"... wrong version of netcat" There's only one true netcat. Although there was at least one revision of the original by the author to add some minor fixes and

"... wrong version of netcat" There's only one true netcat. Although there was at least one revision of the original by the author to add some minor fixes and the hexdump feature, as I remember it, the "doexec()" or "-e" feature was in all versions. But I could be wrong as I did not start using the program before he had already revised it once. Any HN readers out there who were using netcat from the beginning? To enable doexec() you need to define an aptly-named macro called "GAPING_SECURITY_HOLE". Original netcat does not have -e by default. IMO, netcat is a beautiful, elegant example of useful code, fitting in a single source file, well-commented, with a good sense of humor, and able to compile with almost no modification on all varieties of UNIX from the mid 1990's to today. That ability to compile quickly and smoothly, year after year, is what puts netcat among my favorite programs. I cannot say the same for most of the netcat imitations that followed the original, which are usually loaded with needless additional "features" not to mention less portable.