Network Intrusion Detection (3rd Edition)
by Stephen Northcutt, Judy Novak
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (27 August, 2002)
list price: $45.00 -- our price: $31.50
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Editorial Review

Network Intrusion Detection: An Analyst's Handbook explains some of what you need to know to prevent unauthorized accesses of your networked computers and minimize the damage intruders can do. It emphasizes, though, proven techniques for recognizing attacks while they're underway. Without placing too much emphasis (or blame, for that matter) on any operating system or other software product, author Stephen Northcutt explains ways to spot suspicious behavior and deal with it, both automatically and manually.

The case studies, large and small, are the best part of this book. Northcutt opens with a technical brief on the methods used by Kevin Mitnick in his attack upon Tsutomu Shimomura's server. In documenting that famous attack, Northcutt explains SYN flooding and TCP hijacking with clarity and detail: readers get a precise picture of what Mitnick did and how Shimomura's machine reacted. A former security expert for the U.S. Department of Defense, Northcutt explains how a system administrator would detect and defeat an attack like Mitnick's. Another case study appears later in the book, this one in the form of a line-by-line analysis of a .history file that shows how a bad guy with root privileges attacked a Domain Name System (DNS) server. Reading Northcutt's analysis is like reading a play-by-play account of a football match. Network Intrusion Detection is one of the most readable technical books around. --David Wall

Topics covered: Catching intruders in the act by recognizing the characteristics of various kinds of attacks in real time, both manually and with the use of filters and other automated systems; techniques for identifying security weaknesses and minimizing false security alarms. ... Read more

Reviews (40)

Very Good and Useful
This book is an excellent addition to any network administrator's library. Network Intrusion Detection will show you how some of the known and less known network intrusion attacks were realized and what clues there were to detecting the attacks. The book starts with an excellent overview of the network basics. Throught out the network basics chapters author outlines some of the weaknesses of that area that hackers have taken advantage of. The book can be useful guide to learning network traffic sniffing tools.

Overall a good book
This is a great book. It provides good detail on crucial ID topics. The examples in the book are clear and easy to follow. The book also does a good job of describing IP fragmentation. I would also recommend that someone get Bejtlich's The Tao of Network Security Monitoring. Read Network Intrusion Detection first then read The Tao. You will be an expert in the area of intrusion detection and network security monitoring.

The only down side to this book is that not enough attention is paid to exploring the gory details of networking like Ethernet frames, IP/TCP/UDP/etc. packets. This is an important topic for security people to understand.

Buy this book now!
This book is one of the better technical books I've read. It is easy to understand and goes into depth explaining the theory on which intrusion signatures are created. If you know basic TCP/IP but really want to know its inner-workings, get this book. I bought it less than 24 hrs ago and I'm already 100 pgs through it. This book takes a subject that could potentially be very dry and breathes a gust of fresh air into it. Recommended! ... Read more

Isbn: 0735712654
Subjects:  1. Computer Bks - Communications / Networking    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Data Security    4. Computer networks    5. Computer security    6. Computers    7. Internet    8. Networking - General    9. Security    10. Security measures    11. Computers / Internet / Security   

Anti-Hacker Tool Kit
by KeithJones, MikeShema, BradleyJohnson
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (25 June, 2002)
list price: $59.99
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Reviews (11)

Pretty good....
Very good book with all the essentials integrated into one book and the companion cd adds to it.

Excellent Resource
If you are tired of cloudy, non-specific examples relating to security, this book is great. It details, with examples, exactly how to perform security functions. I use it for a research group I am heading (www.nmt.edu/~ccravens) and it is definitely an incredible find for our purposes.

PS- A Reader, having never read the book, whenever you come out with your next best seller, lemme know, I might be interested! ;)

A good purchase if you don't have the first edition
I reviewed the first edition "Anti-Hacker Tool Kit" (AHT:1E) in August 2002.This second edition (AHT:2E) follows only 18 months after the original was published.I don't believe enough time has passed to warrant an update, even though tools can evolve quickly.In certain aspects the book suffers from a lack of updates from AHT:1E author Keith Jones, who found the publisher's demands onerous.Nevertheless, AHT:2E is a must-buy if you didn't read AHT:1E.

The major additions to AHT:2E include a new chapter on firewalls, which doesn't really add anything new to the common body of security knowledge.A new chapter on host hardening covers Titan and MSec.Tools like THC-Amap, THC-Hydra, HFNetChk, Ettercap, Wellenreiter, and Kismet make appearances as well.Whereas Trinux was only mentioned in the first edition, it gets welcome coverage in the chapter on building live response bootable CDs.Updated material on Nmap, NetScan Tools, SuperScan, Scanline, and commercial forensic suites is included.

The remainder of the book is largely the same.Particularly, chapters on Netcat, X, VMWare, Cygwin, backdoors, source code auditing, port redirection, war dialers, and open source forensics appear very similar to AHT:1E.Deleted from AHT:2E are Whisker, Twwwscan/Arirang, SMBGrind, and Nbaudit.Comparisons with the first edition are somewhat complicated by the rearrangement of tools and chapters in AHT:2E, but I thought the new organization made sense.

Aside from the information on using Trinux, AHT:2E seemed to lack new contributions from an author with real forensic experience.Keith Jones' original material is still present, but advancements in the forensic arena are not covered.For example, AHT:2E should have addressed Keith's tools in the Odessa project, such as Galleta (cookie parsing), Pasco (IE history recovery), and Rifiuti (Recycle Bin examination).

Overall, AHT:2E is an excellent book, but I don't believe a second edition was needed 18 months after the first was published.The AHT look and feel has spawned the "Anti-Spam Tool Kit," which I plan to read and review shortly.Perhaps future AHT books will split out various sections (assessment, forensics, etc.) into separate volumes, making it easier to manage the series. ... Read more

Isbn: 0072222824
Sales Rank: 232387
Subjects:  1. Computer Bks - Internet    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Data Security    4. Computers    5. Internet - Security    6. Networking - General    7. Security    8. Computers / Security   

Inside Network Perimeter Security: The Definitive Guide to Firewalls, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), Routers, and Intrusion Detection Systems
by Stephen Northcutt, Lenny Zeltser, Scott Winters, Karen Fredrick, Ronald W. Ritchey
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (28 June, 2002)
list price: $49.99 -- our price: $34.99
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Editorial Review

Submarines handle awkwardly on the surface of the sea; airplanes are cumbersome when taxiing. Both modes of operation, however, are design requirements. Organizational computer networks have a similar requirement: they have to interface with other networks (thereby forming the Internet) in order to be useful. How network engineers manage their networks' perimeters has a lot to do with their usefulness, cost effectiveness, and--perhaps above all--security. Inside Network Perimeter Security concerns itself with this latter aspect of the connection to the outside world. It's carefully researched, cleverly written, and full of references to recent exploits and, more importantly, the trends they represent. The best details on emerging hack attacks will always be found online. This book takes a longer view, evaluating offensive and defensive technologies and offering well-reasoned advice on how to keep a network secure now and in the future.

