I.Introduction

II.Malevolent software: Background

A.Technical Defenses against Malevolent Code
B.Blended Attacks
C.The Buffer Overflow

III.Liability issues in blended attacks

A.Negligence Concepts
B.Proximate Causality
C.The Encourage Free Radicals Doctrine

IV.Free radicals, the buffer overflow and blended attacks

A.Introduction
B.Virus authors and distributors as free radicals
C.EFR Factors
D.Deliberate Encouragement
E.Special Relationship

V.Discussion and conclusion