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Hacking for Dummies (Paperback)

~ (Author), Stuart McClure (Foreword) "This book is about hacking ethically - the science of testing your computers and network for security vulnerabilities and plugging the holes you find before..." (more)
Key Phrases: ethical hacking process, ethical hacking efforts, ethical hacking tests, Network Security Scanner, Red Hat, John the Ripper (more...)

4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"...should be of interest to both ethical and malicious hackers" -- Publishing News, 22nd March 2004

“…a good read…a price well-worth paying, because such works are invaluable…” (InfoSecurity News Magazine, August 2004)

“…an excellent aide…” (PC Home, August 2004)

“…should be of interest to both ethical and malicious hackers…” (Publishing News, 22^nd March 2004)

Product Description

"Ethical hacking" is the process of entering into a hacker's mindset in order to spot system vulnerabilities by performing typical hacks in a controlled environment. This book helps security professionals understand how malicious users think and work, enabling administrators to defend their systems against attacks and to identify security vulnerabilities.
* Shows readers how to approach their system security from the hacker's perspective and perform nondestructive penetration testing
* Helps the reader develop an ethical hacking plan, and examines typical attacks and how to counteract them
* Guides readers through reporting vulnerabilities to upper management, managing security changes, automating the ethical hacking process, and training end-users to avoid being victimized

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Product Details

Paperback: 378 pages
Publisher: For Dummies (April 30, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 076455784X
ISBN-13: 978-0764557842
Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds

Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #580,936 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
This book is about hacking ethically - the science of testing your computers and network for security vulnerabilities and plugging the holes you find before the bad guys get a chance to exploit them. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
ethical hacking process, ethical hacking efforts, ethical hacking tests, rconsole password, malware attacks, following countermeasures, password vulnerabilities, war dial, ncf file, packet signing, bindery contexts, ethical hacker, browse right, banner information, hacking program, hack attacks, hacking tools, network analyzer, cracking passwords, specific countermeasures, ping sweep, security countermeasures, null session, security vulnerabilities, weak passwords

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Network Security Scanner, Red Hat, John the Ripper, Buddy List, File Transfer Protocol, Microsoft Windows, Windows Registry, Integrated Fast Ethernet Controller, Internet Explorer, Network Hacking, Network Security For Dummies, Password Recovery, Simple Network Management Protocol, Cisco Aironet, Matt Caldwell, Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer, Wiley Publishing, Windows Script Host, Chey Cobb, Hypertext Transfer Protocol, Instant Messenger, Microsoft Outlook, National Security Agency Security Recommendation Guides, Option Type, Post Office Protocol

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 8 books:

Network Security for Dummies by Chey Cobb on page 101, page 264, and page 305
Training Diary by Runner's World in Back Matter
Counter Hack Reloaded: A Step-by-Step Guide to Computer Attacks and Effective Defenses (2nd Edition) by Edward Skoudis on page 238
London For Dummies (Dummies Travel) by Donald Olson in Back Matter
Malware: Fighting Malicious Code by Ed Skoudis on page 238

See all 8 books this book cites

5 books cite this book:

Wireless Networks For Dummies by Barry D. Lewis in Front Matter
A A Business Guide to Information Security by Alan Calder in Back Matter
The Practical Guide to HIPAA Privacy and Security Compliance by Kevin Beaver in Back Matter
Hacking Wireless Networks For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)) by Kevin Beaver in Front Matter
It Governance: A Manager's Guide to Data Security and Bs 7799/ISO 17799 by Alan Calder in Back Matter

Books on Related Topics (learn more)

Hacking Exposed 5th Edition by George Kurtz

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Spies Among Us by Ira Winkler

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Mike Meyers' CISSP by Shon Harris

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Network Security for Dummies by Chey Cobb

Discusses:

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	77% buy the item featured on this page: Hacking for Dummies 4.3 out of 5 stars (16)
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	7% buy Beginning Programming For Dummies 3.7 out of 5 stars (44) $12.63
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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
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Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Place to Get Started, January 29, 2005

By	John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I used to wonder why anyone would want to break into my computer, there's not much there of any interest. Even I don't find it all that interesting. Then one day I was puzzled when my ISP asked why my machine was putting out millions of bytes of stuff to the point where it was bogging down their T1 line. I didn't know. We unpluged the machine from the network and it stopped sending. We plugged it back in and it wasn't sending. But the next day it was.

It wasn't until we got an e-mail telling us to stop sending out copyrighted movies that we realized what had happened. It wasn't anything in my computer they wanted, it was the bandwidth. Knowing what to look for it wasn't all that hard to stop. Google quickly provided links on this problem.

This book is aimed at people just like me. It gives an overall, if fairly light, view of the overall security problem. Like the other For Dummies books it has a writing style that doesn't (quite) put you to sleep. It has enough humor to enable you to get through it. It won't make you an expert, but it will point out the problem areas so that you can go deeper into those that are important to you. It's a good introduction.

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43 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to hacking for beginners, September 3, 2004

By	Ben Rothke "Author of 'Computer Security: 20 ... (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

The media often mistakenly characterize hackers as bored technical geniuses. In truth, most hackers, as the media use the term, are not geniuses; they are simply adept at downloading hacking tools that do all of the dirty work for them. These so-called script kiddies often do not know what they are doing until the damage is done.

