Technology T'ai Chi

I’ve been working on a rather thorough discourse on the subject of mobile computing.  It’s way too long for a single post here, and because of that, I’ve been rather shirksome in posting at all.

But I read in a book (you know, those things made from paper and ink, found in libraries, which are large buildings full of … books) called “Bird by Bird” that one of the keys to writing is to write every day.  How much?  Well, the author says to find a 1″ by 1″ picture frame, and write enough to fill that.

So that’s my goal today – to write a little something toward introducing the subject of mobile computing.  Over the next few weeks, I will flesh out the brief outline I’ll be giving here today.

For today, let it suffice that we have a definition of mobile computing (oh, and this is MY definition, no one else’s.  The beauty of blogging is that if you want to have your own definition of something, you can jolly well make up your own blog to house it).

Mobile computing, simply, is the ability to utilize computing technology anywhere.

(I need to state the obvious:  People who compute while driving – in any form that requires you to look away from the road – should be relegated to work as crash test dummies in studies about the dangers of computing while driving.  That way, they only endanger themselves, not you, me, or our loved ones.  By the way, there are studies that indicate that even hands-free phone use is too distracting and should be avoided or outlawed.  I hope those are proven wrong, but I’m not optimistic.)

Furthermore, I define the mobile computing continuum (MCC) as the range of capabilities and activities that can be performed using mobile computing technologies.  The MCC is rather broad, but I draw a line just above plain voice communication.  This includes cellular and payphone use.

The MCC stops just below those devices that are not mobile, logically enough – and in my arbitrary world of definitions, I say that something with a battery (or other unplugged power source – I guess wind, water, sun, and steam power count) and is meant to be schlepped around is mobile; and something you have to plug in to use (not to charge, to use; don’t MESS with me on semantics) and is not meant to be schlepped is NOT mobile.  Having a handle is not enough – remember the Compaq Portable?

That still leaves a lot of ground to cover.

So in subsequent posts on this subject, we’ll discuss some of the different aspects of this very large, very important subject, including:

• Devices (and classes of devices) in the MCC
• Platforms (operating systems)
• Connection Methods
• Applications
• Security
• and of course, What it means to your Business

One of the challenges of the subject is that it’s a moving target in every aspect.  So this could go on for a while.  Also, I really hope you will share your thoughts on mobile computing.  I’d love to hear from you.

Until next time,

Phil

Well, 2009 has been quite a year.

I have found myself involved in some things that were not part of my consciousness at the beginning of the year.

When last January came in, I was working for a large midwestern bank, that had shortly before been eaten by another large midwestern bank.  So it goes.  (I miss Kurt.)

I learned a great deal there about enterprise computing.  And how it is possible to manage thousands of servers and tens of thousands of desktops and laptops without having everything just plain burst into flames.

I learned a lot about project management there, too.  That is a skillset that everyone needs.

So I have a great deal of gratitude for Large Midwestern Bank, now a part of Other Large Midwestern Bank.

But about halfway through the year, we parted  company, LMBnapoOLMB and I, so I took my consulting full time.  (I’ve been serving the small- and medium-sized business and small-office/home-office markets for about 16 years.)  Much of what applies in the enterprise can also be useful in the SMB/SOHO space.

But this is also the year that completely redefined networking, at least for me and many other “displaced persons” and “professionals in transition”.

I had always enjoyed getting out and meeting people – not a problem.  And I was on LinkedIn long before I left LMBnapoOLMB.  But I had eschewed Facebook and Twitter as frivolous.

Then I re-connected with some friends from High School. People I hadn’t seen in over twenty years.  Some in over thirty.  And I met a bunch of other people who I would not have otherwise met.  I gained a whole new respect for social media.  I have studiously avoided MySpace, however.  I mean, there are limits.

I took my own networking advice:  Go where you don’t belong. I started going to social media gatherings.  I went to one meeting (and plan to go back) of the Cleveland Digital Publishing Users Group.  I joined the Lake Erie Moose Society (that’s a group about blogging, in case you were wondering).  And of course, the Social Media Club of Cleveland.

