E-mail Virus Protection Handbook : Protect your E-mail from Viruses, Tojan Horses, and Mobile Code Attacks [Paperback]

Syngress (Author), James Stanger (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1928994237 | ISBN-13: 978-1928994237 | Publication Date: October 30, 2000 | Edition: 1

The E-mail Virus Protection Handbook is organised around specific e-mail clients, server environments, and anti-virus software. The first eight chapters is useful to both users and network professionals; later chapters deal with topics relevant mostly to professionals with an emphasis on how to use e-mail filtering software to monitor all incoming documents for malicious behaviour. In addition, the handbook shows how to scan content and counter email address forgery attacks. A chapter on mobile code applications, which use Java applets and Active X controls to infect email and, ultimately, other applications and whole systems is presented.
The book covers spamming and spoofing: Spam is the practice of sending unsolicited email to users. One spam attack can bring down an entire enterprise email system by sending thousands of bogus messages or "mailbombing," which can overload servers. Email spoofing means that users receive messages that appear to have originated from one user, but in actuality were sent from another user. Email spoofing can be used to trick users into sending sensitive information, such as passwords or account numbers, back to the spoofer.

* Highly topical! Recent events such as the LoveBug virus means the demand for security solutions has never been higher
* Focuses on specific safeguards and solutions that are readily available to users

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

All of the big viruses of recent times (think "Melissa" and the "Love Bug") have used e-mail protocols to propagate themselves--often taking advantage of the address-book features of e-mail clients to identify their victims. The E-mail Virus Protection Handbook explores how you, as an administrator of an e-mail server (and perhaps some of the network resources that surround it), can protect your users from productivity loss that results from e-mail virus infection. This book is best suited to administrators of smallish networks who have responsibility for (and direct control over) firewalls and network-wide antivirus strategies, as well as e-mail readers on the client side.

The authors of this volume (and there are several) begin by explaining how and why e-mail viruses work--they point the finger mainly at software that's designed for slick presentation of mail instead of for security, as well as at uninformed end users. Then, they begin to explain what various countermeasures, including antivirus software and firewalls, can do, and offer specific configuration advice. They also explore means of configuring popular e-mail servers and clients for maximum resistance to viruses. Overall, this book is carefully researched and should provide system administrators with the information--both practical and background--that they need to protect their systems from some of the more insidious threats around. --David Wall

Topics covered: Malicious code that's spread through e-mail clients, servers, and protocols, and how to defend against it. Specifically, the book deals with antivirus software--both network-wide and for single clients--and configuration policies for Outlook 2000, Outlook Express 5.0, and Eudora 4.3 on the client side. Server coverage includes Windows 2000 Advanced Server, Red Hat Linux 6.0, Exchange Server 5.5, and Sendmail. Personal firewalls, like BlackICE Defender 2.1, get attention, too.

About the Author

James Stanger(Ph.D.,MCSE,MCT CIW Security Professional) is a writer and systems analyst currently living in Washington State, where he works for ProsoftTraining.com's research and development department. He also consults for companies such as Axent, IBM, DigitalThink, and Evinci concerning attack detection and analysis. In addition to Windows 2000 and Linux security issues, his area of expertise include e-mail and DNS server security, firewall and proxy server deployment, and securing Web servers in enterprise enviroments. He is currently an acting member of the Linux Professional Institute (LPI), Linux+, and Server+ advisory boards, and leads development concerning the Certified Internet Webmaster security certification.

Product Details

• Paperback: 476 pages
• Publisher: Syngress; 1 edition (October 30, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1928994237
• ISBN-13: 978-1928994237
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,003,724 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Resource, November 5, 2000

By 

Jean Lancaster (Boston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: E-mail Virus Protection Handbook : Protect your E-mail from Viruses, Tojan Horses, and Mobile Code Attacks (Paperback)

Just finished reading most of this book, and have found it very well done. I'm a sysadmin at a small company and part of my work is e-mail administration. This book will reside on my shelf at work, and will be used repeatedly. The neat thing about the book is that people who are looking for some e-mail support at home (or in a small office) will find many parts of it useful. Covers everything from Web based mail to Outlook to personal firewalls. An interesting and useful read. Well Done.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alot of great ideas on protecting your e-mail...., April 12, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: E-mail Virus Protection Handbook : Protect your E-mail from Viruses, Tojan Horses, and Mobile Code Attacks (Paperback)

I purchased this book after my e-mail and web browser were getting hack attacks. The information in this book gave me alot of tools on how to plug up vulnerable points in my Outlook program, Outlook express and all other popular e-mail programs as well as web browser Active X and Java attacks and instant messenger attacks. It also goes into how the hackers get into your system and what the code looks like and how to search for it on your computer if they are stored on your hard drive. Very good book, I highly recommend it!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Nice Job, December 1, 2000

By 

Reginald Landry (New London CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: E-mail Virus Protection Handbook : Protect your E-mail from Viruses, Tojan Horses, and Mobile Code Attacks (Paperback)

Picked this up a week or so ago, and have found myself referring to it on a number of occasions. The overall treatment is nice, as it delves into things needed for both the home user and email admin. I've especially enjoyed (and found useful) the chapters on Securing Win2K Server and Securing Red Hat Linux for email services.