Wanting to do contract work. But how?

[Bob Dubery]

hi all,

I'm a PICK/U2 developer (mostly Universe) with 30 odd years experience (first worked on Prime Information in 1988). Currently I am working for one company and I connect to their windows domain via a VPN using a lap top they supply. They (not me) have admin rights on this computer, take care of updates and security. I connect to their VPN using a client they supply and manage.

This relationship comes to an end on December 31.

I would like to continue working in development, but I foresee some challenges. Say XYZ corp decide to offer me work which I will do remotely. Say PQR corp also call on me when they need my time and skills. How now do I satisfy both sets of security requirements.

I guess I'm asking what my tool kit should have in it. Hardware will be mine, but what tools do I need to be able to connect to these systems without being a security risk?

Is it just getting a certificate from them that my VPN client can use? They would be concerned about virus infection, spamming and so on. So what level of protection do I need to supply on my end?

Then I have to figure out where the work is, but that's a separate challenge.

Any pointers will be appreciated. 

Thanks

[Jay LaBonte]

I have several client with the same issue. I use hyper-v and create a virtual environment for each client. I have have multiple instances running and switch between them with no issues, and still keep the environments isolated.

Jay LaBonte

Sent from my iPhone

On Dec 4, 2025, at 3:13 AM, Bob Dubery <mega...@gmail.com> wrote:

hi all,

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[jean.paul.godard]

safe solution is to have 2 hardware configuration eventually with to seats optionnaly 2 desks in different room / buiding.

Envoyé depuis mon appareil Galaxy

-------- Message d'origine --------

De : Bob Dubery <mega...@gmail.com>

Date : 04/12/2025 09:13 (GMT+01:00)

À : Pick and MultiValue Databases <mvd...@googlegroups.com>

Objet : [mvdbms] Wanting to do contract work. But how?

--

[Bob Dubery]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I really should have thought of virtual machine, I used that before to test some code with different versions of windows.

But I may have emphasized the wrong point here. First things first! XYZ corp offer me some work. Now how do I manage just that one connection? They are going to require me to use their VPN, or they expose themselves to a lot of risk. So I need to be able to manage one such situation before attempting to switch between two.

[Gene Buckle]

Bob, when you use a VM, you'd be originating the VPN connection from
*within* that VM.  Because the VM is effectively a stand-alone machine,
they're just as "safe" as they would be if you were using dedicated
physical machine.

I would recommend VMware Workstation - you can get it here:
https://www.techspot.com/downloads/189-vmware-workstation-for-windows.html
- it's now a free product.

g.

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http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind.
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I'm not crazy, I'm plausibly off-nominal!

ScarletDME - The red hot Data Management Environment
A Multi-Value database for the masses, not the classes.
https://github.com/geneb/ScarletDME - Get it _today_!

[Ian McGowan]

"Figuring out where the work is" is a much bigger challenge.  Do that first, then worry about remote access :-)  I've been doing contract project work for a while now and every customer has their own wants and needs, with most requiring some kind of remote virtual machine (e.g. Vmware or Citrix), a couple requiring a dedicated laptop they ship me, and none have asked to connect via VPN from my own hardware.  If you get a worthwhile contract that requires providing your own machine, a local VM makes sense, or in extreme cases just buy a cheap "work" laptop.  If you're lucky enough to have multiple contracts at the same time, you'll have the finances.

Speaking of finances, make sure to get a separate business account and probably credit card.  And a plan for tracking estimates, hours and invoices.  Admin chores add up, and the end of the month/year can be stressful if you don't have a system.  At least in the US, but I guess being self-employed is more complicated everywhere else too...

[Bob Dubery]

Thanks to everybody who has replied here for all the wise words.