Email
Print
ShareAhmedabad, Ahmedabad: Thecompany given the task of holding CAT online this year has identified the computer viruses which, it says, wreaked havoc on computers at different test centres. Conflicker and W32.NIMDA are the two viruses that have disrupted CAT-2009 at different exam centres.
Confirming the identity of the viruses, COO of Prometric, Charles Karnan, said the problems posed by the computer glitches had been a learning experience for him and his company. "We now realise that we should not have used public infrastructure for the computerised test," he said.
By Monday, Day 3 of CAT-2009, the number of candidates who could not take the exam had risen to 7,000. According to reports, a computer crash stalled the test on Monday at centres in three cities -- Mumbai, Bangalore and Ghaziabad. In some other places, there were problems with hardware.
Till Monday, as many as 33 virus-affected labs at various centers in different cities were yet to be restored for the test.
Meanwhile, the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) announced on Monday that the candidates who could not appear in CAT-2009 because of computer glitches would get another opportunity to appear at the test. Samir Barua, director of IIM-Ahmedabad, said at a press conference in Ahmedabad that the test this year could not be conducted satisfactorily on the first few days.
"However, as this is the first time that the test is being held online, this is not very surprising," he said. Barua said that candidates who could not appear in CAT had been contacted through SMSes and email.
"We will make sure that all candidates who could not appear in the exam get another opportunity to take the test," he said. "We will try to the reschedule their test as per the convenience of the candidates. But this cannot be guaranteed in every case as flexibility in this area is limited."
