Hack Proofing Your Network (Second Edition) (Paperback)

~ Ryan Russell (Editor), Dan Kaminsky (Author), Rain Forest Puppy (Author), Joe Grand (Author), K2 (Author), David Ahmad (Author), Hal Flynn (Author), Ido Dubrawsky (Author), Steve W. Manzuik (Author), Ryan Permeh (Author)
Key Phrases: regular file access, incoming user data, tamper mechanisms, Frequently Asked Questions, Solutions Fast Track, Code Red (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Essential reading for your IT security organization." -Deena Joyce, Director of Information Technology and Network Security, Casino Magic

Product Description

A new edition the most popular Hack Proofing book around!
IT professionals who want to run secure networks, or build secure software, need to know about the methods of hackers. The second edition of the best seller Hack Proofing Your Network, teaches about those topics, including:
· The Politics, Laws of Security, Classes of Attack, Methodology, Diffing, Decrypting, Brute Force, Unexpected Input, Buffer Overrun, Sniffing, Session Hijacking, Spoofing, Server Holes, Client Holes, Trojans and Viruses, Reporting Security Problems, Choosing Secure Systems

The central idea of this book is that it's better for you to find the holes in your network than it is for someone else to find them, someone that would use them against you. The complete, authoritative guide to protecting your Windows 2000 Network.

Updated coverage of an international bestseller and series flagship
Covers more methods of attack and hacker secrets
Interest in topic continues to grow - network architects, engineers and administrators continue to scramble for security books
Written by the former security manager for Sybase and an expert witness in the Kevin Mitnick trials
· A great addition to the bestselling "Hack Proofing..." series
· Windows 2000 sales have surpassed those of Windows NT
· Critical topic. The security of an organization's data and communications is crucial to its survival and these topics are notoriously difficult to grasp
· Unrivalled web support at [e-mail]

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Product Details

• Paperback: 824 pages
• Publisher: Syngress; 2 edition (March 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1928994709
• ISBN-13: 978-1928994701
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #247,833 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #24 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Networking > Network Programming
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Big Names, Great Book, April 27, 2002

By	Marco De Vivo "mata-hackers" (Miami, Florida United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When I read the first edition of this book, was truly disappointed. I was wondering how such people could have written such book. Not that the book was worthless, but too 'standard' to met the expectations I had from these guys.
Still the idea was very interesting (information directly from the real experts), and I kept waiting for a new edition.
Well the second edition is now out, and not only fulfills, but exceeds all my original expectations !!

Let's take a look:

The Approach:

Understanding attacks and vulnerabilities, by understanding 'how to hack' (good hacking of course. . . .ahem )

The Book:

Rewritten, expanded and improved, the book consists of 800+ pages well structured into 18 chapters (against 450+ pages and 15 chapters of the first edition).
Well written, well presented, with a real fancy table of contents, the chapters include url's, a FAQ section and a SOLUTIONS FAST TRACK one.
A lot of CLEVER code is included as well as helpful 'Tool & Traps' and 'Notes from the Underground. . . ' outlines.

The new sections (all outstanding) include:
- Hardware Hacking (otherwise only found in papers)
- Tunneling (excellent)
- IDS evasion (very easily explained)
- Format strings attacks

The Intended Audience:

People willing to become network security pros.

Contents:

- Introduction to Security, Attacks and related Methodologies.
- Cryptography.
- Unexpected Input, Buffer Overflow, Format Strings.
- Sniffing, Hijacking and Spoofing.
- Tunneling, Hardware Hacking, Viruses (et al.).
- IDS Evasion.
- Automated Tools.
- Reporting Security Problems.

The Bottom Line:

It is not just a good book, it is the best book among high level network security books, and the only that compares with specialized papers. Only quite easier.
I got more than 60 papers on buffer overflows. None compares with the classical 'Smashing The Stack For Fun And Profit' by Aleph One. IMHO, however, the corresponding chapter from this book, does compare and is really easier to understand.
Finally, the 'piece de resistance' of the book, is the chapter about Spoofing. Really enjoyed it, and by the way got surprised reading the innovative (to me) technique to 'Spoof Connectivity Through Asymmetric Firewalls'. Good Job Dan ;-)
As an added bonus, as an owner of this book, you'll find a lot of code files, applications and links...

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Original content will satisfy security professionals, March 29, 2002

By	Richard Bejtlich "TaoSecurity.com" (Metro Washington, DC) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

It's difficult to find original material in most security books. "Hack Proofing Your Network, 2nd Edition" (HPYN2E) breaks that trend. Responding to feedback on the first edition, the authors have made numerous improvements in the second edition. If you're looking for relatively novel content in a security book, read the sections of HPYN2E I discuss next.

HPYN2E shines in many respects. The "laws of security" in chapter 2 are accurate and enlightening. Chapter 4 helps teach secure programming techniques by comparing insecure and secure code snippets. Chapter 4 also demonstrates debugging and disassembling code, usually not seen in security texts. Chapter 8 probably contains the most advanced coverage of buffer overflows I've read in a book. By actually showing and explaining stack traces, the authors share a level of detail sufficient to satisfy all but the most elite coders. Chapters on "diffing" (5) and format strings (9) are robust. Hardware hacking, thoroughly described in chapter 14, is fascinating. The author cared enough to include numerous clear photographs of disassembled equipment, and mentioned many helpful external web references.

While these great chapters comprise more than half of HPYN2E, the remainder is not exceptional. I was not happy with the rambling, wordy chapters on spoofing (12) and tunneling (13). Spare us the quotes from Dante's "Divine Comedy"! Still, this material is easily skimmed.

Because HPYN2E is written more from an intruder's point of view, the title doesn't seem to reflect the material. The book isn't exactly a "how to hack" manual, but it expertly illuminates many facets of compromising information resources.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5+ Stars are Deserved on this one!, March 11, 2002

By	Ryan Smyth (New York) - See all my reviews

I picked this book up about a week ago, and have been reading it ever since- I'm reading slow because it's *really* packed with info. There is tremendous coverage on everything from Buffer Overflow, Format Strings, Tunneling, etc. I've spent a ton of time reading Chapter 12 on Spoofing- extremely well-done! There's coverage here of such things as:
* Spoofing SSL by using web graphics to simulate the appearance of an SSL encrypted connection. After all, the user doesn't know what's on the wire, only what's on the screen.
* Routing packets in userspace using libnet and libpcap- a step by step tutorial
* Establishing a TCP connection between two firewalled and NATted hosts by setting a low time-to-live on a connection request and having some broker on the internet spoof a connection response.
This book is an absolute must to own...