These are all wonderful, friendly, upbeat, extremely smart people, most of whom are younger and ALL of whom are far cooler than I.

I am very grateful for the people I’ve met this year.  I could try to name you all, but I would miss someone.

I am not sure what the coming year will bring.  I have some things I want to get into, and I am pretty sure I’m going to try and sit for the CISSP exam.  I plan to get a new smartphone, as soon as I can build a business case.

Whatever comes along, I will try and approach the new year with the same calm I’ve exercised in the past.  I hope we get to meet so that I can help you do the same.

Until next time…

Phil

Wow, there are some great deals on new computers out there.  It’s amazing what you can get for a few hundred dollars.  Just mind boggling.

And if you don’t have a computer, that’s fantastic!  You have options and choices.  I mean, that takes some thought and decision making, but that’s part of the excitement of getting something new.

HOWEVER…

…if you are not buying a new computer (or adding a mobile device to your arsenal) and you are thinking about replacing your old one, or thinking about upgrading to Windows 7, or thinking about upgrading any major piece of software…

DON’T.  Just don’t.  Not yet.  Not until you have considered the total potential cost of upgrading.

In past articles I’ve talked about ways to avoid technology stress.  Backups, power protection, virus protection, firewalls, and succession planning – the Five Fundamentals.  Taking care of each one is its own reward.  Taken together, they lengthen the life of your technology investments.  You can get more life out of your technology than you think.

Now, it may be necessary to add RAM to a PC.  That’s quite inexpensive, and will make your PC feel like new.  Seriously, the performance boost will surprise you.  And I believe strongly in keeping existing software up to date.

But beyond the fundamentals and these two free or very cheap things, you should not spend major money on upgrades unless it is absolutely necessary and justified.  Is there some feature that your existing software simply won’t do?  What’s the benefit of upgrading?  What’s the real cost?

If you are staying on Windows for the long term, you should start planning your migration to Windows 7.  If you are getting new systems, you should be getting Windows 7 out of the gate.  But avoid, if you can, retrofitting existing systems with Windows 7 for at least six months from now – say May, 2010.  Give the software a chance to mature, and let someone else debug it.  You can also think about other alternatives to Windows – but that’s not for this post.  Just know that if your hardware is more than a couple years old, Windows 7 will require upgrades to that too.  Total cost has to be considered.

Don’t yield to temptation.  You need to make thoughtful decisions and weigh the costs versus the benefits before conducting major upgrades.  Remember that it’s not about the tools, but what you do with them – and how you take care of them.

As I mentioned previously, technology can sometimes overwhelm us.  There are so many new things coming down the road that it can be difficult to understand in which direction we should be headed.

A few things are certain – there are way more than enough opportunities to spend money on technology.  We talked before about the portable devices that can enhance your productivity and give you an improved work-life balance.  These are, in my ever-humble opinion, worth obtaining (one or the other, not necessarily both) for the reasons mentioned in my last essay.

But what about back at the office?

Let’s look at one of the common scenarios that small firms go through on their way to becoming larger firms:  they need a good place to put their stuff.

Most small firms start out with a network of PC’s, maybe some laptops, and a combination of wired and wireless connections that let them share an Internet connection – and not much more, at least not cleanly.  In a lot of  these cases, the people in the firm will share stuff with something referred to as “peer-to-peer networking” – that is, each computer can look into each other computer and share data.  Now, of course it is possible to control who can see what, who can change what, etc.  But this mode of file sharing will only go so far – about five users, rule of thumb – and breaks down entirely as soon as you leave the office.

What a firm needs to be more effective, more secure, and more efficient is a centralized place for its data – its documents, templates, contact lists, and so on.  The long-standing answer to this has been a file server – a beefed-up PC that, well, serves files.  A server is usually distinguished by its robustness – it can have redundant power supplies, redundant disk space, a more reliable design, etc.  It can also serve to share printers, handle security, channel the office e-mail, and so on.  Even remote access can be set up on a server, so that people outside the office can securely access company information.

But obtaining a server, configuring it, and then maintaining it, is a non-trivial set of activities.  Security – both physical and from an information standpoint – must be considered.  Backups, virus protection, operating system updates, and hardware failure are all burdens that the server owner must bear.