Readers familiar with the previous work of the authors--particularly the highly respected Stephen Northcutt--will recognize the style here. It doesn't aim to teach you how to do much in particular--there are a few procedures, and some Cisco Internetwork Operating System (IOS) command listings--but rather tries to show how to think about networks and the data that comes from them. In a typical section, the authors analyze a log from Tiny Personal Firewall. They highlight the facts that are present in the log and the inferences that can be made from them. A similar style helps you master software tools and make network design decisions. This book is perfect for a network engineer wanting to improve his or her security skills for both design and administration purposes. --David Wall

Topics covered: How to design networks' borders for maximum security, and how to monitor them for unauthorized activity. After an introduction to firewalls, packet filtering, and access lists, the authors explain how to set up routers, special-purpose firewalls, and general-purpose hosts with security in mind. A large section has to do with security-conscious design, both for green field projects and existing networks that need expansion or improvement. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

A very informative read
Stephen Northcutt, and the various contributing authors, have created a masterful and well rounded guide of the various considerations that go into securing the network perimeter.As a student of Information Technology this book has been instrumental in my education and has earned a permanent place on my bookshelf (when it is not in my hands directly).

If you want to buy just one book, buy this one.
Stephen Northcutt has done a great job! this is the most comphrensive book on the subject. I particularly found the part on access lists very helpful. Niloufer Tamboly, CISSP

Fairly decent but can be thinned out a bit
Fairly decent overview of perimeter security.If your a security professional you may learn a thing or two, if your a network administrator and your idea of security is a firewall then this book is meant for you.Its a fairly easy read, but some of the examples of the commands to enter in configuring routers and hosts could be eliminated. I felt the author was just taking up space with these examples. (not a big deal but I'm taking a star away on principal) I also felt the author could have gone into a little be more detail in the VPN chapter, especially when dealing with encryption, PKI, and authenication which I felt was glossed over. (again not a big deal, but when you call yourself the definitive guide, be more definitive and save the 'commands' for the user guides") ... Read more

Isbn: 0735712328
Subjects:  1. Computer Bks - Communications / Networking    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Data Security    4. Computer Networks    5. Computer security    6. Computers    7. Networking - General    8. Security    9. Security measures    10. Computers / Internet / Security    11. Firewall    12. Firewalls (Computer security)    13. Virtual Private Network (VPN)   

Hacking Exposed: Network Security Secrets & Solutions, Third Edition (Hacking Exposed)
by Stuart McClure, Joel Scambray, George Kurtz
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (26 September, 2001)
list price: $49.99
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Editorial Review

A lot of computer-security textbooks approach the subject from adefensive point of view. "Do this, and probably you'll survive a particular kindof attack," they say. In refreshing contrast, Hacking Exposed, SecondEdition talks about security from an offensive angle. A Jane's-likecatalog of the weaponry that black-hat hackers use is laid out in full. Readerssee what programs are out there, get a rundown on what the programs can do, andbenefit from detailed explanations of concepts (such as wardialing and rootkits)that most system administrators kind of understand, but perhaps not in detail.The book also walks through how to use the more powerful and popular hackersoftware, including L0phtCrack. This new edition has been updated extensively,largely with the results of "honeypot" exercises (in which attacks onsacrificial machines are monitored) and Windows 2000 public security trials.There's a lot of new stuff on e-mail worms, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS)attacks, and attacks that involve routing protocols.

The result of all of this familiarity with bad-guy tools is a leg up ondefending against them. Hacking Exposed wastes no time in explaining howto implement the countermeasures--where they exist--that will render knownattacks ineffective. Taking on the major network operating systems and networkdevices one at a time, the authors tell you exactly what Unix configurationfiles to alter, what Windows NT Registry keys to change, and what settings tomake in NetWare. They spare no criticism of products with which they aren'timpressed, and don't hesitate to point out inherent, uncorrectable securityweaknesses where they find them. This book is no mere rehashing of generallyaccepted security practices. It and its companion Web site are the best way forall of you network administrators to know thine enemies. --David Wall

Topics covered:

• Security vulnerabilities of operating systems,applications, and network devices
• Administrative procedures that will helpdefeat them
• Techniques for hacking Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me,Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Novell NetWare, and Unix
• Strategies forbreaking into (or bringing down) telephony devices, routers, and firewalls

... Read more

Reviews (77)

Worst Book Ever
Thank God I DID NOT BUY this book. I took 30 minutes to read this book at a bookstore and if you are interested in learning how to hack, then this book is not for you. This book DOES NOT SHOW YOU HOW TO HACK, it's justanother ordinary book which shows you how to PREVENT a hacker from attacking your computer/network. Very disappointing. Even the information in this book that shows you how to prevent a hacker attack can be found online easily. This book is definatly not worth it.

Great hacking book.....
The book touches almost every corner of hacking . As a developer i have got great knowledge from this book.. Authors have done superb job in explaining the hacking stuffs...

Morever in my real life ....through this book ... i came to know how to find trust relationships ...in our day to day world. I mean i came to know whom to trust and whom not to .

Special thanks to author for making such a great book..!

Fifth Edition Is Another Winner
George Kurtz, Stuart McClure and Joel Scambray have been a staple of my Information Security library since the first Hacking Exposed book. Things change quickly in the security world and the authors of Hacking Exposed - 5th Edition have done a tremendous job at taking a great thing and making it better by updating it with new attacks and countermeasures.

This edition of this classic book includes details about recent vulnerability exploits that have plagued the Internet including RPCSS (Blaster), LSASS (Sasser) and PCT (Download.ject). There is also a discussion of computer "zombies" and practical recommendations for how to protect your systems from zombie attacks.

There are a handful of books that should be "must-reads" for anyone responsible for computer or network security and this is one of them. Learning the information in this book will help you learn current attacks and hacking techniques and develop effective countermeasures to protect your network. Hands down, Hacking Exposed should be on every network or security administrators desk for quick reference.

Buy this book. Even if you already have a previous edition, the new and updated information in this book are well worth the investment.

Tony Bradley is a consultant and writer with a focus on network security, antivirus and incident response. He is the About.com Guide for Internet / Network Security (http://netsecurity.about.com), providing a broad range of information security tips, advice, reviews and information. Tony also contributes frequently to other industry publications. For a complete list of his freelance contributions you can visit Essential Computer Security (http://www.tonybradley.com). ... Read more

Isbn: 0072193816
Subjects:  1. Computer Bks - Communications / Networking    2. Computer Books: Operating Systems    3. Computer Data Security    4. Computer networks    5. Computers    6. Data protection    7. Internet - General    8. Networking - General    9. Security    10. Security measures    11. Computer fraud & hacking    12. Data security & data encryption   

DNS and BIND
by Cricket Liu, Paul Albitz, Mike Loukides
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (03 September, 1998)
list price: $39.95
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Editorial Review

This is the definitive book on the Domain Name System (DNS), the powerful scheme that facilitates the translation of English-like domain names (www.amazon.com) into computer-comprehensible Internet Protocol (IP) addresses (208.216.182.15). If you run a DNS server of any kind, particularly under Unix, you need to have this book on hand.

This book's early chapters give a view of DNS from high altitude, explaining basic concepts such as domains, name servers, and name resolution. From there, the authors proceed on a more practical tack, presenting specific instructions for setting up your own domain and DNS server using BIND. The authors then tell you what to do as your domain grows and you need to add more machines, subdomains, and greater throughput capacity. They also talk a lot about nslookup and C programming with the various DNS and BIND libraries. Administrators will find the chapter on BIND debugging output particularly helpful. Here, the authors translate BIND's mysterious error messages and offer specific strategies for fixing and optimizing the program. This edition covers BIND 8.1.2, but pays lots of attention to older versions that are still in wide use (4.8.3 and 4.9). The authors are careful to note differences among the versions. --David Wall ... Read more

Reviews (52)

Well-Written, Organized and Informative
DNS and BIND, Fourth Edition makes mastering this critical service easy. As someone who is trying to increase my knowledge of server-side services and the Linux operating system, I found DNS and BIND to be extremely helpful.

