The Metasploit Project
The Metasploit Project: "The Metasploit Framework is an advanced open-source platform for developing, testing, and using exploit code. This project initially started off as a portable network game and has evolved into a powerful tool for penetration testing, exploit development, and vulnerability research.

The Framework was written in the Perl scripting language and includes various components written in C, assembler, and Python. The widespread support for the Perl language allows the Framework to run on almost any Unix-like system under its default configuration. A customized Cygwin environment is provided for users of Windows-based operating systems. The project core is dual-licensed under the GPLv2 and Perl Artistic Licenses, allowing it to be used in both open-source and commercial projects.

This project can be roughly compared to commercial offerings such as Immunity's CANVAS and Core Security Technology's Impact. The major difference between the Framework and these commercial products is the focus; while the commercial products need to always provide the latest exploits and an intuitive GUI, the Framework was designed to facilitate research and experimentation with new technologies.

The Framework development team is made up of four full-time members and a handful of part-time contributors. If you would like to contact the Framework developers, please email msfdev[at]metasploit.com. "
- posted by Gp @ 6:59 PM