[quote style=”boxed”]I try to think about who are the end users, how would they like to use what I build and why will they use it in the first place. It helps me focus before I start to code. Once I write my code, I use a quick prototyping approach and then gather feedback to improve upon the product.[/quote]
Anirban Banerjee is a co-founder and technical lead at StopTheHacker. Anirban holds a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of California at Riverside. For the last 5 years he has been active in various security circles and working groups that focus on eradicating web-malware and has presented lightning talks at various conferences.
What are you working on right now?
I’m working on extending STH’s capabilities to protect social networks such as Facebook.
Where did the idea for StopTheHacker come from?
The idea stemmed from observing that a lot of site distributing P2P files were getting infected with web-malware. My Ph.D. research focused on P2P networks and hence I ran into this problem headfirst.
What does your typical day look like?
I wake up at 6:30 AM, get to emails and phone calls by 7:00 AM, have a quick lunch at noon, code, have more calls until about 6:00 or 7:00 PM. Then I get some dinner, reply to more emails, catch up on personal things and get to bed by 12:00 AM.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I try to think about who are the end users, how would they like to use what I build and why will they use it in the first place. It helps me focus before I start to code. Once I write my code, I use a quick prototyping approach and then gather feedback to improve upon the product.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
How web-malware is continuously evolving.
What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?
A challenging job (not bad, though) I had was implementing a security protocol during an internship a few years ago. I learned that having clear software and design specs is really important to control expectations.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Take a breather. Look back and realize how far you have come. Don’t give up. It’s easy to think when working long days that things are tough. Remember to think about the day you had your first customer; it keeps you going.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Develop a good mechanism to check for business logic flaws in websites. This will appeal to existing vulnerability assessment tool manufacturers and OEM. It will appeal to Fortune 1000 companies to put in place as part of a QA process. Warning: some similar sounding tools already exist.
Tell us a secret.
Most brand name organizations have poorly coded website logic.
What are your three favorite online tools and what do you love about them?
- Dropbox – dead simple
- Skype – reliable and works great for free most of the time
- Google/GMail – a solid and free app
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
Malgudi Days by R.K. Narayan gives you a different perspective on life, from a child’s viewpoint. You learn to step aside and take a minute to see things differently.
What’s on your playlist?
D.I.P Project, the Black Keys and AC/DC.
Three people we should follow on Twitter and why?
Stopthehacker, Obviously. I am not a very big Twitter user, sorry.
When was the last time you laughed out loud? What caused it?
This afternoon regarding a funny one-liner from a friend.
Who is your hero?
Physicist Richard Feynman
Connect:
StopTheHacker Website: StopTheHacker.com
StopTheHacker onFacebook:
StopTheHacker on Twitter: !/stopthehacker
StopTheHacker Email: [email protected]
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.