The authors seem to have found the ideal mix of humor, information and tips and taken that and rolled it into a very organized title. The book's chapters proceed in a logical order, a newbie can read the title cover to cover, while a more experienced admin can start in the middle somewhere and proceed to the back cover.

This reviewer was very impressed with the level of organization in this title. I have read alot of computer books, but it would appear that the authors really put the extra effort into this one.

Learning BIND & DNS as clearly as possible
I am a netadmin who works in NT. We are going to Linux in bits and pieces and one peice is DNS. I'm picking up where my boss left off and I needed some strong basics, clear examples and a good reference point. This book is all of those things (other than the fact they forget to mention what file they are referring to from time to time). I'm reading the book cover to cover and I'm half way through. I jump ahead when I need to, but always come back to following thechapter outine.

I have gained such a knowlege of BIND and a better understanding of DNS and I owe it to this book. O'Reilly does a great job with it's tech books and I am a fan.

O'Reilly Rules
If you've been afraid of diving into the depths of DNS, maybe because your readings through a few RFC documents proved fruitless, then fear no more.

In the first few chapter your taught how DNS servers work, sparing no detail. Concepts like negative-caching, recursive resolution, and inverse queries are explained and demonstrated with great examples and graphs. The chapters on configuring and managing BIND almost make things look too simple and easy. This is also a great book to learn how to use tools like 'nslookup' and 'dig'.

When it comes to the world of DNS records it's hard to find authoritativeanswers to questions, besides a few sites like Mr.DNS, the authors of this book recognized that need and sought to help fill the gap of knowledge. ... Read more

Isbn: 1565925122
Subjects:  1. Computer Bks - Internet    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Networks    4. Computers    5. Internet - General    6. Internet domain names    7. Networking - General    8. Operating Systems - UNIX    9. Unix (Operating System)    10. Computer Communications & Networking    11. Computer Software Packages    12. Internet    13. Unix, Unix Linux & Unix TCL/TK   

Securing Windows NT/2000 Servers for the Internet
by Stefan Norberg
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (November, 2000)
list price: $29.95 -- our price: $19.77
(price subject to change: see help)
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Reviews (12)

Pretty good summation of security practices
The author certainly understands windows security from the administrator's point of view.He isn't going to launch into the deficiencies of Lanman in great detail, but he will tell you how to allow only NTLMv2 instead, or even better...uninstall all of the MS deadly ports altogether (what are they doing on a mail server anyway???)

To be honest I'm primarily a Unix person (FreeBSD when possible) so I feel really constricted in the windows environment and thus don't know as much as I should about securing the boxes.This book allows me to jump into the windows world (since I obviously need at least one windows box around for work) and make intelligent choices regarding configuration.

The small number of pages is actually a good thing since the author skips all of the general security tips and knowledge that you can get in 1,000 other books nowadays, getting right to the meat of it: what to click and type to secure the box.This also has the pleasant side-affect of reducing the cost from the normal range of 50-60 to around 20, which pretty much means that buying this book is a no-brainer.

In summary, a Unix geek can get away with this book since it's so direct and easy to follow.It requires some previous security knowledge but not a boatload.

Good book, hope they update it soon.
This book was probably just right when it was released, but it's time to update it for 2000/XP and drop NT entirely.I only looked at the 2000 stuff, since those are the kind I support, but the info was very helpful, and even though we're several service packs down the road, it's still accurate. I didn't read the NT information (though it's largely the same, since they have the same roots) for accuracy as much, but it's still worth the price for the 2000 answers.

Excellent for *nix Admins needing to secure WinNT/2000
As a Solaris/Linux admin, I had no clue how to secure a windows machine. I knew to turn off services I recognized but that is about it. Since we only really use NT for the PDC, the file server, and internal groupware client- I really was not interested in pouring over documentation to secure these boxes. I have too much to do in keeping the frontline unix boxes secure.
Norberg introduces the architecture and services and othter things that I really did not know about. He then gives practical suggestions on how to lock down the server. He does state that this is a for a bastion host, so that rules out a web server anyway.
However, this book explains the services and what would need turned off, you can then modify this to your needs.
This book is a must for any Unix admin that needs to learn about WinNt and security for it. I give this book five stars for being exactly what it says it is. ... Read more

Isbn: 1565927680
Sales Rank: 383925
Subjects:  1. Client-Server Computing - NT Server    2. Computer Bks - Operating Systems    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computers    5. Internet    6. Microsoft Windows NT server    7. Operating Systems - NT    8. Operating Systems - Windows 2000    9. Operating systems (Computers)    10. COM046050    11. COM060040    12. Computers / Operating Systems / Windows    13. Data security & data encryption    14. Microsoft Windows    15. Network security    16. Microsoft Windows NT    17. Computer security    18. Computer Data Security    19. Computer operating systems    20. Computer Network Management    21. Security    22. Operating Systems - IBM Compatible    23. Operating Systems - Windows   

SSH, The Secure Shell: The Definitive Guide
by Daniel J. Barrett, Richard Silverman
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (15 February, 2001)
list price: $39.95 -- our price: $26.37
(price subject to change: see help)
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Editorial Review

The suite of utility applications that Unix users and administrators find indispensable--Telnet, rlogin, FTP, and the rest--can in fact prove to be the undoing of interconnected systems. The Secure Shell, a.k.a. SSH (which isn't a true shell at all) provides your otherwise attack-prone utilities with the protection they need. SSH: The Secure Shell: The Definitive Guide explains how to use SSH at all levels. In a blended sequence, the book explains what SSH is all about, how it fits into a larger security scheme, and how to employ it as an everyday user with an SSH client. More technically detailed chapters show how to configure a SSH server--several variants are covered--and how to integrate SSH with non-Unix client platforms.

As befits its detail- and variation-rich subject, this book comprises many specialized sections, each dealing with some specific aspect of use or configuration (setting up access control at the account level, for example, or generating keys for a particular SSH server). The writing is both informative and fun to read; the authors switch back and forth between text and entry-and-response listings from SSH machines. They often run through a half-dozen or more variants on the same command in a few pages, providing the reader with lots of practical information. The discussion of how SSH fits into a Kerberos Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is great, as is the advice on defeating particular kinds of attacks. --David Wall

Topics covered:

• The Secure Shell (SSH) for installers, administrators, and everyday users
• SSH design and operation
• Server setup
• SSH agents
• Client configuration
• Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) integration
• SSH1
• SSH2
• F-Secure
• OpenSSH for Unix
• SSH1 and SecureCRT for Microsoft Windows
• NiftyTelnet SSH for Mac OS

... Read more

Reviews (25)

why you should use ssh
[A review of the 2nd EDITION 2005.]

In an earlier, more trusting Internet, rlogin, ftp and telnet were widely used for remote access. But the increase in malware sniffing of these plaintext channels has led to ssh largely supplanting them. The book explains why you as a user should prefer ssh. It greatly helps to guard your account and its password. No small matter if this account has sensitive data. Actually, if you are also a sysadmin, you may want to consider restricting secure remote access to ssh.

