Conclusion
Throughout this chapter, we've seen powerful techniques an attacker can use to gain access to a target machine by attacking operating systems and applications. New vulnerabilities in these areas are being discovered on a daily basis and are widely shared within the computer underground. Therefore, it is important that you consider the defenses highlighted in this chapter in your own security program to protect your systems and vital information.
Now that we understand the most common operating system and application attacks, let's move down the protocol stack to analyze network-based attacks.