What if you don’t want to deal with all of this?  What alternatives exist?

There are two.  You could choose to co-locate – that is, have your server (or rented space on someone else’s) in somebody else’s location.  This will usually be in a dedicated data center with huge racks of batteries and generators, high-speed connections to the Internet, and the capability to back up your data.  All of this comes at a cost – but it is possible for this to be a more cost-effective solution that housing a server locally.

The second alternative to having your own server is relatively new.  There are several vendors providing hosted storage – that is, a place to put your files on-line, and even share them with others.  An example of this is MobileMe from Apple.  It’s a subscription service.  MobileMe can also house your contacts and calendar for access from the road.

Even better than that is Google Docs.  Why is it better?  Well, mainly because it’s free.  But it has some limitations as to the kinds of data that you can put there.  Google Docs has the big advantage of integrating with Gmail, Google Calendar, and other applications – more of which seem to appear every day.  Google Apps even has a business-oriented offering, where you can have email with your domain on it (such as psconsultinggroup.com) sent to your Gmail account.  It’s really a pretty neat solution, and it’s hard to beat the price.

(And by the way, hosting of web sites is another animal altogether, and not something most small businesses should be doing.   We can talk about why another time – this post is already too long.)

What is the downside to hosted solutions?  If Google Apps/Docs and MobileMe are so terrific, why would anyone want their own server?

There are several issues raised by having someone else take responsibility for your server.   First, you are at the “mercy” of your hosting company when it comes to the technology they use.  Does that matter?  Unlikely for a small business, but not out of the question.  Second, there is the issue of security – but know thee well that major hosting companies have to meet very strict standards for security, privacy, and reliability.  Third, it is always possible that someone else is going to drive your hosting company out of business or acquire it.  Then what happens to your data?  Again, this is unlikely – Google has a market cap of around $180 billion right now, making it a bit of a mouthful for another company to swallow.

All of these things need to be considered before you put you valuable information in someone else’s hands.  Know the company, know the limitations and costs.  Go in with your eyes open, and you will benefit from having access to your information wherever you go.

Let me start this post on a more personal note:  Man, I’m tired.

It’s ok with me if my loyal readers remember that there’s a person back here writing this, that despite the incredible polish and blinding erudition of (and occasional use of first-person-plural in) my posts they were not, in fact, created by a committee or an instance of Deep Blue.

No, it’s a person.  At the moment a very tired person.

We just finished a very long, very exhausting holiday season over here.  It was wondrous, and fun, and family-oriented, and spiritual.  We shared it with guests, we ate way too much, danced, slept way too little, prayed, shared, sang, ate some more, and repeated all of it for a month or so.

I would not trade the last month for anything, as physically and emotionally draining as it is – because it is so spiritually enriching.

One of the side effects of this (other than a good bit of laryngitis from the singing) is that I spent less time in front of the computer than usual.  That means I tweeted less, I facebooked less, I let LinkedIn kind of slide, and I didn’t go to very many networking events.  (And yes, I’m quite aware of the fact that I didn’t blog much during that time.  Thank you for pointing that out.)  Being the head of a business gives me the latitude to divert my attention to other things – things that I consider very important in my life.

This does not mean that I was disconnected that whole time.  Some of it, for sure – I don’t roll on Shabbos, for example – but not the whole time.

Now, I did say that we were going to discuss ways that technology can increase revenue and decrease costs.  What does that have to creating a work-life balance?

It may seem like a stretch, but I consider being away from my computer a good thing.  Not just for work-life balance, but mainly because there is only so much you can do from a sales perspective without actually going out and meeting people.  And I repeat:  being away doesn’t mean being disconnected.

I submit to you, my friends, that it is possible to do both – to step out from behind our keyboards, in our offices, sheltered from the world; to take in the fresh air, to go to meetings, to get out where the customers really exist - and to keep on being productive.

This will come as no shock to many of you – but the amount of computing power you can hold in your hand simply overwhelms what had been available even a few years ago.  We are rapidly approaching, through the advent of mobile computing technologies, an age of ubiquitous computing – being able to do your work at any time, from anywhere.

