Linux Complete: Books

Command line examples are shown at
each stage along with screenshots of any
graphical tool required. The chapters try
to give some sort of subject order to help
you find similar topics, and while this is
a good idea, there is nothing
to stop you dipping
into the book at any point
just to browse and spark a
little interest.
Overall the book is in a
different class to the Hacking
for Dummies book.
This is not because it concentrates
on Linux tools,
but that it does not treat
the reader as a mindless
drone. Although every
technique should be familiar
to security personnel, it
is a nice way to make sure you are not
just checking boxes on your security
Book Reviews
worksheet as each topic makes you think
of other possibilities.
Normally security books can leave the
reader with a cold feeling that they are
not in control of anything. After working
your way through this small book, you
realize that you may once again have the
power to hold off the attackers from the
gates to your castle.
For those who are unsure whether
they want to spend the money on such a
book, you can always visit the http://
hacks.oreilly.com site and take a look at
the full list of 100 topics covered, then if
you feel you want the details with the
methods to achieve each topic, you can
buy the book. ■
Andrew Lockhart
316 pages
O’Reilly,0-596-00643-8
£17.50, US$ 24.95, EUR 23.00
Network Security Hacks
The latest book in the Hacks series is
subtitled “100 Industrial-Strength Tips
and Tools”. This does seem like a hard
challenge to live up to. Although the
book is divided into eight chapters, it is
split into 100 different
topics. These range
from the “Test your
firewall” to “Encrypt
your temp folder”.
Each of these topics
then describes
what it is intending to
do such as looking
for suspicious activity
by monitoring file
access. It then goes
on to explain why we
should be doing this,
and how this activity
can be achieved in the most sensible
manner.
If you are a security-conscious system
administrator, then this book may well
be what you need to inspire you into
checking and improving your company’s
policies. I suspect, however, that “The
Art of Deception” does a better job of
instilling paranoia. This one seems just a
little too cozy and twee with its little
symbols for warnings. The dummies format
works well with other subjects but
seems to sit less happily with such a serious
topic as security.
Much of the book deals with Windows
vulnerabilities. Some general chapters
touch briefly on Linux and Unix, Usually
just to mention programs and applications
that can be used. Even the chapter
devoted to Linux says little that cannot
be covered by common sense. Make sure
you update your system with the latest
security patches etc.
A couple of chapters deal with the
things the sysadmin has little or no control
over. There are lengthy discussions
on social engineering and passwords,
but as everybody knows
there is little that can be
done about the one idiot
who decides that their
mother’s maiden name
is good enough for the
bank, so it must be good
enough for all of their
passwords at work, and
then compromises all
security by passing this
fact on to the overfriendly
engineer who drops by to test
their machine.
The basic premise of the book is that
by learning where our systems’ vulnerabilities
lie, we can protect them against
attack. The author promotes so called
white hat or ethical hacking to test a system
and prevent malicious hacking
attacks. There is, of course, nothing to
prevent the book being used in the
wrong way. Most of the information is
there to be found on the Internet or elsewhere,
so it is unlikely to encourage the
wrong sort of people to
hack into your system.
Many utilities are
mentioned to test specific
parts of the
system, to crack passwords
etc., Some are
Windows-specific, others
can be used across
the board. Some sections
such as the one
on War dialing are USoriented,
and will be of little interest to
readers in Europe, but the majority of
topics are relevant to us all. This is a
good basic introduction to a topic that
concerns us all, but in many ways it does
not go far enough and in my opinion is
best read in conjunction with other texts

Linux Unwired
All you ever wanted to know about WiFi.
Actually, this book is all you ever wanted
to know plus a whole lot more. It has
everything from hidden nodes to building
your own access points.
The book starts with an introduction
to wireless technologies for those of us
who are not radio hams and need that
physics refresher course. It is written in
such a way that it is understandable to
all readers no matter what their level of
competence is. Later chapters walk you
through the practicalities of connecting a
Linux system to a wireless network.
The book is good at explaining the
hardware choices and options and this
can be put to good use when you need to
purchase more hardware at a later date.
Differing configurations are stepped
through to get the various hardware to
work, while explaining what is optimal
and what you can get away with.
For those who fancy a hardware challenge,
the book describes various

projects that focus
around recycling older
computer hardware,
with tips on what to
buy, as well as the
prices you should expect
to pay for the
hardware.
Although some of the
commercial networks
mentioned are no longer
in existence, the techniques
mentioned are
still valid.
The main chapters in the book deal
with setting up your own WiFi system
using an access point, and a four steps to
WiFi guide that covers compiling the
Linux kernel to ensure you have the correct
tools for the job. There is even a
guide to war chalking symbols that you
can look out for while walking to your
nearest Starbucks.
For those who just want to get their
hardware up and running
the book is
overkill. They may be
better advised to
search for specific
howtos on the Web.
Anyone who wishes to
go a little further, and
explore the world of
WiFi, should find this a
most useful reference
book. It can be read
from cover to cover,
although you will probably need to go
and find more about some of the projects
mentioned to satisfy your own curiosity.
Every topic for wireless networking is
covered, from PalmOS connectivity and
Bluetooth, to Antenna design and GPS.■
Roger Weeks, Edd Dumbill & Brian Jepson