Customer Reviews

Steal This Computer Book 3: What They Won't Tell You about the Internet

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I orderd this book after seeing the "stunning" reviews it recieved on this site. I'm sorry to say that I am very disappointed. I got it yesterday morning and was real eager to get into it, but within an hour I just stopped reading. Why?

Dont get me wrong this isnt a bad book per-se and its just that it has its audience and i'm not part of it. This is for people\parents\employers\new users to the internet who want to know more about its dark underbelly.

If you know or understand phrases like- firewalls, sniffers, back-doors, loggers, scanners, spam, idtheft, filters, Airsnort, dumpster-diving, social-engineering, shoulder surfing and so on....- then dont even pick this book up. I'm no computer security guru but i'd say a couple of days surfing the net and you'll soon have the bones of this book.

If on the other hand, you're new to the net, you're worried about you kids safety while on the net, who's using your computer, what they're doing, what other could be doing to you, or just need a quick jumpstart into the darker side of the net then maybe (and only just maybe!!) you should consider this book.

Its like one reviewer said, its for the ordinary guy, but if you've done any bit of work in IT then a lot of it will seem like fluff. So I've left it for now but am not gonna throw it out, its something i'll read when i got time and also there looks to be some interesting sections that I'm gonna look through.

It still gets 2 stars though; one because its well organsied and written in a very easy to understand language, not too technical which is definately a plus if you're new to the net and all thing computers, and two beacuse theres a lot of good links to related software and sites that can help you understand more. Think of it as a good reference\starting point.

Peronally i'd say save you're money and read "computer espoinage, counter measures and tactics" if you want more intersting read.

Definitely a book for beginners, this book is not much more then an introduction to the "dark underside". It should effectively scare any parents or newbes, but bore anyone who's been on the net for any amount of time. I'm not very experienced on the subject of security but still this book didn't have much to offer me. There are a lot of other books out there that provide this information and take it a step or two farther.

The book does present a nice history lesson about hacking and tells about many hacking programs, but most of them are nothing but history themselves. Probably the most informative thing about this book is the web sites it references. It does give you starting blocks to find information you're interested in but doesn't do much for providing that information itself.

If your looking for the possible bad things you could encounter on the net this book provides an introduction to them. It's a good read for someone who only wants the basics. But if you want some more in-depth information don't waste your time and money.

If you're looking for something that covers the murky underbelly of the internet, you might want to check out Steal This Computer Book 3 by Wallace Wang.

Chapter List: Finding What You Need: The Magic Of Search Engines; Alternative Sources Of News And Information; Censoring Information (We Know What's Best For You); Hacktivism: Online Activism; Pledging Allegiance: Hatred As Patriotism; Where The Hackers Are; Viruses And Worms; Trojan Horses: Beware Of Geeks Bearing Gifts; Con Games On The Internet; Online Stalkers; Probing A Target; Sneaking Into A Computer; Digging In; Computing On A Shoestring; Protecting Your Data And Your Privacy; Waging War On Spam; Web Bugs, Adware, Pop-ups, and Spyware; Firewalls, Intrusion-Dectection Systems, and Honeypots; Computer Forensics: Recovering And Deleting Data; Protecting Your Computer; Software; A Hacker's Gallery Of Rogue Tools; A Bit Of History: Phone Phreaking And Other Phun; Glossary; Index

On the back cover, you have this warning: "This book is not to be used for hacking into government computers, shutting down AOL, cracking software, phone phreaking, spreading viruses, or any other illegal activity." That's enough to get your attention. Depending on your background, I think you'll have varying reactions to the book. People who haven't been exposed to information like this will quickly learn that all is not safe when you're online. If you've surfed the web for any length of time as an IT professional, you'll read a lot of the information and say "I already know that". But even then, you'll pick up some ideas and concepts that you may not have been aware of. For instance, I didn't know there were servers that would send you requested web pages via email in order to bypass filtering or banned sites. And the chapter on alternative sources of news will cause you to think about expanding your media view of the world.

The packaging of the book is rather unique. The cover and pages have a dirty, "photocopied" look to make it appear more illicit than it actually is. It becomes one of those books that will catch someone's eyes on a book shelf, and may need to be explained. :-)

An interesting read, and you will learn a few things along the way....

Upon finishing a book, I always take a moment to reflect on what I've learned from the reading of it. Experts/hackers, don't waste your money. This book is a good primer for the computer-illiterate parent who wants to protect their children, or the new computer owner who wants to keep their machine relatively "safe" from viruses and script kiddies. Professionals will learn nothing new, nor will veteran hackers or even long time computer users. Also, I don't recommend this book to anyone living in a dictatorship or third world country (for reasons of personal safety).

Wallace Wang's sense of humor and amusing paranoia kept me from falling asleep on the pages. After all, if the FBI, CIA or NSA is -seriously- after you, I think you have bigger problems than securing your email.