There are two main flavors of mobile device that are leading this charge; the first – the smartphone – is not so new (The first popular smartphone, arguably, was the Handspring Treo 180 and it arrived in 2002 – that’s venerable in tech terms).  The second is the Netbook – and that’s only been around for maybe 2 years.  Both of these devices can make it possible to run an entire business from almost anywhere.

(What distinguishes a smartphone from a regular phone – or even something more sophisticated, such as an LG Voyager-type phone – is the ability for third party programmers to develop applications for the device.  (That’s my definition, by the way, but it fits. )  They are true, multi-purpose devices – extensible through many channels, and capable of performing the vast majority of business functions.)

Netbooks are really just smaller notebooks – but with an important twist – they are designed to be in constant (or as constant as possible) connection with the Internet.  Thus they’ll often come bundled with cellular capability, as well as WiFi.  And because most run some flavor of Windows or Linux, they can run just about any programs the big boys can.

Smartphones, of course, are connected to the cellular network by default – but many also have WiFi capability too.

So both device can be used just about anywhere (and I’ve hedged several time on the “ubiquitous” thing – cellular and WiFi are almost everywhere, but not really everywhere.  So for now, it’s “almost” and “just about” and so on).

And here’s the important point, which we will discuss more next time:  much of what you need to do to run a business can exist out there in the Internet, using Software as a Service and cloud computing.  No servers, limited stuff on the client machine, and available wherever you can connect.

Now, to bring things back full circle.  Many years ago I got a Franklin Day Planner.  This notebook-on-steroids came with training in order to use it.  A valuable lesson from the training:  always take your day planner on vacation.  Why?  Because writing something down – an appointment, an idea – when it occurs to you gives you the right to forget about it for the time being.

This is the key to how mobile devices can enhance your work-life balance.  Don’t pass up a chance to send out a note, or book an appointment, or check your email – and then be done.  Take just a moment – do a little business – and then put it away.  You’ll have better peace of mind, knowing you won’t let that piece of business fall through the cracks; you’ll continue to be productive; and you’ll be out in the fresh air.

That’s a step in the right direction.

Until next time,

Phil

No one will take me seriously as a blogger if I don’t update more often.  And since being taken seriously as a blogger is oh so important to me, I’ll try and do that.  But there has been a great deal of intervening activity, much of which directly impacts our discussion.  This is just a brief post to talk about what’s coming up.

When last we met, I mentioned that we would be discussing ways to support the objectives of the business through the use of technology.  Remember that the objective of any business is to make money – what the business DOES with the money is secondary.  That doesn’t mean that technology shouldn’t support that too.

So we have two categories of things to talk about in the coming posts – ways technology can grow the business, and ways technology can cost a business less.

Included in the former are things such as social media, Computer-Telephony Integration (CTI), website improvements, and mobile device integration, among others.

Included in the latter we will be discussing Open Source, cloud computing, Software as a Service (SaaS), and automation.

Much of this is very cool stuff, and each topic can take a lot of space.  So I’m working on it.  Thanks for your patience.

(Thanks also to some people who are much smarter than I am – and much smarter than many people, so I don’t feel so bad – Mike and Dennis from Sooth, Leon from adatosystems.com, and Noah, currently at PNC.)

Previously, I’ve written about the value proposition of Information Technology.

There is no question that judicious investment in your systems will provide a more robust, safer, more secure, more durable environment to house the data that compose your business.

(Stupid joke break:  The teacher says to little Jimmy, “Jimmy, use the word ‘judicious’ in a sentence.”  Jimmy says “I like matzoh ball soup, gefilte fish, kreplach, and all those other judicious.”)

Seriously, though, the operative term we need to keep in mind is “judicious investment.”  In this post and some subsequent ones, I’ll talk about what that means.

The first point here is that it is wrong to spend money simply to spend money.  That sounds pretty straightforward, but it is a philosophy that often goes unheeded.

