This week I have delved into the hacker world some. I am by no means an l33t h4x0r ("elite hacker" in hacker speak), but I believe that in order to properly protect your computer or your network you have to understand how hackers think and what tools and technology they are using to crack your defenses. By understanding the weapons at your enemies disposal you can prepare a better or more appropriate defense. Check out the Hacker Tools subject for more articles, links and resources.

There continue to be fairly large vulnerabilites discovered in widely used software. This week a vulnerability was discovered affecting Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows NT and Microsoft announced that Windows NT can not be patched. There was also another huge Sendmail vulnerability discovered.

Watch in the coming week for the next installment of Computer Security 101 as well as an article on legislation pending in many states that would seem to make firewalls, NAT and encryption illegal.