In a previous life I wrote the software that controlled my physics experiments. That software had to deal with all kinds of possible failures in equipment. That is probably where I learned to rely on multiple safety nets inside and… — Wietse Venema Copy Share Image
Coming back to the topic of computer security, the TCP Wrapper is an example of such a safety net. I wrote it when my systems were under attack by someone who appeared to walk through walls. — Wietse Venema Copy Share Image
I was going to visit IBM for six months as a visiting scientist. Now, six months is a lot of time, so I came… — Wietse Venema Copy Share Image
Qmail out of the box works fine, so people will want to use it regardless of licensing restrictions, even when the software does not… — Wietse Venema Copy Share Image
Like all software, Qmail can survive only when it keeps up with changing requirements. — Wietse Venema Copy Share Image
The Postfix security model is based on keeping software simple and stupid. — Wietse Venema Copy Share Image
Writing software that's safe even in the presence of bugs makes the challenge even more interesting. — Wietse Venema Copy Share Image
One bug in an SMTP server can open up the whole machine for intrusion. — Wietse Venema Copy Share Image
However, writing software without defects is not sufficient. In my experience, it is at least as difficult to write software that is safe -… — Wietse Venema Copy Share Image
Most of the effort in the software business goes into the maintenance of code that already exists. — Wietse Venema Copy Share Image
At the time the Sendmail program had a very poor reputation with respect to security, with four root vulnerabilities per year for two successive… — Wietse Venema Copy Share Image
The challenge with Postfix, or with any piece of software, is to update software without introducing problems. — Wietse Venema Copy Share Image
When I write software, I know that it will fail, either due to my own mistake, or due to some other cause. — Wietse Venema Copy Share Image