I refer sometimes to “In-Flight Magazine Syndrome”  – in which the CEO of the company, in the course of a business trip, reads an article in the in-flight magazine – written by a journalist whose claim to fame is writing for an in-flight magazine – about the latest technological tour-de-force.  “This article,” reports the CEO, “states unequivocally that Blintz Souffle Computing is the most important paradigm shift in technology to come down the pike in two decades!  We must put every effort into implementing Blintz Souffle Computing in our company!”  (Note the obligatory use of the phrase  “paradigm shift”.)

Such pronouncements, in some organizations, are met with a flurry of activity to make the CEO’s words a reality.  Very huge sums of money are hurled hither and yon to bring Blintz Souffle Computing (or its successor equivalent piece of nonsense) to the company.  Much of that money winds up with overpriced consultants who are only interested in lining their pockets while the client is fed the Kool-aid of techno-sense-whatsoever.  And by the time the company comes to its senses and realizes that Blintz Souffle Computing will not save the world, thank you very much, there will be a huge amount of reluctance to get the heck out of Dodge and get rid of the solution (this is the paradox of the dollar auction).  More money gets spent trying to make this mess work, and sometimes, if there is some justice in the world, it costs the CEO his or her job.

No, the CEO needs to get the big smack-down from the CIO (Chief Information Officer) and told in no uncertain terms – early and often and with great force – that this technology must not be attempted at this company.

In the CIO’s next job – having been summarily discharged by the previous CEO for stating the truth without any tact – he will make sure that better decisions get made about technology.  The CEO still must be dissuaded from the aforementioned “In-Flight Magazie Syndrome” but there must be something posited to fill the void and counteract the disappointment the CEO will feel.

What is the best weapon the CIO has in fighting for rational, appropriate technology investment?  Well, the truth, of course!

And what is the truth?

The truth is that this is a business.  And what, class, is the purpose of a business?

To make money.  Universally, unequivocally, irrespective of any highfalutin stuff about mission or cause or public good.  In the absence of money, none of that matters.

Any piece of technology that the company invests in must support the purpose of the business.

It is not about making employees feel good – unless that makes them more likely to make more money.

It is not about customer service – except that good customer service makes more money.

It is not about building a solid technological foundation to run the business – except as a means to make more money.

(News flash: Horse Dead, Beating to Continue)

Now that we understand each other, let’s talk about what should happen when we think about updating, upgrading, replacing, or otherwise changing our technology.  (Hint:  The answer is “support the business” – the rest is commentary, for which I hope you will return.)

We can divide this discussion into two categories – things we do that are new and impactful; and things we do that make existing technology more impactful.

Stay tuned, because we’ll be digging into these subjects in our next posts.

I have always been a very routine-oriented kind of guy.

I get up, I shave, I shower,  get dressed,  make the coffee, let the dog out, recite my morning prayers, and finally get to work.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

Many people these days are “in transition” – that’s the polite term for “between jobs” or “downsized” or “laid off.”  And by the way, just because it is polite doesn’t mean it isn’t a really good word.  I’m not sure were “polite” came to mean something negative….

People in transition often have difficulty adjusting to the change in status, because it means a disruption in their routine.  But there is a piece of advice that has been reiterated to me and the in-transition world many times:  Don’t change your entire routine just because where you go to work has changed.  Even if you are spending full-time looking for a job, and you do that in your basement on your own PC, stick to the routine.  Some people even go so far as to have a “defining event” that says, “Now I am no longer home, now I’m at work.”  If that’s what you need, do it – go for a walk around the block, drive to the Starbucks at the corner, whatever you need… and when you get back, you are officially at the office.  This works too if you are starting or developing a home-based business.  This “I work in a bathrobe and slippers; why not, nobody sees me” attitude is nonsense, in my opinion.  Treat yourself as though you are in a job, and that will help you get there.

What does this have to do with technology?

Ah, we are focusing here on the importance of routine.  Just as it is important for you to develop helpful, productive patterns in your life, so too is it vital to do that for your technology.

In previous posts we’ve talked about some of the fundamentals: virus protection, power protection, succession planning, firewalls, and backups (I call these The Five Fundamentals for Avoiding Technology Stress.  If you attend to these, you will sleep better and reduce your risk of loss from your technology.)

