Network Security: A Beginner's Guide [Paperback]

Eric Maiwald (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0072133244 | ISBN-13: 978-0072133240 | Publication Date: May 7, 2001

This resource provides the network professional with a single source for network security. It shows how to establish an effective security system within an organization by covering basic security services and the problems they solve. It also includes 8 pages of blueprints and case studies along with practical applications of security in different environments.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

All companies rely on some security mechanisms to ensure their corporate privacy and information integrity. In many cases, the ability of the technician to explain a system's vulnerabilities to managers in order to acquire funding is as important as the technical skills to build the system. This book addresses a wide range of topics, from security basics to policies, practices, and practical solutions. Though intended for network administrators, this also acts as a good primer on security concepts for the lay computer user. A rock-solid resource for all libraries.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Books for beginners fall into two categories: the Dummies or Idiot’s Guide books that treat the reader like an imbecile, and those that treat novices as mature and intelligent. Network Security: A Beginner’s Guide falls into the second category. The reader comes away with a lucid understanding of the fundamentals of network security without being talked down to. Information security managers have a rough job. Although more money is being spent on information systems security, systems are increasingly complex, and complex systems are difficult to protect. This book is a good starting point for network managers and systems administrators who need clear instruction on how to create and run a secure technology infrastructure. As security of information systems increases in importance, it is becoming critical for everyone in the IT department to understand how all the components work. While not every member of manager needs to know how to install and configure firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and e-mail filters, they must nonetheless understand the significance of such technologies. This book covers those issues along with other significant information. Besides security products, the book gets into the nitty-gritty of security architectures, hacking, encryption, and operating systems. It includes a set of blueprints that describe key systems for designing an effective security architecture. The book concludes with the question of whether UNIX of Windows NT is more secure, a topic that has been fodder for countless debates. Avoiding a discussion of the minutiae of each operating system, the author astutely note that the answer to the question is not within the operating system itself but rather with the system administrator. That’s good counsel from a good book. Reviewer: Ben Rothke is a New York-based senior security analyst with Camelot Information Technologies. He is a member of ASIS. (Adams, David Security Management )

All companies rely on some security mechanisms to ensure their corporate privacy and information integrity. In many cases, the ability of the technician to explain a system’s vulnerabilities to managers in order to acquire funding is as important as the technical skills to build the system. This book addresses a wide range of topics, from security basics to policies, practices, and practical solutions. Though intended for network administrators, this also acts as a good primer on security concepts for the lay computer user. A rock-solid resource for all libraries. (Library Journal )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Mcgraw-Hill Osborne Media (May 7, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072133244
• ISBN-13: 978-0072133240
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,506,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good intro to computer security, August 22, 2001

By 

Ben Rothke "Author of 'Computer Security: 20 ... (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Network Security: A Beginner's Guide (Paperback)

Books for beginners fall into two categories: the Dummies or Idiot's Guide books that treat the reader like an imbecile, and those that treat novices as mature and intelligent. Network Security: A Beginner's Guide falls into the second category. The reader comes away with a lucid understanding of the fundamentals of network security without being talked down to.

Information security managers have a rough job. Although more money is being spent on information systems security, systems are increasingly complex, and complex systems are difficult to protect. This book is a good starting point for network managers and system administrators who need clear instruction on how to create and run a secure technology infrastructure.

As security of information systems increases in importance, it is becoming critical for everyone in the IT department to understand how all the components work. While not every staff member or manager needs to know how to install and configure firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and e-mail filters, they must nonetheless understand the significance of such technologies. This book covers those issues along with other significant information.

Besides security products, the book gets into the nitty-gritty of security architectures, hacking, encryption, and operating systems. It includes a set of blueprints that describe key systems for designing an effective security architecture. This review of mine originally appeared at ...

The book concludes with the question of whether UNIX or Windows NT is more secure, a topic that has been fodder for countless debates. Avoiding a discussion of the minutiae of each operating system, the author astutely notes that the answer to the question is not within the operating system itself but rather with the system administrator. That's good counsel from a good book.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More about policy & procedure implementation than technical, August 30, 2004

By 

G. F Robison (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Network Security: A Beginner's Guide, Second Edition (Beginner's Guide) (Paperback)

I originally bought the book because it was less than 10 bucks, and I wanted a good overview of network security. The book is written fairly well, but it's main focus is security policy and legal issues with a general overview of some network security technology.
I have been in IT for around 6 years now, the last 2 I spent working on Military/DoD networks, so I already have a sound networking background. This book's intended audience seems to be aimed more toward the executive/management type who does not have much technical experience. I believe a better title for this book would have been "Network Security Policy Making: A Beginners Guide". If you security needs are more for creating sound policy & procedures this is a good for you, the more technical minded should seek elsewhere.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Geat book for begginers, May 19, 2002

By 

Jonathan Murray (antioch, tn United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Network Security: A Beginner's Guide (Paperback)

I am pretty new to the network security world. This book is a great guide to the very basic ways of securing a network. My main goal was to find out more about securing my network from outside attackers, and this book hit the nail on the head. I highly recommend it to beginners and intermediate network professional.