This is an essential guide to understanding and using firewalls to protect personal computers and your network. It is an easy-to-read introduction to the most commonly deployed network security device. It allows you to: understand the threats firewalls are designed to protect against; learn basic firewall architectures, practical deployment scenarios, and common management and troubleshooting tasks; and includes configuration, deployment, and management checklists. Increasing reliance on the Internet in both work and home environments has radically increased the vulnerability of computing systems to attack from a wide variety of threats. Firewall technology continues to be the most prevalent form of protection against existing and new threats to computers and networks. A full understanding of what firewalls can do, how they can be deployed to maximum effect, and the differences among firewall types can make the difference between continued network integrity and complete network or computer failure. “Firewall Fundamentals” introduces readers to firewall concepts and explores various commercial and open source firewall implementations - including Cisco, Linksys, and Linux - allowing network administrators and small office/home office computer users to effectively choose and configure their devices. “Firewall Fundamentals” is written in clear and easy-to-understand language, and helps novice users understand what firewalls are and how and where they are used. It introduces various types of firewalls, first conceptually and then by explaining how different firewall implementations actually work. It also provides numerous implementation examples, demonstrating the use of firewalls in both personal and business-related scenarios, and explains how a firewall should be installed and configured. Additionally, generic firewall troubleshooting methodologies and common management tasks are clearly defined and explained. Wesley J Noonan (Houston, Texas) has been working in the computer industry for over 12 years, specializing in Windows-based networks and network infrastructure security design and implementation. He is a Staff Quality Engineer for NetIQ working on their security solutions product line. Ido Dubrawsky (Sliver Springs, MD) is a Senior Security Consultant with Callisma, an SBC subsidiary. He advises customers on a wide variety of security issues. Previously, he was a Network Security Architect with Cisco Systems SAFE Architecture Team.

This new edition of Eclipse: Building Commercial-Quality Plug-ins is the definitive, start-to-finish guide to building commercial-quality Eclipse plug-ins, with an emphasis on adding the sophistication and polish that paying customers demand. The book provides both a quick introduction to using Eclipse for new users and a reference for experienced Eclipse users wishing to expand their knowledge and improve the quality of their Eclipse-based products.

Revised to take advantage of pure Eclipse 3.1 and 3.2 APIs, this widely praised bestseller presents detailed, practical coverage of every aspect of plug-in development and specific solutions for the challenges developers are most likely to encounter. All code examples, relevant API listings, diagrams, and screen captures have been updated.

Some Eclipse concepts–such as actions, views, and editors–have not changed radically, but now have additional functionality and capabilities. Other areas, such as the Eclipse plug-in infrastructure, have changed drastically due to the Eclipse shift towards an OSGi-based infrastructure. This edition is fully updated to address these new advances for Eclipse developers.

Provides instructions for creating effective eBay auction listings and includes predesigned auction templates on the accompanying CD-ROM.

Wireless connectivity is now a reality in most businesses. Yet by its nature, wireless networks are the most difficult to secure and are often the favorite target of intruders. Some of the primary threats are the result of the following factors:

• Denial of service (DoS) and other network layer attacks
• Unauthorized access across the perimeter and within the organization Application layer intrusions and attacks, both from within and outside the network Extended connectivity through remote access and extranets
• An increase in unmanaged or ill-managed endpoint devices
• New applications like VoIP, instant messaging, and peer-to-peer

This book provides the busy network administrator with best-practice solutions address these threats and to maintain a secure and accessible wireless network. The book endorses the principle that the best strategy is to deploy multiple layers of security, each reinforcing the other. Yet it never strays from its emphasis on the practical; that any tool or methodology that is deployed must work reliably, allow sufficient access, and require a minimal amount of maintenance.

By: John Ross
Publisher: No Starch Press (May 1, 2006)
ISBN: 1593271395

When Windows works properly, it’s relatively easy to ignore; you can concentrate on the work you’re trying to do and forget about the plumbing inside your computer. But when something goes wrong, it often requires an experienced guide to solve the problem and restore the computer to working condition. Everybody who uses Microsoft Windows eventually has to deal with cryptic error messages, frozen screens, and other more or less dramatic problems. Windows troubleshooting is the set of tools and techniques that can identify the source of a problem and find a solution.

By: Robert Schifreen
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons (May 5, 2006)
ISBN: 0470025557

The current struggle between IT security and computer hackers is reaching crisis point. Corporate dependency on computers and the Internet as well as the rapid spread of broadband into more households has resulted in a feeding ground for hackers around the world. Estimated damage costs are now making their way into the billions. The need for some good advice is long overdue.

Robert Schifreen, a self-confessed ex-hacker, made history in 1985 when he became the first person in the world to face a jury trial in connection with computer hacking. His subsequent acquittal in the High Court led to a change in UK Law and the introduction of the Computer Misuse Act 1990. His 20 years experience in IT security now lends itself to global radio and TV broadcasts, as well as appearances at conferences and lectures around the world.

For every $2 worth of software purchased legally, $1 worth of software is pirated illegally. For the first time ever, the dark underground of how software is stolen and traded over the internet is revealed. The technical detail provided will open the eyes of software users and manufacturers worldwide! This book is a tell-it-like-it-is expos of how tens of billions of dollars worth of software is stolen every year.

Did you know that most of the software on your computer, and nearly every program you’ve heard of, can be obtained without charge? In less time than it would take you to drive down to your “friendly neighborhood computer store” and purchase a software program, you can download the exact same program from the internet for free! Obtaining something intended to be sold without paying is “controversial” to say the least. But whether you call if “free for the asking,” “software piracy,” or just out-and-out “stealing;” downloading, copying, and sharing software is being done by thousands of people everyday. This book explains the epidemic problem of software piracy in great detail for both software users and manufacturers.

In Hackers Beware, Eric Cole succeeds in explaining how hackers break into computers, steal information, and deny services to machines’ legitimate users. An intended side effect of his documentary efforts is a feeling for how network-connected computers should be configured for maximum resistance to attack. Cole, who works with the attack-monitoring SANS Institute as an instructor and security consultant, conveys to his readers specific knowledge of offensive and defensive weaponry as well as general familiarity with attack strategies and good security practices. Hackers Beware is a good primer and really earns its price by going into enough detail to enable readers to actually do something to make their resources safer. It also enables its readers to understand more specialized security texts, including Stephen Northcutt’s fine Intrusion Signatures and Analysis.

Cole’s didactic style is largely conversational, embracing the fact that most computer exploits can be conveyed as stories about what hackers want and the steps they take to achieve their goals. He punctuates his prose passages with line drawings that clarify what gets passed among the machines involved in an attack, and pauses frequently to show programs’ user interfaces and passages from their logs. Cole explains all the jargon he uses-a characteristic that alone distinguishes this book from many of its competitors.

Topics covered: What motivates black-hat hackers, and the technical means they use to go about satisfying their ambitions. General attack strategies-spoofing, password cracking, social engineering, and buffer overflows, among others-are explained, and the tools used to carry them out are catalogued. The same goes for defensive tools and practices.

Frustrated by the lack of instructions and documentation that came with your new iPod? Don’t throw it out the window! Instead, consult Easy iPod and iTunes, a full-color, visually oriented book that covers iPod and iTunes usage from the beginner’s point of view. With step-by-step instructions and visual elements on every page, you will go from opening the iPod box and installing its software, to ripping music in iTunes, syncing with the iPod and beyond. You will learn to work with music files, podcasts, audio books and Internet radio, and you’ll discover the iTunes Music Store and how it works with iTunes and iPod. As long as you have a current model iPod (including the new Nano and video models), this book will work for you.