Dr. Alan Solomon
Alan Solomon is definitely
one of
the prominent figures in antiviral research, with significant
responsibility
for the success of both CARO (the Computer Antivirus Research
Organization) and
EICAR (the European Institute for Computer Antivirus Research). After
founding
S & S International in 1983 to produce software for MS-DOS machines,
he
developed expertise in data recovery. Thus it was that he was one of
the first
in the UK to start dealing with viruses when they arrived on the
scene. He
details the story of his subsequent work in the book "PC
Viruses", published by Springer-Verlag. (Dr. Solomon's listings
of MS-DOS
viruses and their characteristics have always combined the best of the
comprehensiveness of the Hoffman summary with the detail and accuracy
of the
Virus Test Center catalogue. Formerly only available as part of the
Toolkit,
it is now available as "Dr. Solomon's Virus
Encyclopedia".) Dr. Solomon's Anti-Virus
Toolkit, despite the medicine show sounding name, is certainly one
of the
finest antiviral packages available.
His divestiture of management responsibility for S & S International
(now,
ironically, renamed Dr. Solomon's
Software
Ltd.) seems to have been conditional on the acceptance of a
contract to
provide an ongoing Usenet "presence". This was a substantial factor
in the
conversion of alt.comp.virus from a vx
hangout to
a useful information resource. It has also been a constant source of
delight
to those of us who now much more frequently enjoy "Dr. Solly's" sharp
and
sometimes acerbic wit.
Those who explore the less formal, and more freewheeling, discussions
on
alt.comp.virus will find frequent in-joke references to things like
"Dr.
Solomon's socks". The "who wrote" reference is now a running gag
based on
Alan's vain attempts to cull facts out of Doren Rosenthal's vague
postings in
regard to the "Virus Simulator". (The only point that Doren would be
clear on
was that he wrote it.) Dr. Solomon has provided his own take on the
more
active (or, at least, vocal) members
of alt.comp.virus.
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