Customer Reviews

Hacker Proof : The Ultimate Guide to Network Security

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

First off, this book does not teach you how to hack. It's really for sysadms and webmasters, so it focuses on how to find and patch holes in a variety of systems/protocols: TCP/IP, Netware, NT, Unix, HTTP, etc.

By now the book is quite out-dated (there's a chapter on S-HTTP!), but the information on TCP/IP, Netware, etc. is still good, and it does a decent job at explaining how to reduce your chance of getting hacked through the use of firewalls and other tools. My main gripe is that everything reads rather like taken out of some other textbooks of computer science. While the book is well organized, the writer is not very good at explaining many details, and there are quite a few glaring errors in almost every chapter.

This book is now out of print; I hope this means a new edition is imminent. I'd love to check out the new edition. For now, if you can find a copy of this book, it's probably worth giving it a quick read.

The data presented is cleanly written, and made available to trained and untrained minds alike. The TCP/IP chapter is equal to or better than any Novel or MSCE Book on the subject. The bringing it all together overview at chapters end is great to summarize with. Try reading this book, then hit the Microsoft Web Site for the latest security bugs they admit to. You will know what they are concerned about from your study of this book. Well done Lars!

I'm no newbie to hacking, but did learn some things from this nice book. The coverage is comprehensive for a book of this genre; just don't look for step-by-step cracking recipes here. It's really most useful for the system administrator who wants to start becoming conscious about network security.

This book is a little outdated by now. But if you are looking for basic information with a decent degree of details, this book may be for you. Find a copy in your local library if you can, and wait for the next edition.

The idea of giving a good in-depth explanation of the underlying technologies (TCP/IP, HTTP, etc.) is a good one, but unfortunately this book doesn't give *good* explanations. When the author gets such simple things as the difference between FTP & HTTP wrong, you have to wonder. When he goes on to describe a man-in-the-middle attack he claims SSL is subject to that it's not, and then gives a completely self-contradictory proposed solution, it's clear this book needed some competent technical reviewers before being published.

While this book isn't bad, there are definetly better references out there. The problem is that this book fails to explain security in detail. Sometimes it does, it has a good explainion on PGP for example and how it works. But as far as nerdy computer details, it sometimes lacks. Almost never does the book explain an actualy working idea such as "common web security holes". It is more like a rewritten version of a webserver explaination or a firewall but doesn't explain where and how such things can be insecure. If you don't understand computer security at all, this is a good place to start, but if you want to learn about nerdy security details, give 'Hacking Exposed' a buy.

This book is a good starting point for covering the different types of ways they can get into your network/system. It's not too deep into the nuts and bolts of securing particular systems but then that would be more for system-specific literature.

This book was an absolute waste of my money. The information in the text is so fundamental as to be useless, and the so-called software on the disk is equally so.

Let me start by saying that I am considered an expert in the security field. I am a CISSP, I've taught Network Security courses, I've published network security computer based training software, and I am the Chief Security Officer for a security company. I read this book as a favor to a colleague who's son is using it as required reading for a college course.

This book is one of the worst books on security I have ever read. It states decent concepts, but the explanations are often entirely inaccurate. One that comes to mind is the statement that firewalls should operate at least at C2 security, but B1 is recommended. Those ratings are government ratings that are no longer used and even when they were, would not be accurate as both ratings require no networking capabilities to be installed. Do yourself a favor and avoid this book. I plan to contact the dean of the school about this book.

Although the information would be a little basic for anyone actively involved in network security it does provide an accessible introduction to the major topics for the new user. There were a few errors scattered about but most were clarified through inspection or a review of other resources mentioned in the text. Although I would not call it the "ultimate" guide, I did find it to be a worthwhile text.

This book does an excellent job of introducing you to the basics, and then covering everything that a Knowledgeable IS Manager needs to know about security. It is very thorough.

I am particularly impressed with Lars' extra effort in supplying MANY Web and Usenet references throughout the book. I believe I would be safe in saying that if security information exists, you will either find it in the book or in a reference that the book gives you.

An excellent book for your reference shelf.