The book deals with the broad outline of the cryptographic underpinnings. But it does not requireyou to understand any of the formal maths. (Whew!) As a practical matter, the bulk of the text is taken up with the myriad ways that ssh implementations can be used. Shows the crucial role played by ssh. Possibly the hardest part concerns key management. Which is often the bane of any cryptosystem. So you should not regard this as a particular failing of ssh.

SSHweet
I recently finished reading SSH, The Secure Shell, The Definitive
Guide,by Barrett and Silverman over at O'Reilly. This book is
exacly what the title says, it's a definitive guide to SSH. It covers
installation and use. It incorporates SSH usage in a semi how-to
fashion but it also contains what How-tos would leave out. It
describes the how and the why related to protocols, procedures,
programs (scp, sftp...) and configurations. Through out the book they
discuss SSH1, SSH2 and OpenSSH (less) and a comparison of what one
SSH version has over the other. It covers aspects like Installation
and configuration, X11 Forwarding, Securing IMAP Auth and many others.

This book covers both the server and client aspect of SSH and I
would recommend this book to anyone who would like an in depth
look at SSH.

A great book overall, a few flaws
SSH, the Secure Shell: The Defintiive Guide is another great book from O'Reilly.As the name would suggest, however, it's not so much a meant as a tutorial or a howto as it is an in-depth analysis of SSH's workings, though the examples given could probably be used as the former.

The first chapters of the book begin with a lookat what SSH is, a summary of its general uses, and the differences between the various SSH implmentations.It then quickly moves onto a number of practical examples, with explanations of both the 'how' and 'why' behind the examples.

Some of the more interesting examples are those that demonstrate X11 tunnelling, key management, and how SSH can be integrated with other applications (such as PGP, for example).

One of the major faults of the book is in the writing style. The regular switching back and forth between a conversational tone and a serious, technical one was something that I found rather annoying.But other than that, this is more or less a well-rounded and nicely written book on SSH, and I would certainly recommend it to anyone who is interested in this topic. ... Read more

Isbn: 0596000111
Subjects:  1. Computer Bks - Communications / Networking    2. Computer Books: Integrated Systems    3. Computer networks    4. Computers    5. Data Transmission Standards And Protocols    6. Data encryption (Computer scie    7. Data encryption (Computer science)    8. Hardware - Personal Computers - General    9. Networking - General    10. Networking - Network Protocols    11. Security    12. Security measures    13. UNIX    14. UNIX Shells    15. COM043000    16. COM046030    17. Computer Communications & Networking    18. Computers / Personal Computers & Microcomputers / General    19. Data security & data encryption   

CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide
by Shon Harris
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (26 December, 2001)
list price: $79.99
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Reviews (91)

Book Is Full of Annoying Errors
Whereas the book has a lot of good information and is easy to read, it is plagued with a lot of technical errors. These errors so detract from the rest of the book that I find the book 'dangerous' if it is to be really used for CISSP Prep. Why? Because you may be learning incorrect information.

Most of the problems are more annoying technical mis-statements than errors of critical importance. For example, Access Control: The standard definition of 'identification' is 'who you claim to be' and 'authentication' is 'proof of identity.' The book badly blurs the distinction, especially when it tries to combine identification and authentication.

Also very annoying is the fact the book does not even call the ten domains by the same names used by (ISC)2.

Some of the more picky errors include such things as calling 'NFS' an 'OSI Session Layer' protocol. NFS is built upon RPC. RPC is a session layer protocol. Yes, NFS does a few very high level sessions things, but it is dominately a presentation layer protocol. Sun, the originators of NFS, even calls it a presentation layer protocol.

In my opinion, if you are expecting a book to prep you for an exam, you should expect it to be free of technical errors. Ask yourself, "Do I want to learn the wrong information?" Hopefully, most people preparing for the CISSP exam will have enough background in each domain to recognize these missteps.

Overall, if I hadn't marked up the book, I would be asking for my money back. Recommendation: Forget this book. Instead, get the 'Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP Exam.' Its not perfect, but it is a couple of orders of magnititude better.

I did the CISSP exam and I can tell you this is the best!
I bought the CISSP All in One book, as well as the CISSP Prep Guide (Krutz) and the Official ISC2Guide to sit for the CISSP Exam. I did my CISSP exam this year (2005) and I can tell you that this book, the All in One CISSP, is THE book. The chapters are so well written and so well explained that you do not need any other book for the exam. I was really surprised to read these difficult concepts so well explained and so clear, because it is no easy task to write in "plain" English all these concepts. If you buy this book, you definitely do not need other book, all what you need is here.
I have read negative comments for this book. I really do not understand why there should be any negative comment. Anyway, think this way: for me, it's the best book, and I can tell you that if you do not consider it the best, at least it's among the best around. Trust me.

This book and the author is over-rated
ALL
I have taken the CISSP certification (ACED IT!) and I have read 5 CISSP books. Among all, this book was very thorough and detailed. But, it was extremely misleading and had too much information which were not needed for the exam. If you are planning to take the exam, please BUY the Official ISC2 book. It is OFFICIAL, straight to the point, and written by an instructor who wants you to pass and learn the real deal...
Check out this linkL

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/084931707X/qid=1114494943/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/102-7942902-3864915?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Best Wishes.. ... Read more

Isbn: 0072193530
Sales Rank: 227881
Subjects:  1. Certification    2. Certification Guides - General    3. Computer Bks - Certification    4. Computer Books And Software    5. Computer Data Security    6. Computer security    7. Computers    8. Examinations    9. Security    10. Study guides    11. Telecommunications engineers   

Cisco Secure Internet Security Solutions
by Andrew Mason, Mark J. Newcomb
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (30 May, 2001)
list price: $55.00 -- our price: $47.28
(price subject to change: see help)
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Editorial Review

If this book were a person, it would be a career bureaucrat. It provides the data you need efficiently enough, but it doesn't go into any details you won't find on spec sheets, is fairly dry reading, and doesn't really seem to know what it wants to be.

Cisco Secure Internet Security Solutions is straight from Cisco's course sheets, and it starts off fairly strong. It goes over the basic Internet attacks and explains DoS, SYN floods, SNMP problems, and other typical hacker attacks in clear language that's aimed at the mid-level Cisco professional. It doesn't go into reams of novice-level detail, but rather gives concise summaries. It then covers some of the solutions Cisco has created for the standard array of l33t probes and system invasions. And, in a very nice feature, it actually provides a set of simple global commands that it suggests should be configured on all Cisco products (like denying access from reserved IP addresses), and then explains what each step does and why you should do it, line by line. The next few chapters go into some detail about the Cisco secure product family, discussing PIX Firewalls and Cisco Secure Policy Manager and what you'd use them for. So far, so good.

Later, a couple of long tutorials on configuring the Cisco Secure Scanner and the Secure Policy Manager are filled with helpful screen shots and a fair amount of explanation. But the software is complex, and the book offers no demo or sample software to experiment with. If you aren't able to get your hands on a copy, you might as well resign yourself to reading this section numerous times until you get it. And even then, it still concentrates mostly on how to use the software as opposed to how it works or where it can be used properly, which may or may not be what you're looking for. Fortunately, the book ends well, giving examples of common Internet security threats and suggested solutions.

