Customer Reviews

Building Linux and OpenBSD Firewalls

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I found this book very helpful and was able to set up a working OpenBSD firewall using it. I did have to consult the OpenBSD FAQs and other material on the Web, however.

The only quibble I have with this book is its presumed target audience. The intro says "Knowledge of Unix is not assumed," but I would recommend that you not even consider starting a firewall building project unless you have good knowledge of UNIX, networking, and basic system administration. If you're picking up this book with that background, though, you will find it a very detailed and helpful guide to setting up your firewall.

By the way, the book is geared towards OpenBSD 2.5 but the website has a lot of good updated information on the latest release, 2.7. Plus it has a bunch more examples beyond what is in the book.

This book starts off discussing why we need firewalls, along with a good recap on how TCP/IP works. (Even showing how Ping of Death, and TearDrop work!) The real meat doesn't start until Chapters 6 & 7, installing/configuring Linux, and Chapters 8 & 9 installing/configuring OpenBSD. Chapter 10 discusses tuning the firewall, showing BOTH Linux and OpenBSD setups, which is a nice touch.

Pros: a) Theory _AND_ Implementation in the same book! b) NOT a dry read. Just the right mix of a little humor. c) Covers both Linux and BSD, nice if you want to switch or are interested in seeing how the "other" OS does things.

Cons: a) A little superfluous at times, the information probably could be condensed a little. b) For Linux, David Ranch's online "Trinity OS" security guide is more resourceful. "Linux Firewalls" by Robert L. Ziegler continues where this book leaves off. I would love to see a "BSD Firewalls" which continues in the same tradition.

Summary: "Building Firewalls for dummies" would sum up this book quite well. A GREAT intro for step-by-step firewall setup.

A very good introduction to OpenBSD and Linux security issues. Assumes very little knowledge, so newbies will learn much, but not at the expense of more complex topics. Authors, IMHO, view OpenBSD as the platform of choice for running your firewall, but also give you a top to bottom installation/configuration guide for Linux as well. Funny asides and conversational tone make this book an easy read, for the most part, and much more readable than many other computer books I've read.

As an funny and well-written introduction to firewalls and why they are necessary, as well as a paen to OpenBSD, this book is excellent. As a guide to building one's own using OpenBSD, there are better methods and more up to date instructions on the web. The book's companion website is a mess and has been under construction for months.

Two things are particularly out of date. First, it seems that more effective OpenBSD firewalls are configured as "bridges." This configuration is not mentioned in the book. Second, the book discusses a version of OpenBSD that is several generations old, one that was apparently arranged differently on the distribution CD. Moreover, the key piece of OpenBSD for constructing a firewall, according to instructions in the book, ipf, is apparently going to be removed from future distributions because of licensing problems. (I believe it has already been removed from the lastest OpenBSD distributions on the OpenBSD website but may remain on the 2.9 distribution CD.) Figuring out how to install and configure the latest version of ipfilter will send you on one of those time-consuming webquests. There's no help in the book,

If the website were functional and updated the book, the book's other content (primarily background but useful background), might make this book worthwhile. As things stand now, it is better avoided. (Try a Yahoo! search instead.)

I found the book very informative and easy to understand. They actually wrote it to teach rather than blow their own technical horn.

This book is Gold for any security professional and network administrators (even with a poor background on the subject). It is written in a *very* practical/easy-to-stroll-thru fashion and with a nice & funny style.

It also brings to the attention of the public an amazing OS (thx Theo!): OpenBSD and shows you how to install it from scratch & configure IPFilter, the firewall piece that comes with OpenBSD. The Linux part is also very interesting. There is also a companion Website that contains updates and tons of useful info/scripts ...

If you are onto some serious security stuff, buy an OpenBSD CD and get the book. Otherwise stick with Linux and get the book anyways.

Geared towards the first time Linux user, this book covers all aspects of setting up a Linux firewall. This is the book to get if you just got a broadband connection and are thinking about using that old Pentium or 486 as a firewall, and have not put Linux on a machine before. At this writing (03/2000) the companion website is not up, so you will have to follow up with Ziegler's book (5 stars, but geared towards a more knowledgeable user) to tighten things down.

A really good book and also a fun read (nothing dry and boring about this one). If you've had any formal education if computer science, it's likely you'll know a lot of what's in the first 2 or 3 chapters... but there also might be some material you don't know.I did think, however, that the authors could've toned down the windoze bashing a little. I don't necessarily like windows but I do think that it's probably the _right_ os for some who might also use linux/bsd for their firewalls if the authors wouldn't bash their desktop os of choice so much.Other than that, and I repeat, it's a very good book and worth reading if you're setting up a firewall for the first time.

This is a great book for people who already know that they want to deploy a free open source firewall solution to secure their network. While somewhat dated (e.g. Linux: ipchains and not iptables, OpenBSD: ipf and not pf), the book gives detailed and comprehensive directions for buidling a firewall platform, deploying a firewall and event sheds some light on the security policy development and maintainance such as securing various network services.

The books covers basic security, continues on to choosing the "right OS" (providing an enlightening discussion on Linux vs OpenBSD) and getting the right hardware for the job, and then dives right into building stuff, complete with commands and "cut-and-paste" firewalls rules.

The last part introduces the reader to the basics of intrusion detection and system monitoring, both valuable parts of any firewall setup.

One of the great features of the book is the author's humorous style. I rolled on the floor laughing about "naked penguins" and "hairy sysadmins".

Overall, get the book if you are planning to build the open source firewall solution or even if you believe that security books can be fun to read.

Anton Chuvakin, Ph.D., GCIA ... is a Senior Security Analyst with a major information security company.

This book is VERY well written. It was one of the very best technical books I have ever read. Some of the info is a little dated, but the topics discussed are GREAT history. I personally get tired of security writers dismissing older exploits as they are still being used today. In addition, the majority of the first half of the book is devoted to security background and explanation of the types of major exploits.
This was the first tech book that I have ever read cover to cover. It was that interesting. The authors had a very conversational style that keeps you hooked and entertained.

I HIGHLY recommend it.