Age doesn't seem to be an obstacle when it comes to hunting software bugs. Recently, a 13 year old from San Jose, CA received $3,000 from Mozilla as a reward for finding a critical security flaw in the companies web browser, Firefox.
Mozilla, who was formed by a group of former Netscape programers, recently increased the prize money for finding bugs and security flaws from $500 to $3000, in hopes to encourage more tech-minded people to spend time looking for them. The boy, Alex Miller, says that he started going through the Firefox code in 90 minutes sessions each day. After 10 days, he found the winner.
This sort of “bug catching” isn't something that just anyone can do. It is highly technical. According to Mozilla:
The space of people that are contributing in this area is pretty small. This is a very niche technical area.
But Alex is a gifted kid, and his interests are primarily in the technical arena. Like most gifted kids, his knowledge in his specific field of interest comes from a desire to learn and the ability to self teach. For each child, the area they are passionate about is different, but gifted kids devour information about their favorite topic with a zeal that can border on fanatical. A gifted child can achieve amazing things because they are not only very bright and capable of learning, but they truly love what they are doing. That is, what I think, makes the biggest difference. When you are doing something that you love, it doesn't seem like work.
As for Alex, he says that he will be using the money for a new computer, a small donation to a local animal shelter and the rest will be put into his savings account for college. $3,000 is a lot of money when you are 13, and if he keeps working, I am sure that it won't be his last cash award. If he keeps his passion for computers going, he could be destined for a long and profitable career.
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By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.
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