Visual C++.NET Tightens Buffer Security
DevX | at | by Mike
The new /GS option in the new Microsoft Visual C++.NET compiler will help reduce the instances of exploitable buffer overruns in your Windows application code.
Buffer overruns are a huge security problem in the software industry, and if you have them in your code you are asking for trouble. If you're lucky, an attacker will just shut down your application with an access violation. If you're not so lucky, the attacker can inject and execute malicious code.
There are many ways to help mitigate such threats (see my Best Defense article, "Testing Buffer Overruns"), including education and peer code reviews. Now with the release of Microsoft Visual Studio.NET beta 1, Microsoft has introduced another buffer security tool for the Windows platform: Visual C++.NET's new compile-time option.