FreeBSD is a popular free version of Unix, much like Linux. In April, the FreeBSD project released a security advisory, which warned that any logged-in user could gain full control of, or "root access" to, almost any machine running any previous version of FreeBSD. The problem was due to a bug in a program called keyinit. It’s an atypical example of a confused deputy bug. However, it is often useful for programs to be allowed to do things their invokers can’t. In this month's bug report, Kragen Sitaker tells the story of this atypical "confused deputy" bug.

Joining forces with another company can be a logistical nightmare. This article presents a case study of a fictional merger between two large companies. It addresses four different problems that have to be overcome in a database merger: 1) duplicate records; 2) mismatched columns; 3) data corruption; and 4) front-end assumptions.

Adaptive Testing Syndrome happens when, for various reasons, test team members become blind to the idiosyncrasies of the software and even accept them as a normal part of the design. However, when a different tester, or maybe just a different set of tests, comes in contact with the software, the bugs become painfully obvious. Here's how to diagnose and avoid ATS.

Graphical User Interfaces make test automation hard. The problems are well known. You need specialized tools to drive the GUI. Those tools can be confused by the common programming practice of inventing custom user interface controls. When they are used in the simplest way, the tools lead to fragile tests that tend to break en masse when the GUI changes. Making the test resistant to change requires elaborate and sometimes awkward testing frameworks. Learn how to use a scripting interface to get around the GUI problem.