Even Software Developers Are At Risk From Computer Viruses

Keeping computers free of viruses and other malware is vital for all businesses, large and small. And no type of business is exempt from threats from cyberspace. Because of their line of work, software development companies may be more vigilant than other types of businesses, but they are no less vulnerable. Computer security is a primary concern of Norm Olsen, founder and principal of Mentor Software Inc., a software development company in Lakewood, Colo. Olsen specializes in map projection software for GIS (Geographic Information Systems) users, which allows them to represent the three-dimensional curved surface of the earth on a two-dimensional plane.

One Man, One Computer
A self-described "independent one-man band," Olsen runs his business on a single laptop computer. He puts that machine through its paces with some heavy-duty programs - Microsoft Visual Studio and AutoCAD - that have to be running at the same time in order for him to write and test his software.

Olsen had been careful to keep his laptop protected by anti-virus software because he needs it to be secure and running like a top at all times. Any downtime cuts into his bottom line. He wasn't happy that his anti-virus package, which demanded 200 MB of RAM, was gumming up the works at times. But with his "if it ain't broke don't fix it" attitude, he was willing to put up with it, since it had been doing the job for more than a year. Until he downloaded the newest update and the machine started crashing nonstop. Olsen didn't have time to call the vendor's customer support and sit on hold. Instead he called his friend and colleague Monte Robertson, whose company Software Security Solutions (SSS) is in the same building as Mentor Software. Robertson directed him to the SSS web site and suggested downloading NOD32.

Safer, Faster, Better
Olsen took Robertson's advice and now is protected by NOD32, a program developed by Bratislava, Slovakia-based ESET. Unlike most anti-virus software, NOD32's technology enables it to protect against new and unknown viruses as well as those already in circulation. Therefore there's no "risk window" like exists for users waiting for their vendor to provide a new fix for a new virus. In 2007, NOD32 was named "Best Antivirus Product of 2007" by independent research firm AV-Comparatives.

Being an undiscovered brand makes NOD32 a better anti-virus product, Robertson says. "Hackers are getting the latest version of the market leaders to test against. Then they release their malware onto the Internet. One of the advantages of using a lesser known product is that hackers can't test against all of them." Besides feeling safe from viruses, Olsen notices how smoothly his laptop runs now. A problem he had had with the previous anti-virus software was "swapping." That's the tendency for any operating system to switch programs to the hard disk when it runs low on RAM, which can happen when running demanding software like Olsen does. "Once you hit that threshold everything slows down to a crawl," he says. "NOD32's footprint is half of what I had before both in terms of memory and computer time."

Updates are fast, too - five seconds compared to a minute or two with his previous program, he says. That's another reason Robertson is a NOD32 advocate. "Performance is very important to developers," he says. "If we're able to make a developer's machine, which is highly resource intensive, more efficient we can make anyone's machine more efficient."

Good Product, Good Price, Good Health
At $39.99 for the first year, $27.99 per year after that, NOD32 costs about the same as the other anti-virus programs Olsen has tried over the years. So he doesn't measure return on investment in dollars but in qualitative terms. "I am more productive, because it uses half the resources that any other brand did," he says.

He also doesn't worry about his machine crashing. Although he depends exclusively on his laptop, that's not for lack of other PCs in his office. One is gathering dust due to damage inflicted by an anti-virus program, he says. "I got a hard disk error in the middle of the registry so Windows won't come up anymore. When I get a few hours I'll reinstall the operating system." Olsen says it's quality software like NOD32 that keeps him in good health, too. When he responded to a recent blood drive he was turned away. "My blood pressure was too low to give blood."

About Software Security Solutions: Software Security Solutions is a Colorado-based technology company founded in 2001. By focusing on computer security threats and continually researching and testing a wide range of offerings, the firm is able to provide guidance and insight to business operations that are unable to staff a security team on their own. SSS advocates a layered approach to security and offers a range of best-in-class solutions that can be integrated into a layered security framework. Find SSS at http://www.SoftwareSecuritySolutions.com.