Re: Buffer Overflow. What is it?

From: Alun Jones [MS MVP - Security] (alun_at_texis.invalid)
Date: 06/02/04 

Date: Wed, 02 Jun 2004 04:58:07 GMT

In article <c8tok2$f3t$1@string.physics.ubc.ca>, unruh@string.physics.ubc.ca
(Bill Unruh) wrote:
>Yes, but good luck doing so. Somehow the law of torts got suspended where
>software was concerned. See the Year2000 fiasco for example. You had to pay
>for their incompetence. If attacks damage your computer, the software
>companies disclaim all responsibility. But charge you for upgrades.

The "year 2000 fiasco" could also be described in a number of cases as
people using software for an incredibly long period of time after its
original design had expired. In such cases, who's at fault, the guy who
designed the limits, or the guy who ignored them?

Of course, in the real world, there's a lot of stuff in between. Developers
aren't out to shaft users, in general, they're trying to provide users with
something that they can, well, use. Occasionally they screw up, and some of
us are learning to avoid most of those screw-ups. Rather than treating
developers as the adversary, consider working with them to make your life
better.

Alun.
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