I recently received a copy of Black Hat: Misfits, Criminals, and Scammers in the Internet Age by John Biggs from Apress. While the information technology professional might not learn anything new from this book, it will serve as a readable resource to help typical computer users to understand the threat to their well-being when they surf the internet.
The chapter selection is as follows: Black Hats: Things That Go Ping In The Night; Y.O.U MAYHAVE ALREDY 1!: SPAM; Deep Cover: Spyware; Shockwave: Worms and Viruses; Dear Friend: Scams; Upload Or Perish: Pirates; Break In: Hacking; Don't Get Burned: White Hats; Glossary; Selected Reading; Index
Biggs has written a relatively short (158 pages) book that deals with most of the major security risks an average user will face on a regular basis on the internet. For example, the chapter on spam starts off with a real-life scenario involving Alan Ralsky, a well-known spammer. You're then taken back to the early days of the 'net when the first generally recognized piece of spam made its appearance in UseNet. The growth of unsolicted mail is tracked to current day levels, as well as the reasons why spammers do what they do. He even takes a typical piece of spam mail and dissects the headers to show the reader how all is not as it seems in terms of where it came from and how it got to you. The current solutions, along with the pros and cons of each are discussed, in addition to where spam seems to be headed in the future. All this is done in a narrative fashion that stays at a level that is understandable to the average "Joe Computer User".
The chapter on scams is also very valuable for helping people avoid getting fleeced. A lot of space is given to the Nigerian 419 scam, where you are asked to help someone transfer money out of their country into your bank account for a cut of the millions. I keep thinking no one would fall for this, but it still keeps sucking people in. Biggs also explains phishing scams, where users end up at web sites which are clever imitations of real sites. The person enters financial or personal information, and then finds themselves the victim of credit or identity fraud. This is definitely a scam on the upswing, and can catch people at all levels of internet expertise.
I personally enjoyed reading it, knowing that there were a number of people I would recommend it to. Like my kids or my parents. :-) If you're not an IT professional but you are an internet user, this book will help you to understand and avoid some very real dangers out there.