The writing is dry and filled with numerous charts, but that's pretty typical for Cisco Press books, which aren't known for their dazzling style. If you've read other Cisco books and enjoyed them, or if you don't require a lot of handholding or silly in-jokes, the book will serve you adequately.

The book has two major flaws, however: The first is that in the end it's still mostly regurgitated Cisco documentation, and it doesn't seem to offer a whole lot of real-world experience for the reader to use. In the case of subject matter that's as constantly changing and critical as security, it would have been nice to have a couple of real-world examples of substandard systems to troubleshoot and perhaps show the reader what a hacker would look for when breaking into a network. Admittedly, the book is on Cisco Internet security solutions, not how to keep kids out of your system, but a certain level of teaching would have been nice--and would have shown how Cisco is poised help you in a much better light.

The second is that in the end, this book is little more than an overview of what Cisco can do for you, sans an overview of the competition or the areas that may have no competition. It doesn't really compare products that may do some of the same things, doesn't contrast Cisco's firewalls with other firewall products to give the reader an idea of the features, and in short provides only Cisco solutions to security without showing how other solutions may fail. For a book that really tries to help you understand security issues, discussing only the Cisco view leads to a strange mix of tutorial and blatant shilling, which goes into real depth in some parts and then stalls in others. It gets the job done if you want to know about Cisco security products and approaches, and it does it well. It even is a not-bad introduction to security issues. But ultimately, it's neither fish nor fowl. --William Steinmetz ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Only Cisco Press Book I Ever Returned for a Refund!
This is without a doubt, the biggest waste of time of any Cisco Press book I ever purchased.I was VERY excited about the coverage this book promised for poorly documented topics such as Cisco Secure Policy Manager.

What a bitter disappointment.This book is as wide as the horizon and as deep as a backyard puddle.

I wish I could give this title a negative number, but I'm forced to be polite and post a "1".

I can't believe any self-respecting CCIE would attach his/her name to such a fluffy, insubstantial work of garbage.

Save your money and buy one of the specific security titles:...

A get to the point, Tell me how to do it, book.
This book goes hand-in-hand with the MCNS coursebook.Where the MCNS book is Wordy, this book gets right to the point and tells you how to use Cisco Secure Policy Manager and Cisco Firewalls.However, This isn't the book for you if you need to have everything explained to you in great detail.MCNS is the book for that.

This book is well written and keeps your interest.(Something that is hard to come by in the networking field of books.)

Kudo's to Andrew Mason, and Mark Newcomb for an excellent book.

Good, but not in-depth overview of cisco network security
I can hardly believe that this book was written by CCIEs as it contains a lot of errors. What do you think about "service ROUTER-encryption" command, phrases like "unless you are purposely using SNMP version 1, the "snmp-server community" command must be avoided at all costs (because it enables SNMP ver 1 instead of ver 2)" and so on. A lot of the text was directly borrowed from cisco IOS configuration guides without any modification. And believe me, extended numbered access lists can be edited as well as named ACLs! ... Read more

Isbn: 1587050161
Subjects:  1. Computer Bks - Internet    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Data Security    4. Computer networks    5. Computers    6. Data Transmission Standards And Protocols    7. Internet    8. Internet - General    9. Internet - Security    10. Networking - Internetworking    11. Networking - Network Protocols    12. Security    13. Security measures    14. Computers / Internet / Security   

Cisco Secure Virtual Private Networks
by Andrew G. Mason, Andrew Mason
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (18 December, 2001)
list price: $50.00
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Editorial Review

An increasing number of businesses are cutting costs by eliminating their private data networks in favor of virtual private networks (VPNs), which are much more flexible as well as less costly. Cisco Secure Virtual Private Networks shows how to configure Cisco Systems equipment to provide the required security while remaining invisible to users. Though it's designed for use as the textbook for a Cisco-sanctioned class of the same name, this book is equally suited for use by an engineer studying alone. The author--a CCIE with ISP experience--explains the Cisco product line, examines the products' open and proprietary features, and shows how to plan and implement a VPN configuration on them. Thanks to the inclusion of troubleshooting advice (even though its applicability in a multiple-vendor environment is somewhat limited), this book should hold its value as your VPN evolves.

If you've read a Cisco Press class manual before, you'll find Andrew Mason's format familiar. He describes customer requirements first (using pre-shared keys for security between sites, for example), and then presents a list of tasks to be accomplished in order to satisfy the specifications (configuring Internet Key Exchange--IKE--among others). He subsequently breaks each task into individual steps, each of which is presented with detailed information on the commands to be issued and configuration files to be established. These steps include tables that document commands fully, so readers have reference material that's relevant when their situations differ from the problems Mason solves explicitly. --David Wall

Topics covered: Cisco Systems virtual private network (VPN) solutions, especially the VPN 3000 Concentrator and the PIX firewall family. IPSec gets plenty of coverage, as do public-key infrastructure solutions. This book covers the same ground as the Cisco Secure Virtual Private Networks exam (9EO-570). ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Prep for CSVPN
Hi guys, I have completed this book. Plan to appear for exam soon. Unable to find any free prep questions online. Do you know of any prep site to practice. Also appreciate some tips for this exam. Your early response is awaited. Thanks - Sarah

Just ok
I found this book to be useful for simply learning the commands to troubleshoot and setup a VPN on a PIX firewall. It was basr bones and dry (as are most vender sanctioned books are). It was lacking in detailed and real world examples. It tells you the commands for troubleshooting ipsec or isakmp, but does not really give you a lot of good information on deciphering the output of these commands.
If you simply need to know the commands and how-to of setting up a VPN, then this should work ok.

Note: My review was based of of the PIX sections of the book only.

Another rush job.
I get the sense that this book was published one draft too early. I would be embarassed to have my name as editor stamped on the cover. The book utilizes a Step 1,Step 2, Step 3, etc. structure and this fits the subject matter well.However,IOS router and PIXIPSEC/IKE configurations are similar and in the chapters detailing these subjects the layout in areas takes on a "cut and paste" feel ( Ex: cut pg 108-110, paste pg 186-188 ). In this case it leads to a glaring error. Chapter 7, PIX firewall for CA Site-to-Site, pg 186 "The PIX Firewall supports either preshared keys, RSA encrypted nonces....."
Oops. I'm almost sure the PIX DOESN'T support nonces. It is obvious that this was a cut, paste then edit oversight.

Chapter 4, explaining IOS Router for CA Site-to-Site, starts out with an example of two routers (RouterA, RouterB ) and a CA server but on Step 6 mystery router R1 makes an appearance. At this point the subject matter becomes confusing, examples of output from R1 are shown, is this router really RouterA? I'm not sure if we're using general keys or specialkeys? You flip back and forth through the chapters pages trying to overcome the confusion. Eventually you glean enough, ignoring the inconsistancies and move on.

The screen snap shots in the later chapters are of poor quality ( blurry ).

So, buyer beware. There are other errors but these annoyed me the most.

