Securing Ajax Applications: Ensuring the Safety of the Dynamic Web [Paperback]

Christopher Wells Exe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 18, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0596529317 | ISBN-13: 978-0596529314 | Edition: 1

Ajax applications should be open yet secure. Far too often security is added as an afterthought. Potential flaws need to be identified and addressed right away. This book explores Ajax and web application security with an eye for dangerous gaps and offers ways that you can plug them before they become a problem. By making security part of the process from the start, you will learn how to build secure Ajax applications and discover how to respond quickly when attacks occur.

Securing Ajax Applications succinctly explains that the same back-and-forth communications that make Ajax so responsive also gives invaders new opportunities to gather data, make creative new requests of your server, and interfere with the communications between you and your customers. This book presents basic security techniques and examines vulnerabilities with JavaScript, XML, JSON, Flash, and other technologies -- vital information that will ultimately save you time and money.

Topics include:

• An overview of the evolving web platform, including APIs, feeds, web services and asynchronous messaging
• Web security basics, including common vulnerabilities, common cures, state management and session management
• How to secure web technologies, such as Ajax, JavaScript, Java applets, Active X controls, plug-ins, Flash and Flex
• How to protect your server, including front-line defense, dealing with application servers, PHP and scripting
• Vulnerabilities among web standards such as HTTP, XML, JSON, RSS, ATOM, REST, and XDOS
• How to secure web services, build secure APIs, and make open mashups secure

Securing Ajax Applications takes on the challenges created by this new generation of web development, and demonstrates why web security isn't just for administrators and back-end programmers any more. It's also for web developers who accept the responsibility that comes with using the new wonders of the Web.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Christopher Wells has deployed security solutions for major healthcare, telecommunication, and financial industries, and is currently employed as an Information Security Consultant for a major financial institution. He is an accomplished applications security architect with over 10 years of application security experience. Christopher holds multiple security certifications including a Certified Information Security Systems Professional (CISSP), and holds a Bachelor degree from the University of Minnesota.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1 edition (July 18, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596529317
• ISBN-13: 978-0596529314
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,873,791 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Jack of all trades, master of none, August 2, 2007

By 

Evan R (SF Bay Area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Securing Ajax Applications: Ensuring the Safety of the Dynamic Web (Paperback)

If you are looking for a superficial review of 50 different topics indirectly related to web application security, this is the book for you.

"Securing Ajax Applications" is just all over the place. The topics covered are only tangentially related to AJAX. If you are a programmer looking for ways to harden XHR, you are out of luck.

For example:

The section on "Protecting the Server" owes much of its 30-page length to 1) a tutorial on installing the Ubuntu distribution of Linux, 2) an overview of syslog and its configuration file, and 3) setting up iptables. Yes, that's right, a tutorial on installing Linux in a book on AJAX security. There are even screenshots (plural). I am not kidding: go check out the publisher's web site, this chapter is the sample chapter. While you are there, check out the table of contents and ask yourself if the high-level topic intros presented in those sections will likely make you a programmer of more secure AJAX applications.

I am not exaggerating when I say that it is as if the author amassed a collection of FAQs and blog articles related to general topics in Internet security, and O'Reilly decided that if they bound them together in book form and put "AJAX" in the title, they could sell it for $49.95.

The book could have just as easily been published by Sitepoint with a title like "The Web Site Security Anthology, 50 Things You Need To Know", at 60% of the price.

For $20 cheaper, "Essential PHP Security" (O'Reilly) is better spent money and will actually teach you something useful (even if you are not a PHP developer).

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Useless, August 13, 2007

By 

Dean H. Saxe - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Securing Ajax Applications: Ensuring the Safety of the Dynamic Web (Paperback)

If I wanted a generic web application security book, this might have fit the bill. Barely. The book spends precious little space discussing security with Ajax applications.

I have never been so disappointed with an O'Reilly book with respect to the quality and quantity of information presented.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The title should be "An Introducing To Web Security", February 12, 2008

By 

Rodrigo Costa (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Securing Ajax Applications: Ensuring the Safety of the Dynamic Web (Paperback)

In its 211 pages, Christopher Wells written a good book with one bad feature: Barely speak about the title-theme. In my opinion, this book is a good guide to start your studies about web security. Its chapters covers issues like web-server security, secure ways to develop your applications, many demonstrations of threat exploits and how to protect your application to them.

My conclusion is: If you want start your studies in Web Security, go on and buy this book. If you already did this and want to learn specifically about AJAX Security, try other book, because this one won't help you so much.