What is a Zero Day Exploit?
A zero day exploit is a piece of malicious code which takes advantage of a vulnerability in a piece of software which has not yet been discovered by the vendor. This code can do a great deal of damage before the vendor realizes the problem and develops a patch or a new version of the software, and many vendors test their programs rigorously before release with zero day exploits in mind. Because this type of malicious code relies on vulnerabilities which aren’t widely known yet, it can be difficult for computer users to protect themselves from it. In a simple example of a zero day exploit, a hacker might realize that the new version of an Internet browser has a security flaw which could potentially allow a hacker to insert malicious software onto the user’s computer. He or she would write the code to install the software, and plant it on websites or in email, so that when users came into contact with the code, they would be infected with it. Eventually, the software vendor would realize