From the perspective of the victimized company, however, it's not really important who is doing the attacking; all that matters is how organizations can protect themselves from myriad attacks and tools. Hacking for Dummies is written on the premise that to catch a hacker, you have to think and behave like one. This is a well-written and engrossing book that helps the reader understand how hackers compromise computer systems and networks. Its clear, easy-to-read style won't intimidate readers unfamiliar with abstruse security terms and concepts.

The 19 chapters progress from the basics of security to the hardening of an operating system and the hacking of Web applications. While the reader is not expected to have a deep technical background, the book does go into some detail, as it must to provide a hands-on approach. For a high-level theoretical approach to network defense, look elsewhere. This is a down-and-dirty tool for ensuring that the organization's systems and network are secure.

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45 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Very Limited, January 5, 2005

By	Alan Mead (Lockport, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Update (11/2008): My review below is based on the first (2004) edition. In a comment, the author calls the second, 2006 edition substantially different. So, I reviewed the 2006 edition table of contents, except, and index available on amazon. The excerpt and table of contents did not seem substantially different to me. The primary substantive change in the excerpt (Chapter 1) are the bits about the "rogue insider"; much of the writing is word-for-word identical to the 2004 edition. Maybe the other chapters are "substantially" reworked (the index suggests many changes) but the chapters' titles, order and lengths are not much different in the 2006 edition.

This book should be titled "penetration testing" with the subtitle "without any actual information on how to go about penetration testing, per se".

There are two schools of thought about disseminating detailed information on exploiting security vulnerabilities (that "it's a necessary evil" and "it's immoral"). So, the author is in good company to be in the later group.

Only, why then WRITE A BOOK entitled "Hacking"? The title seems close to fraudulent to me. Anyone hoping to find out how to crack from this book is going to be sorely disappointed. For example, while password cracking is passably well-covered, there isn't even a mention of how crackers get their hands on password files. The author spends only two paragraphs and a few bullets on rootkits--treating them like viruses or worms--despite the fact that they are critical cracker tools. There is a lot of discussion of portscanning without any discussion of how to penetrate the systems you've scanned.

So, you say, "Who cares about would-be criminals!?" Ok, but this book is not going to provide much real value to would-be white-hats either. You will find very little concrete advice on penetrating client systems from this book. However, the book does have quite a bit of advice and a number of tips about setting-up the gig (e.g., "Agree in writing"), general issues (e.g., "Don't test production systems during business hours."), and how to write the report (e.g., "prioritize vulnerabilities").

Actual admins will find very, very little of value. The "Plugging security holes" chapter is only five pages long! The tips sprinkled around are often poor or abstract (or common sense). The book provides little information on how attacks will occur. And it's quite marginal in describing the hacker psyche.

The book is full of links to software. But then so is Google and this book won't help much in choosing between most of them (i.e., my favorite tools were barely mentioned :).

I did (finally) identify a group who might benefit from this book: people who HIRE penetration testers--by educating you about how the process works. (Without giving away any of the trade secrets that might allow you to be self-sufficient!) It might also be a broad (shallow) introduction for the complete novice to security in abstract.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars hacking for dummies
Great book. Be very careful with the software links however. Many will damage your computer or network. Read more

Published 6 months ago by Steven Leroy

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent beginners book
Nutshell review - If you are just beginning in the infosec field or perhaps a manager looking for a quick understanding of the basics then this book will do the job.

Published 17 months ago by Jos Pols

5.0 out of 5 stars One of a kind
I bought this book and i must say it was a very good investment. The book is totally understandable, detailed explanations together with screenshots, i would totally recommend... Read more

Published on August 5, 2007 by Cody La Caille

5.0 out of 5 stars Great easy-to-understand quick references
This is a great, easy to read and use reference for both non-technical business leaders as well as IT professionals. Read more

Published on July 9, 2006 by Rebecca Herold

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT FOR THE UNEXPERIENCED
This book is great for beginners, it talks about the ethical hacker and penetration tests. However it also gives out information that can be used for blackhat hacking. Read more

Published on July 5, 2006 by Nathan Smith

5.0 out of 5 stars Real world information for Network Security
Hacking for Dummies sets a foundation for ethical hacking and should be used as more than the proverbial "how to". Read more

Published on June 27, 2006 by Swarthy Fizz

2.0 out of 5 stars Its a good book for people with no common sense at all
I think all the Dummies books are good specially for the people who are dummy in the field and dummy in life as well. Read more

Published on March 10, 2006 by Shazia Fahim

5.0 out of 5 stars Must have for ALL LEVELS of Information Security Professionals
This book covers multiple domains of security. The best part of the book is that it not only shows the hacks, tools (freeware and commercial), and new methodologies for the more... Read more

Published on March 7, 2006 by H Bennett

4.0 out of 5 stars good book
it's a good book for have an overwiev in security and,of course, hacking but I don't like almost half of the book spent only for generic and common stories... Read more

Published on August 23, 2005 by Andrea Ranalli

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book and Great Primer for Hacking Exposed
There is certainly no shortage of books in this genre- Counter Hack, Hack Attacks Revealed and the best-selling Hacking Exposed (and all of its spin-offs) have covered this... Read more

Published on November 7, 2004 by Tony Bradley

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