David Lamkin thinks like a computer hacker - and that is exactly what his clients pay him for.

When Lamkin looks at a potential customer's Web sites, he uses his more than 25 years of experience to analyze just where a data breech might occur. In just a few clicks, he can raid untold amounts of secure information, just like a hacker would.

"Web developers typically do not understand how to secure a site. They might do a good job on the programming, but they overlook some obvious areas," Lamkin said.

And that is where Net Sense LLC steps in. Net Sense is a Clinton Township-based Web programming and custom-software development company. Owner Lamkin founded the company in 2003 as an after-hours venture. But, as business boomed, it became a full-time operation two years later.

Net Sense programs sites in a wide range of computer languages, and Lamkin has vast experience in creating high-end effects within sites, such as elaborate shopping carts and security features.

While the Internet is more secure than ever, companies still find security issues among some of the most puzzling, according to analysts at Gartner, an information technology research and advisory company in Stamford, Conn.

"Increasing business demand for flexible security services, coupled with an already limited security budget, means that organizations can only afford to focus their resources on real issues," said Eric Ouellet, research vice president at Gartner.

"This means the security department must become adept at identifying the real threats to ensure that security becomes an enabler for business innovation, rather than an inhibitor."

At Net Sense, Lamkin works with a variety of industries, including medical and industrial. Recently, Net Sense added services to develop Web sites compatible with the National Federation for the Blind, which allow vision-impaired users to have the Web site read to them.

Over the next five years, Lamkin said he hopes to make Net Sense a significant Metro Detroit company, employing a variety of computer professionals that gives clients a "pain-free experience" developing their Web-based applications, he said.

Lamkin's passion for computers started when he was only 4 years old. He and his father would spend hours in their basement, building computers. By the third grade, Lamkin had written his first program.

He worked for a variety of technology companies ranging from a computer repair shop to Troy-based network consulting firm Creative Breakthroughs Inc. to Clinton Township's Logicorps as a lead engineer and senior software developer.

These days, most of Lamkin's work at Net Sense centers on Web 2.0 technology. The term refers to the new wave of Internet sites that are intensely innovative, employ advanced programming languages and provide all the "bells and whistles" today's online users expect.

Some good examples of Web 2.0 sites include Lamkin's own ( www.netsenseusa.com), which has advanced security features, or the popular Facebook site. Facebook lets users socialize via their own Web pages, which can be customized in hundreds of combinations. It also can update itself without needing to be "refreshed," a Web 2.0 innovation.

Lamkin is a firm believer in business partnerships, working with companies that specialize in custom graphics, logic programming and the like. That way, he can offer clients a complete Web solution and make sure local companies are getting the business they need to survive in the state's economy.

"I really think technology is one of the up-and-coming industries in Michigan. That's why Google came here," Lamkin said.

"It's the trickle-down factor: The more technology that we have here, the more jobs we'll have."