Snort 2.0 Intrusion Detection (Paperback)

~ Brian Caswell (Author), Jay Beale (Author), James C. Foster (Author), Jeremy Faircloth (Author)
Key Phrases: intrusion detection systems, using snort, directory traversal, The Inner Workings, Installing Snort, Exploring the Data Analysis Tools (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Configuring Symantec AntiVirus Enterprise Edition teaches you how to implement, upgrade, and configure in a diverse network environment$B!&(B -- David Banes, Symantec Security Response, Asia Pacific Regional Manager

Review

"I have been a diehard Snort user and member of the community since day one. Snort is awesome and there are so many incredibly talented people involved with it. I always wished that there was a book that documented everything, and gave lots of very cool information on all of the inner workings. I was psyched when I heard this book was being written, and I orderd it before it came out. I got mine on Friday and spent the weekend reading it. Considering the guys (and gal!) who wrote it, I shouldn't be surprised that the book rocks. Everything you ever wanted to know about Snort is in there. And, you know you are getting it from the Pig's mouth--er, or Snout ;)" - reviewer on Amazon.com

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Product Details

• Paperback: 550 pages
• Publisher: Syngress; 1 edition (February 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931836744
• ISBN-13: 978-1931836746
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #555,429 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The current leader in the Snort IDS book arms race, July 15, 2003

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

"Snort 2.0" offers content not found in other books on Snort, such as Tim Crothers' more generic "Implementing IDS" (4 stars) and Rafeeq Rehman's "Intrusion Detection with Snort." (3 stars) I've read the best IDS books, and used IDS technology, since 1998, and "Snort 2.0" is the first to give real insight into an IDS' inner workings. Thanks to the technical knowledge of the author team, "Snort 2.0" earns the reader's appreciation by explaining how and why the open source Snort IDS works its magic.

"Snort 2.0" starts well with a short history of Marty Roesch's favorite project, followed by solid explanations of the key elements of Snort's architecture in ch. 2. The actual workings of the Snort code is expanded upon in ch. 4 (modes), 5 (rules), and 6 (packet handling and preprocessors). One could read these sections and get a real sense of how the stream4 preprocessor works, for example. These sections are augmented by helpful tangents on compiling source code (ch. 3) and updates via CVS (ch. 9). This attention to detail and desire to include related information demonstrates a high level of commitment to the reader's education.

"Snort 2.0" has several technical errors or typos which prevented me from giving a 5 star review. p. 110's diagram of a TCP sessions should say "SYN, SYN-ACK, ACK", not "SYN, ACK, SYN-ACK". Later on that page, the author claims "The server replies with a SYN/ACK if the port is open, and a SYN/RST if the port is not listening." The correct closed response is "RST/ACK". p. 203 implies one can scan for open ports with the ACK flag set to evade stateless packet filters. This is wrong, as scanning with the ACK flag set only helps host discovery. I found the reprinting of multiple pages of C code unnecessary. I also wished the sections on building preprocessors had started from scratch, rather than explain an existing preprocessor.

Overall, I found "Snort 2.0" enlightening. The authors have a powerful understanding of the workings of Snort, and apply it in novel ways. "Policy-based IDS" in ch. 12 is one example, while the "rule categorization" chart in ch. 10 is another. Only the Wiley "Deploying Snort 2.0" book, due this fall, has a chance to displace "Snort 2.0" in the Snort-focused IDS book arena.

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too many mistakes, October 30, 2003

By	"techwonder" (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews

The technical content is ok, but I am extremely tired of reading books that contain so many grammatical mistakes that one gets irritated every time a page is turned. This publisher is notorious for this and emails I wrote to them were not answered. This is just not acceptable for an expensive book. Don't they have proofreaders?

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely worth the money., May 13, 2003

By	Steven Diaz - See all my reviews

I've been using Snort for some time. I really like it, but I've always found it a little difficult to keep up with all of the features and everything. If you spend a lot of time on the snort.org site and on the mail lists you can learn a lot from everybody. But I don't always have the time to monitor the list or go through the archives. It is great now having everything I need to know in one book. Brian Caswell is the guy who makes all of the releases and keeps everything on the site maintained and he definitely knows his stuff.