C strcpy() - evil?

Question

Some people seem to think that C\'s strcpy() function is bad or evil. While I admit that it\'s usually better to use strncpy() in order to avoid bu

Answer 1

The reason why people use strncpy not strcpy is because strings are not always null terminated and it's very easy to overflow the buffer (the space you have allocated for the string with strcpy) and overwrite some unrelated bit of memory.

With strcpy this can happen, with strncpy this will never happen. That is why strcpy is considered unsafe. Evil might be a little strong.