Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Invaluable Information For Windows Administrators, January 29, 2005
This review is from: Hardening Windows Systems (Paperback)
A trip to the local book store will quickly show you that there is no shortage of books on the subject of network security. In fact, Roberta Bragg, the author of Hardening Windows Systems, has written some of the other contributions to this genre as well. So, why another one?
Osborne / McGraw-Hill publishing, publishers of the Hacking Exposed series, introduced the Hardening Series of books, to add a fresh perspective and approach to network security books. Rather than simply regurgitating the same theoretical material and security best practice details, these books provide more nitty-gritty, action-oriented information.
In the first chapter, Bragg provides a list of ten things you should do immediately to secure your Windows systems. This helps get you very quickly from cracking the cover to getting actionable information you can implement now.
Working in I.T. though, I think that the last section is possibly more valuable than the information about securing the system. Getting budget approval, management support and user cooperation are all essential to securing the network and this information is invaluable.
I like the structure and approach of this book and recommend it for anyone supporting a Windows-based network.
(...)
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What I expected from a hardening book -- actionable details, July 24, 2004
This review is from: Hardening Windows Systems (Paperback)
Roberta Bragg's _Hardening Windows Systems_ (HWS) is exactly the sort of book I expected from McGraw-Hill/Osborne's new 'Hardening' series. The publisher gained fame through its assessment-oriented 'Hacking Exposed' series, and now it advocates preventing intrusions via configuration instead of assessment. (Those familiar with my Network Security Monitoring theories will remember I believe 'prevention eventually fails,' but I still recommend doing everything possible to make the intruder's task difficult!) HWS is a Windows security tour-de-force, and I intend to recommend it often.
I am blessed by not having to support Windows workstations or servers (other than my family's systems) because I run various UNIX variants at home and at work. If you're stuck defending Windows, HWS will show you how -- immediately. The book has literally one page of theory in ch 1 before advocating numerous 'do it now!' steps. This direct approach keeps the book at a manageable 500 pages or so, yet doesn't skip the details.
Furthermore, the term 'Windows' doesn't just mean Windows 2000, the current 'corporate standard' (despite Microsoft's best efforts to encourage upgrades). HWS actually spends time on servers like Windows NT 4, 2000, and 2003, and clients like NT 4, 2000, and XP. Even Windows 95 and 98 receive a few mentions. I was impressed by real advice for operating three sorts of 'domains' in ch 4 -- workgroups, NT 4 domains, or Active Directory forests. Too often Microsoft concentrates on the latest and greatest, but HWS recognizes corporate realities.
HWS includes some of the most information-packed tables I've ever seen. Table 5-3, explaining Windows services that can be disabled to improve security, is awesome. Table 9-3, recommending IE security settings, is similarly helpful. Author Bragg packs so much detail into these tables that reading them alone will help your security efforts. Screen shots are also shown to supplement the step-by-step instructions needed to configure Windows.
My only real criticism is the complete focus on Windows-bundled features. There is no mention of helpful third party applications, like OpenSSH, Cygwin, or Perl. A great older book on Windows security called _Securing Windows NT/2000 Servers for the Internet_ explained these and other options. Integration with non-Windows systems and services, like sending Windows Event Logs to syslog servers, would recognize the heterogeneous nature of modern enterprises. I would also like to see information on profiling Windows systems, displaying the ports and services expected to be active. This would help sys admins understand normal Windows behavior and possibly identify intruder activity.
I plan to add HWS to my recommended reading Listmania List, and I hope you consider this book if securing Windows systems is on your to-do list.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good overview of Windows Security, February 12, 2005
This review is from: Hardening Windows Systems (Paperback)
I was very pleased with this book. One of the problems I've had with most books on network security is that they go on and on about theory and then leave it to you to turn their high level discussion into actual practice.
That's not the case with this book, this is a book where you can literally sit down with it open, and configure a system step by step using what is provided. The author's style is very matter of fact in that there is very little of the "chatty tone" that (in my opinion) takes up so much valuable space in other books. This book is straightforward: This is the problem - This is how you fix it.
There's also a healthy dose of screen shots which never hurts.
I didn't give it 5 stars for two, fairly benign reasons. (1) It covers all versions of Windows including Windows 98, Windows NT 4, Windows 2000, Windows 2003, and Windows XP. So, any given reader is bound to find a good chunk of the book doesn't apply to them. (2) A little more of the theoretical side might have been good. It's great that this book is so task oriented but I think that someone who hadn't read other security books in the past might not grasp why the book suggests certain things.
Nonetheless, I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in Windows Security.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
