Masonry Magazine December 2006 Page. 31
MASONRY COMPUTER ESTIMATING
Masonry Computer Estimating
That Does It All... in 3D!
by Tradesmen's Software
Do Faster Takeoffs!
Eliminate Mistakes!
See the actual building being displayed in 3D as you do your take-off in either PLAN mode, PERSPECTIVE mode, OUTSIDE mode, INSIDE mode or at any ELEVATION. Complete your take-off, then walk through or around and see the actual finished building(s).
SAVE $- No more walls, bandings, openings or even buildings missed from your estimate.
Figure special wall shapes like PIERS, GABLE, SLOPE or STEPS!
Calculates CMU: HALF and FULL BULLNOSE, DOUBLE BULLNOSE, CHAMFER, or SASH for any or all OPENINGS, JAMBS, CORNERS, CONTROL JOINTS and any SPECIAL CUTS.
Integrate with PROJECT COST and DIGITAL PLAN MEASURING SYSTEMS.
Windows 98/NT/ME/2000 or XP compatible.
30 day money back guarantee.
Support available 7 days a week.
Comes with more than 400 items in material database.
Negotiating projects with a 3D image will win you more contracts and enhance your professional image.
TRADESMEN'S SOFTWARE, Inc.
1-800-494-4899
See for yourself at:
www.tradesmens.com
SEE US AT MASONRY SHOWCASE BOOTH #509
CIRCLE 163 ON READER SERVICE CARD
December 2006
Masonry 29
The Voice of the Mason Contractor
According to Eric Vaughan, author of the Tweak Hound.com security news and information website, "The current 'survival time' the average time for an unprotected system to be attacked and compromised - is only nine minutes. This means that a newly installed, unprotected operating system connecting to the Internet for the first time will, on average, be attacked within nine minutes and compromised in some way. That further implies that there is insufficient time for a new system to connect to the Windows Update site and download the latest security and critical updates from Microsoft before the system is attacked and compromised. Yes, the Internet is a dangerous place for the unwary."
What are the threats? Let's look at the most familiar term: virus. The usual definition is: Viruses are programs that can enter computers or IT systems, causing effects that range from simply annoying to highly destructive and irreparable. Viruses have been lumped into a category of nasty computer programs called malware, a contraction of malicious software. Also in this group are such fun items such as worms, spyware, keyloggers, Trojans and rootkits. What is not generally included, despite the feelings of most, are spam and "phishing" e-mails.
We've come a long way from six-function calculators and computers the size of a room, but we haven't necessarily moved in the right direction when it comes to security.
Do you need to know what each does and how? Not really. What you need to know is that they are all potentially damaging to your computers (office or field) and by extension, to your business. The bad news is that there are thousands of malicious code writers working night and day to develop new generations of malware to foist on computer users. The good news is that there are also thousands of computer security experts working day and night to develop effective counter measures to help computers defend such attacks.
Getting Ahead of Threats
AS SOON AS a new malware is discovered, security software companies begin developing an update or "patch" to contend with the threat. The time lag between the introduction of the malware and the creation of the security update can take hours or days sometimes even weeks. This means that some threats have the capability to propagate and do considerable damage before defenses can be distributed. There are several reasons for this, one of the most overlooked being "social engineering."