Firewalls and Internet Security: Repelling the Wily Hacker: Repelling the Wily Hacker (2nd Edition) (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing Series)

Great book. Helped me a lot through my research paper.

Este libro es una joya básica de seguridad en redes. Eso sí, el inglés no es muy accesible. Es necesario un nivel medio-alto en mi opinión.

This is an introductory text, that is entertainly written. I originally read the first edition of this book. While preparing a recent seminar I found that I wanted to reference it, but then realized that the material was somewhat dated. The second edition is from 2003, which is still 7 years old, but I find that the information is still very useful, the definition of a classic. More than a mere book on firewalls, this is a primer for the entire workings of the Internet Protocols. It has clear explanations of DNS, DHCP, TCP, UDP, ICMP, SSL, FTP and many other protocols without all the nitty gritty details that you'll find in a book like "TCP/IP Illustrated." <http://www.amazon.com/TCP-IP-Illustrated-Vol-Protocols/dp/0201633469>, which I recommend if you need more technical detail. The authors describe the risks associated with the protocols and strategies for protecting your systems. But, they go further, and explain other attacks and how they might circumvent the barriers that a sysadmin might erect. The exposition on Firewalls and VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) begins in Part IV. There are specific strategies given for protecting several protocols. No specifics on CISCO PIX, sorry guys, the examples use software generally available on Unix (FreeBSD). But, that's mainly a syntax issue, the principles are the same for the large comercial firewall systems. But, once again, if you need specifics, you'll need to read the manuals. This book will give you the foundation to understand what you read in the manuals. Firewall manuals are dry in comparison and generally lack strategic recommendations. The first appendix does a decent job of explaining public key cryptography. The second appendix is "dated" though in that it attempts to give "links" to other resources. After 7+ years, you can imagine the problems with that. Likewise the bibliography mainly cites texts from the 1990's; although there is one reference from 1872: "Through the Looking Glass", Lewis Carroll. Typical of the entertaining quotes throughout the book, "When I use a word. . .it means just what I choose it to mean, neither more nor less." And perhaps that's a fitting summary of this book's purpose, to familiarize you with the meanings of the "Carrollesque" words associated with Internet Security.

No problems, good experience.

First let me start by saying I'm new to firewalls, but have been a computer systems builder for years and configuring Windows operating systems for the past 5 years. I was looking for a primer book.. The book covers fundamentals and the authors give in-depth examples for UNIX systems. About a third of the way through the book it remarked about the Windows 95 and their new NT technology (which has been around since about 2000). i finished reading the book, allot about UNIX and non existent on Microsoft products. Not a total waste of money but I finished the book feeling like i sat down for a dinner and was only served a side salad. Back to Amazon book list for me!