Title - Computer
Security Basics & Steal This Computer Book 4.0: What They Won't Tell You
About the Internet Author – Ken Rogers, GCPCUG Member Category - Book Subject - Computer Security, two points of
view from two books Date - October 2006
Writers of computer security books,
therefore, have a unique challenge. On the one hand, they have a large
potential audience, motivated readers who value secure computing as much as
they do good dental hygiene. On the other hand, their topic has all the
inherent interest of changing your motor oil, Canadian politics, and the
Cleveland Browns’ offense.
There are numerous books available to help
those who’ve finally resolved to stop ignoring security. The two books for this
review, Computer Security Basics and Steal This Computer Book ,
take very different approaches to the subject. Computer Security Basics ,
written by and for corporate IT security professionals, is a straightforward,
analytical overview of computer security. Steal This Computer Book ,
meanwhile, is anything but straightforward. Written from the perspective of
hackers, the latter book is far more interesting, and ironically provides more
useful information on computer security than the former.
Computer Security Basics reads like a
textbook. If you’re taking Computer Security 101, or just have an interest in
computer history, cryptology, or government security standards – if you’d like
to know how viruses and worms work, or the vulnerabilities of TCP and UDP –
this book will meet your needs. On the other hand, veteran IT professionals
will probably find this book too basic – if you already know the difference
between DES, AES, and RSA, you’ll probably find this book covers ground you
traveled some time ago.
And if you’re a home user who just wants to
know if his firewall is doing its job, there’s not much here for you at all. Computer
Security Basics is rich in the history and theory of computer security, but
poor in practical advice on keeping your computer secure. “What does it mean to
perform regular backups?” ask the authors rhetorically in the chapter on data
backups. “That’s an organizational decision,” they respond, and follow with a
cursory mention of the variables involved in making such a decision, such as
the number of users and volume of work. The book provides plenty of theory,
most of it good, but offers little help figuring out how to apply it. (A
notable exception is the chapter on wireless security, which offers practical
advice that is as useful in the home as it is in the corporate world.)
To make matters worse for home users, Computer
Security Basics is written in flat, didactic prose – again, much like a
textbook. Perhaps the only section that I enjoyed reading was the chapter on
biometrics. Fingerprint scanners, I learned, can be programmed to send a
distress signal if a user accesses the system in a certain way – for example,
if someone is being coerced into helping an unauthorized individual gain
access, he or she can send a warning by using the left-index finger instead of
the right. That’s not terribly useful information for home users, but I bet
you’ll see this on an episode of “24” next year.
Computer Security Basics is a book you have
to but not want to read, just like dental floss is something you have to but
not want to use. Steal This Computer Book , however, demonstrates that
you can write about computer security in an engaging manner. Invoking the title
and ethos of Abbie Hoffman’s 1970 counter-cultural bestseller (there’s a
delicious oxymoron for you), this book promotes the perspective of the hacker.
While John and Jane Doe may believe hackers are criminals, Steal This
Computer Book justifies hacking as a justifiable act in a world where
software companies install spyware with their applications, governments monitor
our online and offline activities, and corporate media routinely manipulates
public opinion. Hacking is seen as a technical and intellectual challenge, an
act of problem-solving rather than troublemaking, exploration not exploitation.
The book is not a hacker how-to manual – you won’t learn how to break into your
neighbor’s bank account – but rather a hacker manifesto.
And despite being written from the other side
of the fence, Steal This Computer Book provides more practical advice
for protecting your computer than Computer Security Basics . Configuring
Internet Explorer to limit exposure to rogue ActiveX controls, using multiple
anti-spyware applications, disabling the Windows Messenger service – these are
the tips that you just don’t find in Computer Security Basics , with its
theoretical emphasis.
Steal This Computer Book also comes with a CD
containing dozens of applications. You may not have much use for the keyboard
loggers and other hacker applications, but you’ll certainly find some of the
security diagnostic programs and utilities helpful. A particular useful program
is EULA Analyzer, a free application (as most on the CD are, although some
require a license for full functionality) that will analyze the text of
software end user license agreements for potential security concerns, such as
an agreement to have your web usage monitored.
Perhaps the best feature, though, of Steal
This Computer Book is that it is as entertaining as it is informative,
mostly because it doesn’t restrict itself to technical details, the “zeroes and
ones” of computing. Social engineering, dumpster diving, lock picking, and
pirate radio broadcasts are just some of the topics included in this book’s
broad perspective. The digressions into non-computing topics, such as the
deconstruction of “reality” television (warning to “American Idol” fans – skip
chapter 15), are lively and engaging. At times the rhetoric can get out of
hand, such as the sophomoric analysis of the reasons for Beaver College’s name
change to Arcadia University (sorry, it had a lot more to do with content
filters blocking access to the college’s web site), and the historical claim
that the Social Security system is a pyramid scheme – but if it never took
risks that sometimes failed, could it ever really challenge our assumptions?
Flossing your teeth will never be fun, but by
listening to good music or a recorded book you can perhaps get some
satisfaction as you cram your fingers into your mouth. In much the same manner,
by choosing the unconventional (Steal This Computer Book) over the customary
(Computer Security Basics) , you can brush up on your computer security
knowledge without feeling that flossing seems pleasant in comparison.
Computer Security Basics, 2nd Edition
Rick Lehtinen, Deborah Russell and G.T.
Gangemi Sr.
O’Reilly
ISBN: 0-596-00669-1
310 pages, US $39.99
Steal This Computer Book 4.0: What They Won’t
Tell You About the Internet
Wallace Wang
No Starch Press
ISBN 1-59327-105-0
376 pages, US $29.95
Discount of 35% for User Group membershttp://www.oreilly.com