Presumably you would consider buying this book to help you pass the CSVPN test as I did. A good part of this material is available on CCO but it is fragmented among many separate documents. The one redeaming quality of this book is that it condenses that material into a portable, organized book form and , like or dislike, leaves out material that is not likely to be on the test. ... Read more

Isbn: 1587050331
Subjects:  1. Computer Bks - Communications / Networking    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Data Security    4. Computers    5. Data Transmission Standards And Protocols    6. Extranets (Computer networks)    7. Networking - General    8. Networking - Network Protocols    9. Security   

Managing Cisco Network Security
by Mike Wenstrom
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (15 January, 2001)
list price: $60.00
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Reviews (12)

Must-have for Cisco Security
As I am currently working on my Cisco Security Specialization (CSS) I have read all books related to CSS. Out of the four books this is definately one of the most valuable references when it comes to Cisco network security. This book is well-structured, referencing all the potential threats and countermeasures that exist to network security. I really praise the author for his clear explaination ofIPSec and PIX concepts. For those seeking to pass the MCNS 2.0 exam, this is a great reference and study guide. All necessary topics are covered, except the Cisco VPN Client, which has been added to the MCNS exam during version 2.0. Overall, a great book by a great author, a definite must-have for the future CSS1, CCIP/CCIE security specialists.

Good Book but mistakes make it a difficult read
This book has good coverage of all cisco security technologies. PIXes are there with intense detail but no config examples with access-lists at all. All examples use conduit and static. I wont blame it as this book is published in Jan 2001 and pix access-lists became famous around the beginning of this year. The biggest problem is config mistakes, i wasted hours to figure them out and finally decided that they r definitely wrong. So read it but watch out for mistakes. 3 stars becoz of this

I like!
Cisco Press is funny because some of their books series are error-few and others are error-some. I really liked the content of this book though. I reference it for specific subjects as much or more than any other good book I own. I wish that it would give better descriptions of more detail on some key commands and not just the cut and paste of the command in the description field. Other than that there is a broad range of decent security info. ... Read more

Isbn: 1578701031
Sales Rank: 335038
Subjects:  1. Certification Guides - Cisco    2. Cisco Systems, Inc    3. Computer Bks - Certification    4. Computer Books: General    5. Computer networks    6. Computers    7. Data Transmission Standards And Protocols    8. Management    9. Networking - General    10. Networking - Network Protocols    11. Security    12. Security measures   

Cisco Router Performance Field Guide
by Gil Held
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (27 April, 2000)
list price: $29.00
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Editorial Review

If the router's not happy, nobody's happy. The Cisco RouterPerformance Field Guide describes a series of strategies for determiningwhether a given Cisco Systems router is doing what it's supposed to do and doingit at peak efficiency. It also includes a lot of information on adjustingconfiguration files to correct problems and improve performance. Author Gil Heldis a respected expert on Cisco products, and he upholds his reputation here.Network administrators who have their routing gear in place and are inoptimization and troubleshooting mode will like what they find here.

This book is heavy on prose, packing lots of facts and concepts into eachparagraph. For this reason, it isn't a book for the novice, and even someveterans might take some time in deciphering what Held has written in certainplaces. As aids to the practically minded, this book includes a fair number ofcommand-and-response listings, as well as listings of configuration files. Theillustrations are the main shortcoming of this book. Clearly, some editordecided that illustrations were necessary for their own sake, and includedpointless screen shots of console windows and file listings in an otherwiseexcellent book. There aren't too many of these, however, and Held's excellentexplanations and documentation shine through. --David Wall

Topics covered: Troubleshooting, optimizing, and gauging performance onCisco routers, particularly those of the 4000 series and 7000 family. Emphasisgoes to gauging usage of LAN and WAN link capacity, as well as usage of hardwareresources, such as memory and processor capacity. Also, the author documentsvarious Cisco and Microsoft Windows NT diagnostic utilities, such as trace andtracert. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Gave me a key insight to monitoring router performance
I looked through a dozen Cisco books trying to obtain an insight into tuning my organuzations router. Unfortunately, most book do not cover this topic to any extent, with the exception of this book that I stumbled upon. I found this book refreshing, as the author shows some examples that are both practical and illustrate his use of routers. Some of the other books I bought make you wounder if the author ever used a router. Even the price of this book was outstanding. The only real regret I have is I wasted $55 $70 a book for junk when I should have bought this one first for $29.95. Dumb, Dumb, Dumb me!

Its saved me hours searching Cico's Web site
This book places all the important metrics concerning Cisco router performance in one easy to read reference. It is well worth the $29.95 price when other books selling for double the price only peripherally cover performance.

Nothing serius about Cisco's performance
Quick reference with informationthat can be found inside Cisco's publicweb site. (CCO) More than 30 pages wasted with the Mib-II and Cisco's private mib extension that are also public domain. If you're really looking for Router's performance analysis and troubleshooting tips do not buy this book. ... Read more

Isbn: 0072125136
Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Integrated Systems    2. Computers    3. Data Transmission Standards And Protocols    4. General    5. Networking - General    6. Networking - Network Protocols    7. Networking - Routers    8. Reference   

The Art of Information Warfare: Insight into the Knowledge Warrior Philosophy
by Richard Forno, Ronald Baklarz
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (15 February, 1999)
list price: $19.95 -- our price: $19.95
(price subject to change: see help)
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Reviews (14)

Breaking the code for information warfare
This valuable text contains common sense, insightful, and vitally important concepts to simplify the understanding of this complicated subject.A great companion for the professional

Good straight to the point book
The Art of Information Warfare does not tell you everything you need to know about infosec, but enough to get you started on the road.

Good things come in small packages, like this book.

not the best, but not too bad, either
These guys tried to mix a lot of information about security into a simplified guide. While some of the material seems academic and beyond the scope of computer security, it still gives good food for thought.

That being said, the book provides useful guidance in an easy-to-read (and remember!) format, and makes it easy to understand the basics of security for our companies. The book's probably best-suited for small-to-midsize firms like mine, and I learned some new things from it.

The resources section in Part 2 were particularly helpful, if not a bit dated now in 2003 compared to 1999 when it was published. ... Read more

Isbn: 1581128576
Sales Rank: 144097
Subjects:  1. Computer Bks - Communications / Networking    2. Military Science    3. Networking - General    4. Security    5. Information Security   

SANS GIAC Certification: Security Essentials Toolkit (GSEC)
by Eric Cole, Mathew Newfield, John M. Millican, Stephen Northcutt, Matthew Newfield
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (18 March, 2002)
list price: $49.99 -- our price: $34.02
(price subject to change: see help)
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Editorial Review

The best way to develop a working knowledge of anything is to actually work with it--see it work, see it fail, and see what happens when variables are adjusted. Under the guise of an exam-preparation aid, SANS GIAC Certification: Security Essentials Toolkit guides its readers through a series of carefully designed experiments that collectively illustrate how attackers go about breaking into (or just plain breaking) their targets. The authors assume little background knowledge on the reader's part and take care to show you what you need to do in order to see the effects they're trying to demonstrate. This is, above all, a laboratory manual, and the authors deserve kudos for their effort to ensure that you can reproduce their results. A highly graphical design and wide, lay-flat binding make this book all the more useful as a hands-on companion.

