It is doubtful that there is anyone reading this who does not remember Steven Spielberg’s iconic cinema moment “E.T., phone home.” That was three decades ago, and today it is “PC, phone home.”
This week I thought it might be a useful exercise to examine some of the constantly changing terms information technology people and others use to name bad software. In vernacular usage, the word “virus” has become a catch-all for any and all kinds of bad software, yet the word virus does have a specific and more restricted definition that sets it apart from other terms.
Just in case you have failed to notice, the subject that is absolutely dominating the news today is politics. It is everywhere and you cannot escape it—even in the world of technology.