RE: [fyodor () insecure org: C|Net Download.Com is now bundling Nmap with malware!]

[Nathan Eisenberg <nathan () atlasnetworks us>]

> It could be argued that Nmap is malware, and such software has already
> been called to be made illegal.
>
> If I was Cnet, I would stop distributing his software altogether.
>
> Link: http://nmap.org/book/legal-issues.html

It could.  But making such an argument calls the arguer's grasp of reality into question.  Nmap is a tool, like any 
other.  It has no more ethical value than a nail gun or a hammer.  In the hands of an engineer, it is a valuable 
addition to a toolkit.  In the hands of an attacker, it can become a weapon.

If it could be argued that Nmap is malware, then it could be argued that hammers are weapons; therefore, we should call 
on Home Depot to stop carrying these deadly instruments with all due alacrity - or at least have governments step in 
and create licensing programs for hand tools.

Nathan Eisenberg