Hello World

Originally posted: Wednesday, April 7th, 2004 at 10:42 PM PDT. This should be the first post before The Daily Update, but .Text got the times messed up. Oh well.

Greetings

Hello and welcome to the uncreatively titled Security Manifest (I welcome any suggestions for a more colorful handle.) I'd like to start out with a note on the use of "manifest" in the title instead of, say, "blog": this is not really a traditional blog, per se. Actually, I am probably just kidding myself. This is pretty much a blog, but the word "blog" has always sounded to me like some sort of bad-tasting Scandinavian dessert dish. As for more serious issues, read on.

Who?

My name is Benjamin Johnstone-Anderson. I’m a 14-year-old student from Washington state in the United States. I enjoy sunsets, long walks on the beach, and people who don’t wait a month to apply critical security patches. Also, I was awarded as a Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) for Windows Security, specifically for work on breaking virus news at the McAfeeHelp Forums.

What?

Ideally, Security Manifest will provide a competent collection of security information from many sources in a prompt and accurate manner. On most days, there will be one post on SM containing a summary of the day’s events in the security field, and perhaps a few additional points of note. On more active days, El Manifesto may have several additional posts for up-to-the-minute updates. This may increase or decrease for temporarily periods of time as schedules allow. Information will be collected from various sites, such as news wires, antivirus vendor sites, industry publications, and the usual other suspects.

I will do my best to present an accurate, marketing-free news source. However, due to the fast-changing nature of the security world, wires sometimes cross, but The Manifest will do its darnedest to filter out the most plausible, and hopefully correct, details. Although the most complete information will be provided, it is not recommend anyone utilize SM for mission-critical business. It is targeted primarily to security-aware techies and intermediates with a will to expand their horizons.

Conflicts of Disinterest

The cynical may point out that working as a volunteer on the McAfeeHelp Forums and being a Microsoft MVP could cause a conflict of interest. Sure, I’m a human with good knowledge of the security world, and this means I have opinions. Chief among these are that customers should feel free to chose their own operating systems, antivirus programs, firewalls, and software in general. My job as a Microsoft MVP is to support people using Microsoft products with improving their experiences on them. My best knowledge is in Windows, as it is the only operating system I use much, and this is why I will focus on Windows security. Most security news is Windows-related, in fact, and my intent is not to fan the flames of any sort of software war, but to provide information about how users can protect themselves.

I will make no stance on what constitutes a better antivirus program. Really, most every virus scanner these days can detect most every common virus. For those truly concerned about technical details, I recommend Virus Bulletin, which publishes an occasional highly controlled review of most major antivirus programs, and some smaller ones, and tests them against a recent list of viruses that are spreading in the field. As obvious from these tests, all of the programs are generally fairly matched, and which one to chose is a personal question which I will not comment on.

I will, however, recommend free removal tools as I see fit. McAfee’s Stinger is more or less unique in this realm, as it does not specifically constrict the scan to one worm. For those on slower connections, this may not be the best choice, which is why I’ll also recommend a remover specific to that worm if it is available.

Thanks

Thanks go out for various things to Kelly Marshall, Jurren Bouman, the McAfeeHelp.com Forum staff, all of the Windows Security MVPs (and Susan Bradley, who manages to do ten things at once better than anyone else can do one). Special thanks go to Harry Waldron and Jerry Bryant.

The Future

I hope to soon move Security Manifest to a better server, as LiveJournal really isn't the proper place. Any suggestions are more than welcomed, especially those regarding hosting.