The authors' dedication to standardization is evident from the first exercise (this book consists almost entirely of exercises), in which they show how to build a dual-boot system with both Linux and Windows 2000 installed. The idea is that you can build this system once, make an image of it, and then be able to repeatedly break and rebuild your system without wasting time. Subsequent exercises deal with different types of attacks and the defenses that are effective against each. Each exercise has an explicitly illustrated procedure--usually illustrating a successful attack and a failed one (i.e., one that was defended against). You learn not only to install defensive software and trust it, but also to recognize evidence of attacks in log files and in behavioral symptoms. More security books--and technical books in general--should be like this one. --David Wall

Topics covered: The kinds of attacks--against Windows 2000 and Linux systems--that are covered on the SANS Institute's Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC) exam, as well as the software tools and configuration strategies that you can use to protect your systems against them. The authors cover many attacks--including Trojans, host spoofs, and others--and many defensive weapons (like firewalls and intrusion detection systems). ... Read more

Reviews (8)

good book, but not always accurate
If you don't have any security background then this book is a good place to start.Be ready, however, for most of the links to be out of date (the book was published in 2002).This can be circumvented by a little help from Google to find the utilities you need for the exercises.There are also a few inaccuracies in the syntax provided.These can be resolved with help from "man" (i.e. 'man ipchains') or the help for the particular utility.

Great hands on book
I really liked this book. I liked how it did not just inform you about these tools but actually had you use them to gain understanding. Any good systems/network admin should be familier with the tools in this book. Both UNIX and Windows admins will gain great experiance and understanding of their systems weaknesses.
I have read many books on "hacking" and security and this one is the only one that actually has you use these tools.
It is setup in a very easy to follow and understand format. This book isa must for EVERY Admin, not just for preparing you for a test. Even if you never take a security exam, this book will give you great intro and experience with the use of the tools described.

No time spent proofreading this book
This book presents some welcome hands on exercises to learn about security.However, it is very clear that at no time did anyone sit down with the book and actually try out the exercises before the book was published.The result is that many of the exercises simply do not work as written and much time is spent simply troubleshooting the steps.

Apart from the poor quality control of this book, it lacks good solid explanations to accompany most of them.Like many such exercise-oriented book the minimal level of explanations leaves one feeling that they are merely following a recipe in a cookbook.

In summary, while the book offers something that is missing in the marketplace, it seems that is was rushed into print with little quality control.Unfortunately there are no errata sheets available from the publisher. ... Read more

Isbn: 0789727749
Subjects:  1. Certification    2. Certification Guides - General    3. Computer Bks - Certification    4. Computer Data Security    5. Computer security    6. Computers    7. Data Processing - General    8. Electronic Data Processing    9. Electronic data processing per    10. Electronic data processing personnel    11. Examinations    12. Networking - General    13. Security    14. Study guides    15. Test Prep    16. Computers / Technical Skills   

Hack Attacks Revealed: A Complete Reference for UNIX, Windows, and Linux with Custom Security Toolkit, Second Edition
by JohnChirillo
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (21 August, 2002)
list price: $60.00 -- our price: $39.60
(price subject to change: see help)
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Reviews (13)

Expert Knowledge On Hacking Techniques
John Chirillo has made a career of hacking. As a hacking consultant to Fortune 1000 companies part of his job is to break in to corporate networks to expose their holes and help his clients secure their networks. In Hack Attacks Revealed, he shares his knowledge of how hackers gain the information necessary to break into your systems.

The book begins with a basic history and understanding of computer and networking technology. Mr. Chirillo covers the the protocols used and the purpose of the various ports used. The book also provides information on the scanning and network discovery tools used by hackers.

Tony Bradley is a consultant and writer with a focus on network security, antivirus and incident response. He is the About.com Guide for Internet / Network Security (http://netsecurity.about.com), providing a broad range of information security tips, advice, reviews and information. Tony also contributes frequently to other industry publications. For a complete list of his freelance contributions you can visit Essential Computer Security (http://www.tonybradley.com).

Author does not understand his subject
This book has done nothing to dispell my theory that the information
content of a book is often inversely proportional to the number of pages
in the book.I'm 200 pages into it and that's as far as I'm
going to get.I expected some basic filler/theory in the first few
pages, but plowed on in the hopes that the author understood
the theory he was presenting and would use it later to explain security
exploits.However, I lost all confidence in the book when
I reached page 167, where the author demonstrates that he doesn't
understand ping and/or DNS.I don't bring this up to nitpick.I bring it up
because I think that anybody with pretensions to
being a security expert had better know the basics of how the
Internet works.How is anybody to make sense of, say, DNS spoofing,
without knowing how DNS works?

In case it's not obvious, the author confuses and muddles together
the actions of resolving a DNS domain name to an IP
address, and then using that IP address to send an ICMP echo
request to the destination.This may seem like a minor thing,
but its not just a typo (he makes the same mistake in three
different places on page 167), and security is a confusing
enough business without muddled descriptions like these.

On a more minor note, I do not see the point in filling page
after page with pretty pictures of the GUIs that hackers use
at their end.The publishers probably know better than I do
what sells today, but I don't understand why they and/or the
authors apparently feel that the thicker a book is, the better.

Reluctant law abider
I was relieved to read that this isn't considered a very useful reference on How to Hack.Certainly Ch. seems at his most enthusiastic, frothiest, even foamiest, in talking about the wonderful world of hacking.Yeah, he repeatedly trots out the line about having to know how to attack to know how to defend, time after time, but ya' gotta' wonder where his heart lies (Okay, even Milton had this problem.)

And that certainly is irksome if you, like me, are one of the growing number of people who have reluctantly become 'security amateurs,' and find ourselves reading 900+ page books, due to invasion of our privacy by amateur criminals. Whatever its merits for security professionals, this is probably not the book for you.It assumes too much technical background and doesn't provide sufficient detail on implementing various solutions.True, this may be covered in more detail in his other book, but including that we're talking 1800 pages...

Editing would have helped, certainly.The 75 basic hack attacks are a useful overview on just how paranoid you should be, but the basic information about some of them is repeated up to 4 times, sometimes as boilerplate.

I have seen a few books more suitable for amateurs, but the truth is that they aren't detailed enough to be helpful.I think that the only real solution to the security problem in the IT industry is to wake up to the fact that caveat emptor, 'professional ethics,' and self-regulation isn't working any better there than in health and safety, restaurant sanitation, the stock market or...well, you work it out. As long as it is only sort of illegal to break into someone's house as long as you use a computer, most geeks will do it.

The ISPs aren't taking this seriously because they know people aren't much more likely to stop using e-mail than to stop using the phone, and most companiues were only kidding when they said they were interested in your problems.

Once there are some laws with real teeth and real fines and real jail time, those who aspire to the appearance of respectability will go back to their regularly scheduled activities including tale bearing, beating the old lady, bothering the women (men) at work just enough to stay on the right side of the law, bitching about how the old lady (old man) doesn't want to screw, kicking the dog, pulling the wings off flies, and complaining how much better everything was in the good old days.




... Read more

Isbn: 0471232823
Sales Rank: 122277
Subjects:  1. Computer Bks - General Information    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Crime    4. Computer hackers    5. Computer networks    6. Computer security    7. Computers    8. Networking - General    9. Security    10. Security measures    11. Computer fraud & hacking    12. Computers / Security    13. Network security   

CCNP Switching Study Guide (Exam 640-504 with CD-ROM)
by Todd Lammle, Kevin Hales, Inc Cisco Systems, Todd Lammine
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (13 October, 2000)
list price: $49.99 -- our price: $49.99
(price subject to change: see help)
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Reviews (35)

Yes It Does Cover HSRP!
Try reading pages 313 to 321 and you will find coverage of HSRP.Good god and these people want to be CCNP's? I give up!

