Some virus experts protect more than just your computer

Rob Rosenberger, Vmyths co-founder
Monday, 25 November 2002

[Editor's note: a military Public Affairs officer reviewed this column before publication.]

"READINESS COMES IN many forms," the Associated Press observed this weekend. Their newswire continued:

If we invade Iraq, it could force me to abandon Vmyths for a year or more. I stand ready to serve my country if called upon.

As the United States creeps closer to war with Iraq, thousands of National Guard and Reserve members are organizing their personal lives, knowing they could be called to active duty at any time and with little warning. About 50,600 reservists and guardsmen are already active, most assigned to homeland duty in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. Pentagon officials said last week they may need 100,000 more, possibly 200,000, if the country goes to war.

Our regular readers may have noticed some slowdowns at Vmyths since the twin towers imploded. I'm an Air Force reservist, and my military commitments can rip me away from the office for weeks at a time. As a result, Vmyths occasionally misses its deadlines for the weekly "Top 3" reports, and we sometimes don't publish a new column for weeks on end.

I do most of the editorial work at Vmyths — and our website has suffered for it since 9/11/01.

It'll get worse for me in 2003. If we invade Iraq, it could force me to abandon Vmyths for a year or more. I join our president's prayers for a diplomatic solution ... but I stand ready to serve my country if called upon.

Yet even if we don't go to war, I still expect to be ripped away for weeks/months at a time in 2003. The U.S. relies far more on its "citizen soldiers" than it did just ten years ago. (Anyone who flew on a commercial airline after 9/11 knows this.)

So I hope you'll forgive Vmyths if it gets a little stale at times in the coming year.

I want to thank our sole major sponsor, Mediaweave, for standing by Vmyths after the World Trade Center collapsed. Mediaweave CEO Eric Robichaud doubles as our marketing wonk and he has never complained about my military obligations. He knows we could accomplish a lot more at Vmyths if I'd just hang up my uniform. Eric knows Sophos will muscle away our dominance in virus hoax tabulations if we don't keep it current. He knows Symantec will muscle away our dominance in virus hoax databases if I get swept into "Gulf War v2.0." And yet he doesn't complain.

I can't thank Eric enough for his unwavering support. If you ever need the services of a company like Mediaweave, then I hope you'll choose Mediaweave. 'Nuff said.

OH! ONE FINAL comment. If I "get the call," I want you to know you're in good hands. The computer security industrial complex will fight a global war against cyber-terrorism while I fight a global war against physical terrorism.

I'll bet your laptop feels safer already, doesn't it?