Customer Reviews

Oracle Security: Step-by-Step

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book fulfills its title. It reads much like a reference manual. I found it easy to follow and its layout makes it easy to stop and restart without losing context. This book is mandatory for DBAs running Oracle as it provides a comprehensive and robust checklist for running Oracle databases.

There's no arguing Pete Finnegan's expertise when it comes to security.

Sadly, being a security guru doesn't necessarily mean that you can publish a book on par with that level of technical excellence.

The book suffers in three main ways, all of them cosmetic, but detrimental to the books ultimate usability:
1) an odd landscape (sideways) print format. Won't fit neatly on shelves, and you'll be wishing for an extra foot of work space when you try to keep it open on your desk.
2) "index, we don't need no steenking index!". Ever try to find the myriad things you might want to "audit" when the table of contents or "Cross-Reference Check List" starts with section headings like "Set...", "Secure...", or "Ensure..."?
3) the spine glue holding the cover on just blew out on my copy, prompting this review.

All three of these shortcomings would have been mitigated if SANS Press offerred an e-Book version to legal owners of the work, but such is not the case for this particular title.

I've been a Pete Finnigan fan for some time now and I regularly get Oracle security tips from his popular Oracle security weblog.

Pete is clearly an Oracle security expert and I have no doubt that he has invested a considerable amount of his life to this complex topic.

When I buy a book, I look for an author to lives-and-breathes the topic, and Pete Finnigan is clearly a lifetime devotee to Oracle security.