Wondering which to buy for your 640-604, Cisco or Sybex?
I passed 640-604 Exam only studying with this book with the score of almost 900.

I also bought the Cisco Press's book for the same subject, but could not even go through it to the end once, because, it just made me very sleepy after few minutes every time I tried although I believe this is a great study book.

On the other hand, this Sybex book was very fun to read, covering the exam well.Even for those who do not have Engish as a native language like myself, can easily read this book, take the exam in English and can pass it.

The only bad point is, like the other reviewer pointed out, this book does not cover HSRP, which was still questioned as of May 2003.I would recommend that you buy the Cisco's book too and take a look at only that section to get a quick knowledge of HSRP, then you are good to go!

HSRP on the test
Outstanding book. Provides everything you need to know to pass the test, except for HSRP. I realized that this was not in the book when I went to take the test. It was a good thing that there were only a few questions on HSRP. Maybe I guessed right, but I did pass the test and that is all that matters. ... Read more

Isbn: 0782127118
Sales Rank: 477234
Subjects:  1. Certification    2. Certification - Cisco    3. Certification Guides - Cisco    4. Cisco Systems, Inc    5. Computer Bks - Certification    6. Computer Books: Operating Systems    7. Computers    8. Data Transmission Standards And Protocols    9. Examinations    10. Networking - General    11. Networking - Network Protocols    12. Study guides    13. Switching systems    14. Telecommunication    15. Telecommunications engineers   

Know Your Enemy: Revealing the Security Tools, Tactics, and Motives of the Blackhat Community
by The Honeynet Project, The Honeynet Project
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (31 August, 2001)
list price: $39.99 -- our price: $26.39
(price subject to change: see help)
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Reviews (25)

Great book
I fell in love with honeypots because of this book. They cover everything from beginner to expert. They tell you all you need to know to start your own honeynet. Well done.

Fills a unique niche...
Most of the time, your only close-up view of a computer attack is trying to sort out how someone compromised your production system.But there is a way to get hands-on experience with attack analysis, and Know Your Enemy - Learning About Security Threats by The Honeynet Project (Addison-Wesley) shows you how.

The chapter breakout:The Beginning; Honeypots; Honeynets; Gen1 Honeynets; Gen2 Honeynets; Virtual Honeynets; Distributed Honeynets; Legal Issues; The Digital Crime Scene; Network Forensics; Computer Forensics Basics; UNIX Computer Forensics; Windows Computer Forensics; Reverse Engineering; Centralized Data Collection and Analysis; Profiling; Attacks and Exploits: Lessons Learned; Windows 2000 Compromise and Analysis; Linux Compromise; Example of Solaris Compromise; The Future; IPTables Firewall Script; Snort Configuration; Swatch Configuration; Network Configuration Summary; Honeywall Kernel Configuration; Gen2 rc.firewall Configuration; Resources and References; About The Authors; Index

If you're not familiar with the concept, a honeypot is a computer set up to gain the attention of network intruders.The concept is that the intruder will spend time with that box and leave the rest of the network alone.A honeynet is the same thing but only at a network level.The authors of this book are experts at setting up these kind of systems in order to see how attackers work and discover new exploits before they are used against actual production systems.They take you through all the different parts of the process; how to set up a honeypot/honeynet, how to analyze an attack, what legal considerations have to be kept in mind, and examples of exploits that actually were recorded and analyzed.

While there are plenty of books that talk about computer security, there are few that show you how to take the offensive and learn first-hand how to analyze and understand real-life attacks.This is a unique offering that will have high appeal for the security professional looking for in-depth understanding of the attacker mindset.

Very good book!
One of most exciting areas to emerge in information security has been in the area of honeynets.These are networks designed to be compromised and capture all of the tools and activity of attackers
The Honeynet Project is a volunteer organization dedicated to researching and learning cyber-threats, and sharing our lessons learned.The project is made up of 30 security professionals around the world. They learn about cyber-threats by deploying networks around the world to be compromised.Once compromised, they capture all of the attacker's tools and activity, analyze, and learn from that.The value to this research is there is very little theory involved, they are capturing and seeing what is happening in the Internet today.
Very neat!

A honeynet is the primary tool used to capture attacker's activity.It is a type of honeypot, specifically a high-interaction honeypot. As a honeypot, honeynets work on the concept that they should not see any activity, no one has authorization to interact with them.As a result, any inbound or outbound connections to the honeynet is most likely unauthorized activity.This simple concept makes it highly effective in detecting and capturing both known and unknown activity.Honeynets work as a highly controlled network made up of real systems and applications for attackers to probe and compromise.

The book is about honeynets, how to use them, and what you can learn. The book is broken into three parts.The first part is focused on what honeynets are, how they work, the different types, and technical details on how you can deploy them safely.The second part focuses on how to analyze all the different data a honeynet can collect (network and host based forensics, reverse engineering, centralized data correlation, etc).The third part is specific examples of several honeynets being hacked, including Win2000, Linux, and Solaris.What makes the book so interesting is it ties all these different elements together.You can learn more at http://www.honeynet.org/book/

The book was not written by a single individual, but by leading experts in their field. They attempted to combine the best experiences and skills from some of the leading individuals. The book was organized by the Honeynet Project, but the contributing authors include members of the Honeynet Research Alliance, individuals from the Department of Justice, and others who have helped us in the past and wanted to contribute.Some examples of authors include Honeynet Project members Brian Carrier who wrote several chapters and Max Kilger who wrote about profiling. Honeynet Research Alliance members include the work of the Greek Honeynet Project writing about hacked Linux systems, and the Mexican Honeynet Project writing about hacked Solaris systems.They also had outside experts help out, including Richard Salgado of the DoJ author about legal issues, and Dion Mendel from Australia write about Reverse Engineering.

-- To defend against your threats, you have to first know who your enemy is -- I recommend this book! ... Read more

Isbn: 0201746131
Sales Rank: 239143
Subjects:  1. Computer Bks - Communications / Networking    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer networks    4. Computer security    5. Computers    6. Internet - Security    7. Networking - General    8. Security    9. Security measures    10. Computers / Internet / Security   

Firewalls: The Complete Reference
by Keith Strassberg, Gary Rollie, Richard Gondek
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (28 May, 2002)
list price: $59.99 -- our price: $59.99
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Reviews (5)

Excellent Overview of Firewalls
One for the IT Depts shelf and multiple copies please as it will be sure to vanish.Excellent disection of Firewalls in general with many good working examples.Needs updating to take account of new products but many found in here are still the mainstay of companies day in and out today.Recommended 5 Stars.

Awsome
This book is awsome. I use at work and in Internet Security Cert Class (160 Hrs). I has enough info to cover all aspects of Firewall Admin & Implementation. I highly recommend this book!

An IT department's dream
This reference manual provides a clear and easy to use comprehensive guide to the various products on the market, and the advantages of each with respect to the platforms on which we operate our systems.Since heading up my company's IT department I have been looking for a resource like this to answer all of my questions regarding the installation and structure of firewalls. ... Read more

Isbn: 0072195673
Sales Rank: 333551
Subjects:  1. Computer Bks - Communications / Networking    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computers    4. Cryptography/Access Control    5. Networking - General    6. Security    7. Telecommunications