Skip to content
  • Categories
  • Recent
  • Tags
  • Popular
  • World
  • Users
  • Groups
Skins
  • Light
  • Cerulean
  • Cosmo
  • Flatly
  • Journal
  • Litera
  • Lumen
  • Lux
  • Materia
  • Minty
  • Morph
  • Pulse
  • Sandstone
  • Simplex
  • Sketchy
  • Spacelab
  • United
  • Yeti
  • Zephyr
  • Dark
  • Cyborg
  • Darkly
  • Quartz
  • Slate
  • Solar
  • Superhero
  • Vapor

  • Default (No Skin)
  • No Skin
Collapse
Code Project
  1. Home
  2. Other Discussions
  3. The Insider News
  4. Programmers are copying security flaws into your software, researchers warn

Programmers are copying security flaws into your software, researchers warn

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved The Insider News
comsecurityhelpquestionannouncement
10 Posts 8 Posters 0 Views 1 Watching
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as topic
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
  • K Offline
    K Offline
    Kent Sharkey
    wrote on last edited by
    #1

    CNet[^]:

    Many software developers are cribbing code, and its flaws, that someone else created. And the problem is only getting harder to keep up with.

    Ctrl+V considered harmful?

    Or for you cranky old folk, Ctrl+Ins

    C P M S S 6 Replies Last reply
    0
    • K Kent Sharkey

      CNet[^]:

      Many software developers are cribbing code, and its flaws, that someone else created. And the problem is only getting harder to keep up with.

      Ctrl+V considered harmful?

      Or for you cranky old folk, Ctrl+Ins

      C Offline
      C Offline
      Christopher Shields
      wrote on last edited by
      #2

      Another reason copy/paste is ushering the slow decline of humanity.

      1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • K Kent Sharkey

        CNet[^]:

        Many software developers are cribbing code, and its flaws, that someone else created. And the problem is only getting harder to keep up with.

        Ctrl+V considered harmful?

        Or for you cranky old folk, Ctrl+Ins

        P Offline
        P Offline
        Paulo Zemek
        wrote on last edited by
        #3

        It is true that using code coming from made by others means you are inheriting their flaws. But if the developers did everything from scratch, would they have a better result, or even more flaws (of all kinds, including security vulnerabilities)? One of the reasons to use code made by others is that "such code was created by experts on those areas and was largely tested" and it would be extremely difficult to do a better job. I am not saying it is impossible but it is far from being a reality for most programmers and companies.

        Richard DeemingR 1 Reply Last reply
        0
        • K Kent Sharkey

          CNet[^]:

          Many software developers are cribbing code, and its flaws, that someone else created. And the problem is only getting harder to keep up with.

          Ctrl+V considered harmful?

          Or for you cranky old folk, Ctrl+Ins

          M Offline
          M Offline
          Michael Gazonda
          wrote on last edited by
          #4

          Shift+Ins, Ctrl+Ins, Shift+Del It's still painful using a keyboard where I can't use those shortcuts.

          1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • K Kent Sharkey

            CNet[^]:

            Many software developers are cribbing code, and its flaws, that someone else created. And the problem is only getting harder to keep up with.

            Ctrl+V considered harmful?

            Or for you cranky old folk, Ctrl+Ins

            S Offline
            S Offline
            Sumuj John
            wrote on last edited by
            #5

            IMHO, This is possible if only if they do a system that entirely depends on other people work and couldn't or less possible way testing it.

            1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • K Kent Sharkey

              CNet[^]:

              Many software developers are cribbing code, and its flaws, that someone else created. And the problem is only getting harder to keep up with.

              Ctrl+V considered harmful?

              Or for you cranky old folk, Ctrl+Ins

              S Offline
              S Offline
              Shao Voon Wong
              wrote on last edited by
              #6

              When taking over a project with new technology, most companies won't give time to learn it, we have to research with Google in the initial stage while study it in our own free time and go back to fix any inadequacies. The problem is some developers (even the senior ones) always rely on copy and paste without understanding or making effort to study in depth the technologies they are using.

              1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • K Kent Sharkey

                CNet[^]:

                Many software developers are cribbing code, and its flaws, that someone else created. And the problem is only getting harder to keep up with.

                Ctrl+V considered harmful?

                Or for you cranky old folk, Ctrl+Ins

                L Offline
                L Offline
                lukeer
                wrote on last edited by
                #7

                <nag> It's Shift+Ins that resembles Ctrl+V. </nag>

                Ciao, luker

                K 1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • P Paulo Zemek

                  It is true that using code coming from made by others means you are inheriting their flaws. But if the developers did everything from scratch, would they have a better result, or even more flaws (of all kinds, including security vulnerabilities)? One of the reasons to use code made by others is that "such code was created by experts on those areas and was largely tested" and it would be extremely difficult to do a better job. I am not saying it is impossible but it is far from being a reality for most programmers and companies.

                  Richard DeemingR Offline
                  Richard DeemingR Offline
                  Richard Deeming
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #8

                  Paulo Zemek wrote:

                  One of the reasons to use code made by others is that "such code was created by experts on those areas and was largely tested" and it would be extremely difficult to do a better job.

                  Like this[^]? Or this[^]? Or this[^]? Seriously, for the love of bacon, don't follow any of those tutorials! Many "experts" don't have to first idea how to write secure code. They churn out tutorials explaining how to do things in the least secure way possible, and thousands of novice developers copy the code verbatim, without taking the time to understand the code or check for vulnerabilities. And when people who do know better try to point out the flaws in the tutorial's code, we're generally ignored. :sigh:


                  "These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer

                  "These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined" - Homer

                  P 1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • Richard DeemingR Richard Deeming

                    Paulo Zemek wrote:

                    One of the reasons to use code made by others is that "such code was created by experts on those areas and was largely tested" and it would be extremely difficult to do a better job.

                    Like this[^]? Or this[^]? Or this[^]? Seriously, for the love of bacon, don't follow any of those tutorials! Many "experts" don't have to first idea how to write secure code. They churn out tutorials explaining how to do things in the least secure way possible, and thousands of novice developers copy the code verbatim, without taking the time to understand the code or check for vulnerabilities. And when people who do know better try to point out the flaws in the tutorial's code, we're generally ignored. :sigh:


                    "These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer

                    P Offline
                    P Offline
                    Paulo Zemek
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #9

                    Actually I wasn't even talking about copying code... but about using libraries. I personally love to "reinvent" the wheel, be it because of performance concerns, security concerns or simply to learn how those things work internally. Yet, many developers really prefer to get already made code and, if they can't find, they will do an even less secure implementation. No, I am not saying that "copying from others" will be good. I am saying that allowing developers that are simply not of that domain to do it will be even worse. Also note that I quoted that "such code was created by experts on those areas and was largely tested" by a reason. That's the belief to use code made by others. I don't agree with the statement as is.

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • L lukeer

                      <nag> It's Shift+Ins that resembles Ctrl+V. </nag>

                      Ciao, luker

                      K Offline
                      K Offline
                      Kent Sharkey
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #10

                      Sorry, it's been a while. Actually never, as I started on a CUA interface.

                      TTFN - Kent

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      Reply
                      • Reply as topic
                      Log in to reply
                      • Oldest to Newest
                      • Newest to Oldest
                      • Most Votes


                      • Login

                      • Don't have an account? Register

                      • Login or register to search.
                      • First post
                        Last post
                      0
                      • Categories
                      • Recent
                      • Tags
                      • Popular
                      • World
                      • Users
                      • Groups