An Interview with Jon David

President of The FORTRESS

New Products Editor for Computers & Security

Reprinted with Permission

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askSam:  Mr. David, can you describe the service you provide as a "securities specialist" including your work with publications and conferences in this field?

JON DAVID: I function in two main capacities:  I head a small firm, The FORTRESS, that concentrates on network security, and I am also a regular reviewer for a security journal, Computers & Security.  In addition, I also give frequent talks and seminars for industry and government on various aspects of network security.

askSam: Which askSam product(s) do you use and how does askSam assist you in accomplishing your mission?

JON DAVID: While I've just received askSam Professional for Windows, I've been using the DOS version  --  successfully and happily  --  for many years.  I use askSam in two ways:  1) to  keep track of everything  --  notes, contacts, to do lists, etc., and 2) as a repository of information on security matters.

askSam: How has askSam made your job any easier, faster or more efficient?

JON DAVID: The beauty of askSam is that it's free form, i.e. you put in whatever you want in whatever format that is convenient.  You are not constrained to specific fields, formats or lengths.  You can even totally change the format record to record without impacting the ease or speed of information retrieval.  Retrieval is trivially easy.  Just indicate what you want, hit Enter, and it pops up.

askSam: Can you tell me about what kind of customer support you have received as a user?

JON DAVID: Outstanding! When I call, I get a person, not a multi-level voice answering system (which never seems to have the right choice for my query, and which takes forever), and I have always been speedily connected with the right person.

askSam: Would you recommend askSam and why?

JON DAVID: I not only would recommend askSam, I have  --  and many times. My schedule and priorities are such that I can't devote weeks to learning a product.  askSam is what should be meant by "plug & play:"  You install it, and minutes later you're using it effectively.  Further, it comes with tutorial guides that show you helpful features you might overlook if, like me, you view anything beyond a quick-start card as unnecessary and           something to be avoided.  And, while ease of learning and use are my prime priority, the speed of askSam has always been impressive.

askSam: What applications do you plan for askSam in the future?

JON DAVID: From the beginning, I've lumped everything together in a single database, i.e. my consulting, writing and personal information is all together.  (This actually makes sense, by the way, with magazine editors giving me consulting leads, and both editorial  and consulting contacts additionally becoming social contacts; when I want information on a person, I want it in all capacities, and I visually screen off any that is not of interest.)   What I will be doing with my new askSam is making up separate databases for various security event categories (e.g. viruses, Web/Net compromises, etc.), and allowing appropriate restricted access to these databases individually.

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Jon David

President, The FORTRESS

New Products Editor, Computers & Security

Post Office Box 731

New City, NY 10956

Email: c&s@dockmaster.ncsc.mil    

          fortress@dockmaster.ncsc.mil