None of the Five Fundamentals is a one-time effort.  Each requires you to develop a routine – a pattern of attention that you need to take on so that technology stress can’t regrow.  It’s kind of like shower mildew.  You bleach it, and it’s gone for a time.  If you don’t keep cleaning, the mildew comes back.

Take backups, for example – that’s the biggest bang for the buck regarding developing routine.  It’s also pretty obvious – backup planning is not complete without it.

Virus protection, assuming it is properly configured, takes care of itself pretty well – but you should take nothing for granted.  Make sure that the software and the virus definition files (the data the program uses to detect and intercept viruses) are up-to-date.  Automatic updates have been known to fail, and every program has a manual update process.  Learn how to use it.

Power protection is often overlooked from a routine standpoint.  Batteries eventually need replacement.  Most UPS units will tell you when, but don’t ignore the warning.  Really “dirty” power coming out of the wall can drastically lower overall battery life.

Your firewall might sit in your router – part of the connection to the Internet.  How does that get updated?  The usual answer is “Updated?  You can update a firewall/router?”  Yes, you can, and you should, as often as the manufacturer publishes new firmware.  Fortunately, that’s not very often.  But other updates may have to happen as your network environment changes.  You may need to alter the settings for your firewall.  If you don’t know how, ask for help.

What about succession planning?  Well, as with any other planning activity (we’ll talk in the future about Disaster Recovery planning, for example), once you make the plan that’s NOT the end.  You need to take it out periodically – typically six months to a year, or if some other event mandates a review – and make sure it still makes sense for your business.  And test it.  And update it if necessary.

So routines are good, and vital to the success of your technical and business life.  Get into good habits, and you will reducing your technology stress more and more.

In just about every Cold War-era thriller, there was the ever-looming threat of nuclear annihilation.  Mutual assured destruction was no longer a guarantee of peace, because some rogue maniac general has locked himself in a nuclear missile silo with the keys to world destruction in his hands, and a bad encounter with the Mrs. Rogue Maniac General or some such in his head.

In each such movie or novel, the question always arose:  “Who’s holding the football?”

What, then, is this football to which they refer?  What is so important about this football?  It’s not a real football, is it?

No, silly.  It’s a briefcase.  Usually a regular-looking Samsonite briefcase, only this one was specially armored and boobytrapped and was usually chained to the wrist of the person responsible for it.  (Actually, in the classic graphic novel Watchmen Dave Gibbons – the artist – showed this case as being football shaped.  And chained to Nixon’s wrist.)

What could be so important that there was such great concern about this silly briefcase?  What was its cargo?

Only the secret codes needed to order the launch of America’s nuclear arsenal, that’s all!

Whoa, wouldn’t want to lose track of that, would we?

And neither do you.  You do not want to lose track of your football.

Every business has a football.  Granted, your football doesn’t contain nuclear launch codes, more than likely (and I apologize for any exclusionary comments, Mr. President).  But in terms of your business, if you lose the football, it could spell disaster.

Because the corporate football contains the knowledge needed to run the company – the passwords, the alarm code, the order in which to reboot the server if it crashes, the location of the coffee filters… and of course the understanding of the customers and the products, and…  As you can see, there may be several footballs in a company, and they are vitally important.

In many companies, the football isn’t even an external thing such as a briefcase – it’s shaped like a head.  The head of the owner, founder, or longest-surviving denizen of the company.  For each particular football in a company (and I promise, I will abandon this metaphor soon), there is one person who usually knows everything about that football.

Now, I used to ask “What if that person gets hit by a bus?” but someone told me that’s too negative.  That’s true.  So now I ask “What if that person wins the lottery?”  Either way, that person will no longer be available to you and your company.  And with him goes a whole bunch of incredibly important information.

Use outside consultants, and the risk increases – because you KNOW they are going away at some point.

So first and foremost, you have to get things out of people’s heads and onto paper or disk.  You need the footballs in your organization to be in physical form.  You need to have several copies of this information, and it needs to be secured in the same way a backup is – preferably taken offsite.  The information needs to be updated on a regular basis.

