Provided are methods, apparatus and computer programs for identifying
vulnerabilities to viruses of hacking. Hash values are computed and
stored for resources stored on systems within a network. If a first
resource or a collection of resources (such as files comprising an
operating system, Web Browser or mail server) is associated with a
vulnerability, hash values for the first resource or collection of
resources are compared with the stored hash values to identify systems
which have the vulnerability. Messages may be sent to the people
responsible for the vulnerable systems, or the vulnerability may be
removed by automatic downloading of patches or service packs.