Exploits. In information technology circles, the term exploits has become synonymous with vulnerabilities. It is a scary word that can keep you up at night wondering if you have purchased the best firewalls, configured your now host-based intrusion prevention system correctly, and patched your entire environment. It's also a topic that can enter the security water-cooler discussions faster than McAfee's new wicked antivirus software or Symantec's latest acquisition. Exploits are proof that the computer science or software programming community still lack a comprehensive understanding of how to design, create, and implement secure code.