Computer systems are becoming more and more dependent on computer networks. At the same time, they also become more and more vulnerable to attack via those same networks. After contributing several tools to protect systems against Internet intruders, the author teamed up with another computer security tool author: Dan Farmer. The plan was to write a program that identifies vulnerable computer systems within a network, and to give it away to the world. As was to be expected, the project had to overcome some opposition. Others welcomed the opportunity to eliminate a long list of well-known (and widely exploited) security problems. Much oil was thrown onto the fire via the media, especially within the USA, where the end of the Internet was predicted.
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