From rslade@sprint.ca Sun Jul 21 22:42:18 2002 From: "Rob, grandpa of Ryan, Trevor, Devon & Hannah" X-Sender: rslade@sprint.ca Resent-From: security curmudgeon To: techbooks@yahoogroups.com Resent-To: jericho@attrition.org Cc: cips-security-sig@interchange.ubc.ca Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 15:30:40 -0800 Reply-To: techbooks-owner@yahoogroups.com Subject: [techbooks] REVIEW: "Hacker Attack", Richard Mansfield ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Free $5 Love Reading Risk Free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/wlyPtD/PfREAA/Ey.GAA/FeXolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> BKHCKATK.RVW 20020519 "Hacker Attack", Richard Mansfield, 2000, 0-7821-2830-0, U$29.99/C$44.95/UK#19.99 %A Richard Mansfield earth@worldnet.att.net %C 1151 Marina Village Parkway, Alameda, CA 94501 %D 2000 %G 0-7821-2830-0 %I Sybex Computer Books %O U$29.99/C$44.95/UK#19.99 510-523-8233 Fax: 510-523-2373 %P 293 p. %T "Hacker Attack: Shield Your Computer from Internet Crime" "FACT: It's unlikely that you'll ever personally experience a computer virus in your home computer." Ah, those glowing, carefree days of yore when ... wait a minute. This book wasn't published all THAT long ago ... This work is intended to address three issues: intrusions, privacy, and viruses. The author hopes that it will be as much fun to read as it was to write. Given the unrealistic assessment of risk levels, the almost random choice of topics, and the lighthearted approach, I did not start out feeling confident of the chances of finding useful information herein. (While we may agree that script kiddies and such cracker wannabes are grubs and insects, the security community does *not* refer to them as "larvae.") Part one is entitled "Hackers, Crackers, and Whackers." Chapter one is a generic warning about the fact that some people may be trying to probe you. Some information (such as directions on turning file and print sharing off) are useful, others (such as the need to share IP addresses--assuming you even know them--with friends for chatting and instant messages) are either wrong or not very useful. Port scanning gets mentioned, and, aside from the fact that there are more reliable ways of determining open ports, the specific example of an open port used isn't terribly handy since we are told neither what it is nor how to turn it off. Phone phreaks are discussed in chapter two--without mention of the fact that in-band signalling is now obsolete. Hackers are academics studying decryption, viruses can harvest your passwords, and munging your email address is an effective tool against spam, or so we are told in chapter three. Chapter four gives names to some really silly cracking techniques. Some equally silly defences are suggested in chapter five. Chapter six does say that there are better protections available, but doesn't talk about how to implement them. High-speed connections are said to be security risks (the real culprit being static IP addresses) in chapter seven. A variety of URLs are given for the ZoneAlarm product, and instructions for getting warnings about cookies from one version of the Internet Explorer browser are provided in chapter eight. Part two is supposed to deal with privacy. Chapter nine does, with a rapid race through a number of related issues. Chapters ten through thirteen, however, examine a number of encryption technologies that are no longer used. The algorithm central to DES (Data Encryption Standard) is used as an example of a symmetric encryption system in chapter fourteen. Chapter fifteen explains the use of prime numbers to create asymmetric (public key) systems. Both of these chapters are remarkably unhelpful in terms of the actual use of encryption. Chapter sixteen explains digital signatures, but very briefly. The dialogue boxes involved in using the Encrypting File System of Windows 2000 are displayed in chapter seventeen. Chapter eighteen speculates on quantum computers. Source code for a random number generator for a one-time pad is given in chapter nineteen. Part three looks at viruses. (Ready?) Chapter twenty gives a brief account of the Internet/Morris/UNIX Worm of 1988, informing us that viruses had been used for years for network administration (untrue) and failing to explain what defrauding your girlfriend has to do with the worm. Some basics of virus structure are correct in chapter twenty one, but there is also confusion of pranks and trojans, and the discussion of virus functions applies only to boot sector infectors. Chapter twenty two provides an overview of Melissa and Loveletter. Useless means of defending against Microsoft Word macro viruses (known to have been bypassed long before this book was written) are given in chapter twenty three. Chapter twenty four tells us that viruses are mainly hype. Well, there are a few tips in this work that might help you to prevent intrusions, protect your privacy, and avoid viruses. Very few. The material is scant, and is padded out to book length with random insertions only nominally related to the topics at hand. Although not stated, it is fairly clear that the volume is intended for the average computer user rather than the security specialist. In terms of that general audience, the text is nowhere near detailed enough in those areas that the typical user can address. The material on network intrusions has some points, but many gaps. The section on cryptography might be interesting to a few, but is of little practical use. The opining on viruses is too often flatly wrong. copyright Robert M. Slade, 2002 BKHCKATK.RVW 20020519 ====================== (quote inserted randomly by Pegasus Mailer) rslade@vcn.bc.ca rslade@sprint.ca slade@victoria.tc.ca p1@canada.com If you are riding ahead of the herd, take a look back now and then to make sure it is still there. http://victoria.tc.ca/techrev or http://sun.soci.niu.edu/~rslade Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/