Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Security Handbook

Secure Coding Practices

Security code is any code that handles information from one level of trust and operates on it at another. It exists in our network programs, in our CGI scripts, even on our Web browsers sitting on our machines. You might wonder how a few buggy lines of code could allow an intruder to gain access to parts of your network that he shouldn't. This chapter explains just that, and, more importantly, how programmers can attempt to stop these bugs from popping up in their programs. This topic is also covered in more detail in the section "Software Security Explained", later in this chapter.

Realize that this is a technical topic and pretty much only applies to those of us who write code for deployment in real environments. It ...