creating some difficulties for users seeking to access online applications.
According to David Warden, a systems analyst for Computing Information and Technology at Geneseo, there are a variety of problems that can arise in Geneseo’s Web servers that may cause slow performance or a crash. Usually, the first response to these problems is a restart of the system, causing the website or mail client to go down temporarily but return fixed.
Warden also listed specific examples that can affect performance. Occasionally, the servers do not properly authenticate users logging in, which can cause webmail to hang until the servers are refreshed. The webmail client can also slow significantly when many users simultaneously attempt to delete e-mails in bulk.
Geneseo’s webmail client is a modification of SquirrelMail, an open-source webmail project that started in 1999. Since its creation, SquirrelMail has been used by many universities and is favored for its strength in security.
There are many features lacking in SquirrelMail, however, that other e-mail providers like Yahoo and Google provide. For this reason, Warden has been testing a new open-source Web client called RoundCube that retains online accessibility but has an application-like interface.
Geneseo is considering implementing this new system by next year. “I don’t think at this point we can commit to Fall [of 2011], but it would be nice,” Warden said.
Security also remains a concern for Geneseo’s seemingly dated webmail client, but Warden asserts that the nature of SquirrelMail’s programming makes it secure. “When you hear ‘age’ and ‘open-source,’ that’s generally a good thing, because any issues that a young application would overlook have been long since resolved,” Warden said.
The few spam messages that get through, according to Warden, are caused by users revealing their passwords to phishing scams. “People are socially inclined to reveal information,” Warden said, “so they tend to give out passwords when asked.” Once scammers gain a user’s password, they then can log into the client and send spam messages from there.
Geneseo’s website was briefly inaccessible to users not in the Geneseo network over Thanksgiving break. According to Warden, Time Warner Cable was facing issues with certain blocked Internet Protocol addresses.