Computers Books

It's hard to add much that isn't said by the 17 other 5 star reviews, but this is easily my favorite security book. Aside from ascribing me to the theories of NSM -- that visibility into the network provides the critical information required to accurately diagnose and respond to security issues -- and being an excellent read, this book is also a fantastic reference. As I've implemented NSM in my environment, I haven't stopped referencing the book to find tools that might be better suited to jobs, or to find tools that have all but vanished from the face of the earth. I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone responsible for the security of any size network.

This book is a great introduction to the world of NSM (Network Security Monitoring). The basic idea is that security defenses will fail at some point and that to realistically improve the security posture of an organization NSM is needed.



The book starts with an introduction to risk analysis. It then describes how to build an NSM platform using open source tools, FreeBSD, and network taps / SPAN ports. It also includes some case studies and a lot of material on the operational aspects of running a NSM team.



I really like Richard's style such as his footnotes with related papers.

Be sure to check out the author's blog at http://taosecurity.blogspot.com/.

Cuts right to the chase. Worthy addition to any serious network security library.

A problem with the approach many people take to network and security monitoring is that they expect it to be plug and play. Install the software and then stop attackers in their tracks. If only it was so easy. But one can't simply install monitoring software or an IDS, collect data and expect it all to correlate and correct itself.

The beauty of The Tao of Network Security Monitoring : Beyond Intrusion Detection is that it shows how network monitoring requires a strong discipline to truly have an effect on security.

The book is written for the person; primarily a system administrator or security engineer whom truly wants to use an IDS to manage and secure their network. This is not an introductory text, rather it is written for someone not scared of downloading and compiling code. If you are looking for an intro to IDS usage, this is not the book for you. This is a book about someone who has an IDS, and needs to find a way to use it and tune it for maximum usage.

The book has a near endless supply of network traffic capture and analysis tools, techniques and network topologies. Beyond simply providing a list of software tools, the book shows how to install and configure a variety of these tools. Rather than wasting pages and screen shots detailing how to download and install the software mentioned; the book shows how to use the tool in the context or Tao of security monitoring.

In addition, the author emphasizes the point that the people are a crucial aspect of effective network monitoring. The ultimate success of any IDS is directly tied to the analyst behind the console. They are the ones making the decision on how to respond to an incident, and if they are not appropriately trained, all of the hardware and software will only provide a fraction of it potential.

With that, The Tao of Network Security Monitoring should be considered required reading for anyone using an IDS or responsible for its use. If you have staff using an IDS, ensure that they have read The Tao of Network Security Monitoring as it will educate them in truly understanding how to monitor a network.

I am not sure how I was first introduced to the author, Mr. Bejtlich. I cannot remember if I first noticed his work via his excellent blog or this, his first book. Either way, after reading "The Tao of Network Security" by Richard Bejtlich, I feel he has prepared and educated me in a way unlike any other author. The first item you must recognize is the tone that this book dictates right from the outset. The book begins by citing many different authors, their books and their value. I knew immediately that I was in for a treat. And I was right!

I will not attempt to offer a full review as I feel one can gather from other reviews the value of this book. The book is basically broken up into 5 sections. The first 100 pages is an intro to Network Security Monitoring (NSM). The second part is dedicated to the different ways to monitor - I particularly like (and agree) with how the author broke up the different ways of cataloguing NSM - full content, session, and alert. The third section describers NSM processes and the fourth section describes NSM people.

The book, overall, is a superb resource. Not a page goes by without some screenshots of TCPDump, UNIX configs or diagrams. I have heard others' mention they have been given this book to read in their classroom study and I can see why.

I give this book 5 pings out of 5:
!!!!!

Look no further. This is the Reason book to own. I'm looking forward to a Reason 3.0 version!

This book is the most well written, documented, and friendly instruction manual I have ever read.

Firstly, its entirely clear that the author is a professional user of Reason, knows heaps about the program and how to maximize its potential, as well as suggests ways for taking it out of the norm.

Secondly, the tone of the author is friendly and fun. You get the feeling this book was written by your big brother or best friend giving you the details. The text is clear, simple, and accurate. The author conveys information without loosing your interest or overwhelming you with dry tech speak.

I have used Reason for 2 years and am a Reason 3.0 user, but still refer to this book often. It covers so much about the core of the program that you will quickly be able to learn the new devices in 3.0 as you will have a fantastic foundation and understanding of the application. The book explains all the devices in 2.0 (including the functions of knobs, sliders, buttons, synthesis models, loops, envelopes, etc), CV/Gating, Sequencing, ReWire, use with other major audio applications, useful tips/tricks, and plenty of links to helpful user websites. It also has numerous quick and easy "how to" tutorials, that are clearly documented step by step and with pictures.

