Book excerpt: Vulnerability analysis, also known as vulnerability assessment, is a process that defines, identifies, and classifies the security holes, or vulnerabilities, in a computer, network, or application. In addition, vulnerability analysis can forecast the effectiveness of proposed countermeasures and evaluate their actual effectiveness after they are put into use. Vulnerability Analysis and Defense for the Internet provides packet captures, flow charts and pseudo code, which enable a user to identify if an application/protocol is vulnerable. This edited volume also includes case studies that discuss the latest exploits.