In 1983, Fred Cohen coined the term “computer virus”, postulating a virus was “a program that can ‘infect’ other programs by modifying them to include a possibly evolved copy of itself.” Mr. Cohen expanded his definition a year later in his 1984 paper, “A Computer Virus”, noting that “a virus can spread throughout a computer system or network using the authorizations of every user using it to infect their programs. Every program that gets infected may also act as a virus and thus the infection grows.” Read the rest of this entry »

Achieving good computer security can seem like a daunting task. Fortunately, following the few simple steps outlined below can provide a good measure of security in very little time.
Use antivirus software and keep it updated. You should check for new definition updates daily. Most antivirus software can be configured to do this automatically.

Install security patches. Vulnerabilities in software are constantly being discovered and they don’t discriminate by vendor or platform. It’s not simply a matter of updating Windows; at least monthly, check for and apply updates for all software you use. Read the rest of this entry »

Writing software on a consulting basis can often be a losing proposition for developers or clients or both. There are too many things that can go wrong, and that ultimately translates into loss of time and money. The 15% rule we’ve come up with is intended to create a win-win situation for either parties (or at least make it fair for everyone). Clients generally get what they want, and development shops make a fair profit. It’s not a perfect solution, but so far it seems to be working for us.

This may come as a surprise to some, but we make very little money selling software licenses. The vast majority of our revenue comes through consulting services writing code for hire. Having now done this for several years, we’ve learned some hard lessons. On a few projects the lessons were so hard we actually lost money. Read the rest of this entry »