Halting the Hacker: A Practical Guide to Computer Security (2nd Edition) [Paperback]

Donald L. Pipkin (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0130464163 | ISBN-13: 978-0130464163 | Publication Date: September 5, 2002 | Edition: 2

Halting the Hacker: A Practical Guide to Computer Security, Second Edition combines unique insight into the mind of the hacker with practical, step-by-step countermeasures for protecting any HP-UX, Linux, or UNIX system. Fully updated for today's key threats, tools, and solutions, this book shows you how hackers work and the best ways to respond: not just what to do, but why. Through dozens of real-world examples, you'll master the skills and mindset to protect yourself against today's attacks -- and tomorrow's.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Halting the Hacker, A Practical Guide to Computer Security (CD-ROM included) by Donald L. Pipkin, a technical consultant for Hewlett-Packard specializing in security issues.

This well-organized book, packed with information for those responsible for the security of a UNIX system, includes a comprehensive "Information Archive" on security and hacker- related topics and an appendix of printed and online periodicals. It outlines how hacker transform minor oversights into major security breaches, how they cover their tracks while leaving "back doors" into the systems, and how to detect break-ins--and what to do next. -- InterexPress, February 1997, Vol. 17, No. 2

Halting the Hacker lives up to it's billing as a "practical guide." It is a ledger of how to set up and secure a Unix-based network. It details numerous approaches and techniques that hackers use to gain system access, privileges and control of a system. Its key benefit is that it clearly and quickly details numerous countermeasures (both reactive and proactive) that one can take to stop most hackers.

For example, tips on dealing with "doctored logs."

The system manager may be able to tell that the logs have been altered but not be able to tell what information has been altered or removed. If the system's auditing allows for auditing of events to a specific file, you should audit all activities that pertain to log files. If you are using syslog to save the log files to another machine, the connection to that machine should be audited.

The book comes with a CD-ROM library of software tools to detect and eliminate security problems. At under 200 pages, it is readable in a few hours and one can put numerous solutions to immediate use. -- Ben Rothke, Senior Associate with Coopers & Lybrand Consulting, Computer Security ALERT, May 1997, No. 170

A new paperback by a technical security consultant for Hewlett-Packard, Donald L. Pipkin is a straightforward guide to computer security with a glossary and a list of sources of assistance. Halting the Hacker is published by Hewlett-Packard Professional Books, an imprint of Prentice Hall. -- Privacy Journal, March 1997 --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

• Get into the hacker's mind—and outsmart him!
• Fully updated for the latest threats, tools, and countermeasures
• Systematically covers proactive, reactive, and preemptive security measures
• Detailed, step-by-step techniques for protecting HP-UX, Linux, and UNIX systems

"Takes on even more meaning now than the original edition!"

—Denny Georg, CTO, Information Technology, Hewlett-Packard

Secure your systems against today's attacks—and tomorrow's.

Halting the Hacker: A Practical Guide to Computer Security, Second Edition combines unique insight into the mind of the hacker with practical, step-by-step countermeasures for protecting any HP-UX, Linux, or UNIX system.

Top Hewlett-Packard security architect Donald L. Pipkin has updated this global bestseller for today's most critical threats, tools, and responses. Pipkin organizes this book around the processes hackers use to gain access, privileges, and control—showing you exactly how they work and the best ways to respond. Best of all, Pipkin doesn't just tell you what to do, but why. Using dozens of new examples, he gives you the skills and mindset to protect yourself against any current exploit—and attacks that haven't even been imagined yet.

• How hackers select targets, identify systems, gather information, gain access, acquire privileges, and avoid detection
• How multiple subsystems can be used in harmony to attack your computers and networks
• Specific steps you can take immediately to improve the security of any HP-UX, Linux, or UNIX system
• How to build a secure UNIX system from scratch—with specifics for HP-UX and Red Hat Linux
• Systematic proactive, reactive, and preemptive security measures
• Security testing, ongoing monitoring, incident response, and recovery—in depth
• Legal recourse: What laws are being broken, what you need to prosecute, and how to overcome the obstacles to successful prosecution

About the CD-ROM

The accompanying CD-ROM contains an extensive library of HP-UX and Linux software tools for detecting and eliminating security problems and a comprehensive information archive on security-related topics.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 2 edition (September 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130464163
• ISBN-13: 978-0130464163
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #934,803 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Starting Overview, February 1, 2003

By 

Anthony Lawrence "Unix, Linux and Mac OS X" (Middleboro, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Halting the Hacker: A Practical Guide to Computer Security (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

This isn't a heavily technical book. Unlike many of the other security books I've reviewed, this isn't full of tcpdump traces and the like. It is, however, a really excellent overview of security that can introduce a system administrator or a general manager to the subject.

There are actually a very few pages that deal with things like disabling unused services, but that's just 14 pages from a 337 page work, and those are really more illustrative than specific. Instead, this covers the who, the how and the why of hackers, the legal climate, and includes examples of actual incidents.

Perhaps a good indication of the target audience is the Glossary, which includes definitions for "back door", "client/server", "Kerberos", "newsgroup" and "Trojan horse".

If you are looking for programmer level information, this isn't what you want. On the other hand, this is much more technical and focused than something you might read in Newsweek or your Sunday newspaper.

Recommended for business owners and managers who need to understand computer security even though others may actually implement it, or as a base introduction for technical people with no previous exposure.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hooray for "Halting", August 16, 2004

By 

R. Enos (Colorado Springs, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Halting the Hacker: A Practical Guide to Computer Security (Bk/CD-ROM) (Paperback)

This review is a collaborative writing project completed by the students in a "Technology and Ethics" class at DeVry University in beautiful Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is based on a quick look at the book under consideration.

This book has several virtues. It provides a simple step-by-step process to keep hackers out. It also provides supportive links where you can download software to protect your hardware as well as business information. The simple wording allows you to concentrate on your work while helping you protect what you are working on.

Although this book is outdated, it would still be helpful in setting up a security policy. The illustrations in this book would not be suitable for some business environments; however they would be useful for the individual computer user.

I would recommend this book to beginners in the computer technology field. This book comes with a useful CD-ROM that contains software and added resources.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars So-so, April 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Halting the Hacker: A Practical Guide to Computer Security (Bk/CD-ROM) (Paperback)

I got this book to become more familiar with network security. It goes over some good topics and really helps you to understand the "secure your system" concept. However, this book is a basic overview for the network manager and I would suggest that you find some other book to go with if you wanna buy it..