Abbie Hoffman if he were alive today would be impressed with the job Wallace has done writing this book about the "dark underside" of the Internet, not to mention coining the title of Abbie's now famous tome "Steal This Book." From hate groups on the net to censored web sites to ways to get around "filtering software" to ways to protect yourself and your computer from getting viruses, this book contains a wealth of information you probably won't find in other computer books.

The book is divided into five main parts and several appendices. Part 1 titled "Information Overload" deals with subjects like finding information by using search engines, methods of finding "alternative sources of news," getting past Internet filters and parental control software, online activism, and hate groups. Part 2 discusses "Internet Threats," like viruses, and Internet con games. Part 3 describes how to "break in and enter a computer (and it's fairly easy to do) and Part 4 discusses how to keep people from breaking in to your computer (nice of Wallace to do that I'd say), as well as a great chapter called "Computing on a Shoestring (finding cheap computers and software for it). Part 5 also discusses ways to protect your computer (firewalls, ways to delete sensitive data beyond recovery) and the book's first Appendix describes software that can be used for all of these various computer tasks. Another appendix describes a "hacker's gallery of rogue tools" for "hacking" or "cracking other folks' computers.

Wang takes great pains to say that none of these tools or information should be used to do anything illegal, however I suspect a number of people will anyway. Still, I feel it's better to be prepared for that possibility than to do nothing when it comes to using your computer or being on the Internet.

I found this book to be a valuable resource, one that I intend to refer to whenever a privacy or "hacker issue" comes up for me.

I have all the books in this "Steal .. " series. This one has very similar chapters from the first book along some new topics. It was very disappointing that NO CD was included for this price and I did not agree with their reasoning. The second book included one. Also some programs discussed are outdated. Somewhat same topics as past books. However if you are new, you won't know it! Some negatives about this book, but I still give it a 5 star rating because of the authors effort to inform us about something we don't pay attention to. Plus great sense of humor.

This book is amazing. It teaches you everything you need to know about all the dark secrets surrounding the hacker world and how to protect yourself. All the way from finding out how Remote Access Trojans are created to phone phreaking. The book starts off very slow with text about white supremacy and why/how racists post their views and opinions on the internet. That was really the only boring part of the book and it seemed kind of off-topic at times. Everything else included in this book is amazing. The examples and website referring is a big help. For example: the book teaches you about a subject...such as how hackers create their programs (using such languages as C++ and Delphi), then it gives you many examples of their programs and what their programs do, then gives you multiple websites to go to if you're interested in viewing the source code of these programs or the programs themselves. The author has great writing skills and makes the book humerous at times by showing the true facts about the internet and certain companies...oh, and cracking a joke here and there about the neo-nazis and their little websites.

If you're a person who is trying to protect oneself from hackers, crackers, etc or if you're a white hat hacker who is trying to work on your skill, then this is the book for you. Remember, this book doesn't teach you how to hack maliciously, but teaches you how the hackers work their magic.

Other topics this book covers is:

1) How to find a relative or close friend using the internet.
2) How to set up a firewall and why their usage is important.
3) How to protect yourself from idnetity theft, spammers, hackers, and much more.

This is a very interesting book, full of web links, tips and Internet resources. This reminds me of another earlier book on Internet web resources but on different topics. Sharing files seems so harmless, and yet it touches on many aspects of our lives. From downloading the innocent MP3 music, to sharing the pirated software (i.e., warez), to browsing pornographic images, this shows how easy one can cross the line. This is certainly a book for the security professionals who would like to have a better understanding of how the hacking underground works, how the secret trading is done from using newsgroups, IRC chats to how hackers use peer-to-peer file sharing technologies such as eDonkey, Kazza, bit Torrent, to distribute their files/secrets. It is also a book for anyone who simply wants to have an awareness of what is out there.

The book also explains how hacker hides his identity in this digital world. In addition to explaining how these technologies can be used, the author also provides suggestions for readers how to protect their systems from having worm, and/or virus attacks. The author also provides a list of freeware for anti-virus protection for those who cannot afford to buy, as well as providing alterative open software for office and photoshops utilities. Lastly, the author talks about copyright laws and what the future holds, giving his opinion on whether how we could adapt to the file sharing technologies. All in all, this is a very informative book. It certainly is an eye-opener.

Steal This Computer Book 3: What They Won't Tell You About The Internet by computer journalist and stand-up comic Wallace Wang is a "reader friendly" instructional guide for computer users of all ages, experience levels, and backgrounds with respect to the hazards of the internet and how to protect themselves. From recognizing bad news; to protecting oneself from viruses and trojan horses; to waging war on spam, blocking pop-ups, and guarding against online stalkers, Steal This Computer Book 3 is an absolute "must-read" for anyone with a desktop computer and in need of conducting digital self-defense.

I bought this book thinking it was a pretty good book after only skimming it. However, despite its thickness, it didn't have much substantial information. It explains that viruses are bad, but not much on why/how they're bad. It's great for complete computer/internet beginners, but for me it was a waste of money...