Steal This Computer Book 3: What They Won't Tell You about the Internet Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I orderd this book after seeing the "stunning" reviews it recieved on this site. I'm sorry to say that I am very disappointed. I got it yesterday morning and was real eager to get into it, but within an hour I just stopped reading. Why?
Dont get me wrong this isnt a bad book per-se and its just that it has its audience and i'm not part of it. This is for people\parents\employers\new users to the internet who want to know more about its dark underbelly.

If you know or understand phrases like- firewalls, sniffers, back-doors, loggers, scanners, spam, idtheft, filters, Airsnort, dumpster-diving, social-engineering, shoulder surfing and so on....- then dont even pick this book up. I'm no computer security guru but i'd say a couple of days surfing the net and you'll soon have the bones of this book.
If on the other hand, you're new to the net, you're worried about you kids safety while on the net, who's using your computer, what they're doing, what other could be doing to you, or just need a quick jumpstart into the darker side of the net then maybe (and only just maybe!!) you should consider this book.
Its like one reviewer said, its for the ordinary guy, but if you've done any bit of work in IT then a lot of it will seem like fluff. So I've left it for now but am not gonna throw it out, its something i'll read when i got time and also there looks to be some interesting sections that I'm gonna look through.
It still gets 2 stars though; one because its well organsied and written in a very easy to understand language, not too technical which is definately a plus if you're new to the net and all thing computers, and two beacuse theres a lot of good links to related software and sites that can help you understand more. Think of it as a good reference\starting point.
Peronally i'd say save you're money and read "computer espoinage, counter measures and tactics" if you want more intersting read.

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This offbeat, non-technical book looks at what hackers do, how they do it, and how you can protect yourself. The third edition of this bestseller (over 150,000 copies sold) adopts the same informative, irreverent, and entertaining style that made the first two editions a huge success. Thoroughly updated, this edition also covers rootkits, spyware, web bugs, identity theft, hacktivism, wireless hacking (wardriving), biometrics, and firewalls.

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