- Why are these threats possible? Because computers are little
more than tools. The term "computer" is very descriptive despite
all of the abstraction that we attempt to layer on top of them;
it is a device that "computes", plain and simple. Whether, at
any given nanosecond, it is computing the color of a pixel in a
UI, the address of data in its memory, etc, it is no more or
less than an incredibly fast binary calculator hooked up to a
lot of peripheral components that provide inputs to and outputs
from the basic programming the CPU is currently churning its way
through. Given that, the question of "why" has a simple answer;
tools can be used for good or ill. Hammers can pound nails or
skulls. Saws can cut wood or flesh. And computers can sequence
DNA to find the cure for cancer, or steal your bank account
information. - Why doesn't the computer just do the things it is
supposed to? It does. It does exactly what it is told to do by
the program that it is currently executing. The problem is that
the program t