The problem with all the security holes that arise from day to day is that it's hard to keep up. "Am I protected?" you wonder, "I update constantly, I scrutinize all my email messages, especially attachments, and read all of Chad's awesome security articles, but how do I know for sure?"

Well, since such a large number of security holes center around email I'm glad to announce today a service that can check your system for potential exploits. The service is a web based email scanner that you can tailor to send out over 20 different emails, each attempting to defile your system with dummy exploits. It's like hiring a security agent to go over your system and tell you what aspects of your security is in good shape, and what areas could use some improvement. When set in motion, the scanner fires off the dummy viruses and exploits to the specified email address. Don't be surprised if your virus software starts popping up with security messages, as a matter of fact, this is exactly what you want to happen; it means your system is seeing the threats coming in.

The emails themselves have message bodies describing what their particular test was for and how to make sure you're protected from this sort of attack. Some of the emails have attachments and some attempt to create text documents on your desktop, the emails tell you exactly what to do to ensure the tests ran correctly, thus providing an accurate assessment of your system's defenses.

In addition to the testing your system for security holes this is also a good way to educate yourself on some email-born security issues by getting a chance to see them in action without putting yourself in any danger.