And you have to develop your bench.

Never let one person be the only one who has or can get to the information you need to run the business.  Make an information handoff meeting a regular occurrence on your calendar.  We in the technology world don’t like single points of failure – if that one thing breaks, the whole system goes down.  So make sure that the keeper of the knowledge has a backup person.  Again, the backup doesn’t need to know all the information, but that person has to know how to obtain the information.

This process – putting information in a secure form at a secure location, and identifying primary and backup individuals to be responsible for that information – is the first part of succession planning. It is a vital element for reducing technology stress – and extends to the rest of business as well.

So who’s got the football?  Be able to answer that, and save your world from destruction.

What do Swine flu and Conficker have in common?

Both are viruses.

Both got blown way out of proportion.

Or maybe not.  As I described in my previous post, things run smoothly when people take appropriate measures to prevent potential hazards from getting out of control.

I’m not an expert in epidemiology, and while swine flu is still a potentially serious threat, it’s nowhere near as bad as it could have been.  That’s partly because of swift action by the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control, and partly because the virus just isn’t that bad.

There the similarities end.  Conficker had the potential to be very bad.  And diligence on the part of the IT and user communities prevented a catastrophe.

But that’s jumping ahead.  What exactly is a computer virus?  Where do they come from?  Why have they been foisted on the world?

In a nutshell, a computer virus is a program (a set of instructions) that has some undesirable effect on your computer.

(No, America Online 9.0 is not a computer virus.  A virus has an intentionally undesirable effect on your computer.)

What sort of effects?  Everything from wiping out your hard drive to turning your computer into a broadcast beacon, transmitting company and personal secrets to a central Asian republic formerly part of the Soviet Union and ending with “stan” (which was Conficker’s modus operendi).  Some viruses, back in the old days, used to pop messages up on your screen and turn your computer off.  There are many, many variations.

Where do they come from?  Most viruses, believe it or not, are pranks created by teenagers trying to impress other teenagers.  Viruses are easy to create – instructions and tools can be found on the Internet – and can wind up on your computer in many ways.  Used to be that email was the preferred vector, and it still happens that a rogue attachment will be used to infect your PC.

But vulnerabilities in web browsers – made possible, in part, by our own insatiable greed for cooler content on websites, which requires the ability to embed programs in said sites – can also allow viruses onto your system, just by your visiting there.  Welcome to the anti-Social.

Other viruses masquerade as useful programs – often promising to remove viruses, in a twisted irony – and executing these programs causes the virus to be activated.  This subspecies is called a “Trojan Horse.”

Another makes its way from machine to machine on a local network or across the Internet, piggybacking on legitimate traffic.  These are called “worms.”

And there are others.

How can viruses be stopped?  Well, it has been said that all politics is local.  Same is true for virus protection.  Each computer on your network – server, PC, desktop or laptop, Windows, Mac, or Unix, needs to have an anti-virus program installed on it.

Anti-virus programs are available from a vast array of vendors.  My personal preference, for home use, is AVG – especially the free version.  Note that this is strictly anti-virus – you could buy a program that does many things (think Norton Internet Security) but I personally find these to be resource hogs.  That means they slow down your system.  Generally speaking, smaller more specialized programs are the way to go – they do what they do, and do it well, and are usually kinder to your system.

For businesses, AVG makes a paid version.  There is a wide range of other packages, all suitable for the purpose.  Again, choose a program that sticks to its knitting – good, solid, anti-virus protection.  It doesn’t have to cost much.

Oh, find a package that has a centralized management capability.  This will allow all the computers in your organization to be updated on a regular basis with virus definitions – these are what the anti-virus program uses to identify viruses that may be on your system.  The advantage of doing this from a central location is that any update to your computers should be tested first.  This approach catches potential problems before they develop.  Centralized management allows you to control the deployment of updates, and keeps the client programs consistent and running smoothly.

There is no excuse for not practicing safe computing.  The data you save could be your own – or your customers.  Either way, you don’t want to take chances.  It’s just not worth the risk.