Very well done. I am grateful for how quickly I was able to ramp up on Reason due 90% to this book. Honestly, this should be the standard for instructional texts.

No, you can't RECORD with Reason. But there are countless ways to use files that you have recorded with other, very simple or even free applications (how about your Sony Minidisk recorder hooked up to a decent mike? talk about light years ahead of what we had available way back when); files that you have downloaded, files that you have gotten off of records or CD's or even TV, in Reason (shame!). It can be as simple as having the drum machine play a sound file from anywhere on your computer, with a surprising amount of control of, for example, sample start-and then you move on to the more powerful samplers... And then this will provide you with many different ways to control and distort, filter, and manipulate those files that are so easy to trigger or otherwise get inside Reason. Because that is what Reason does, it gives you a studio full of tools-synths, samplers, mixers, and the many sound sculpting modifiers to create, twist, and control your sounds.

And this book does a fantastic job of showing you these tools, in a very carefully thought out order and depth. Like another reviewer said, you would have to be a serious power user indeed not to get many good ideas from this book; and like yet another reviewer said, people that write textbooks should look at this one and see just how well it can be done. It will take you from a novice to synthesizers to an expert on Reason and computer synthesis music creation, giving history and background to help you learn about the many music synthesis tools. It is filled with tutorials, how-to's, and tips and tricks that even go beyond Reason sometimes. You could take a tutorial and change it as you follow along and create it and have a complete Reason song of your own easily. I also thought it gave a summarily good introduction into the powerful usage of the Control Voltage interface from ages past (one of Reason's most powerful tools in it's bag of tricks-one that ties everything together like you have never been able to do with so many different devices), with tips and tricks there, too. There are a lot of toys available in Reason, but once you get past a certain not-too-difficult level, it is actually a very intuitive and very fun to use interface; and this book is definitely filled with this same infectious enthusiasm for that rack o' modules and wires. It is an extraordinarily good book for beginner to expert.

You should see my copy of this book, it is nearly destroyed from so much usage, carrying it about wherever I go and constantly going back to it for reference.

As a side note, I think the Acrobat Reader Operation Manual supplied with Reason is also excellent. It's just what it should be-precise and to the point-it's an Operation Manual, after all. If you take the time to practise and apply what you read, it will give you the background to know what you are doing (as much as is possible-sometimes when you have so much going on in a patch it would be hard for anyone to say how you got there-and that can be fun, too) and what every control does. This book will do the same and take you farther with much more help.

Before I read this book I had Reason installed on my computer and I didn't use it very often because the interface wasn't straightforward for a beginning user like myself to understand how to operate it beyond basic operations. This book is an excellent source to learn how to use Reason 2 or 2.5. It contains practical, hands-on tutorials, explanations of the knobs and interfaces, and helpful tips. This is a must have if you want to become proficient in Reason!

This book contained a great amount of information. To use as reference or to learn from over all a great buy.

It helped me along in using C.V. Gates ect. and offers lots of other great information.

A must for any user of reason

P.S. Any one that made comments to recording audio in to Reason ha ha ha

Get Cubase or some other Program that will run rewire.
Think before the mouth opens. . . . know what I mean Mate

Thank you to Derek Johnson & Debbie Poyser

I had been working with Unix and Linux flavors for sometime, and this book has been a blessing for me. I need a book that was willing to detail every aspect of the OpenBSD ( at least the most relevant), kernel, workarounds, etc. And it does its job. Many Thanks,ed

I purchased this book from Amazon on March 4th, 2007. Two months and five days later, after two conversations with Amazon employees who assured me that I would receive the book, they still have not shipped it.

It appears that Amazon simply does not have the book. I phoned the publisher, No Starch Press, and they don't have a copy either. A PDF is available for download, but that's all.

At this writing, the Amazon listing still says that the book "usually" ships in one to two weeks. Amazon is apparently selling a product that it does not have to sell.

If you want this book, you might do better to buy one of the used ones.

So many computer books today are 800 pages of word bloat. Michael not only keeps the writing lively, but in K&R fashion, he gives a lot of information in a succint way. Highly recommended and an easy read. Also note, he gives a complete picture of openbsd from A-Z Not too tedious and not too broad. I have not found a linux book this nice.

I'm no security freak, but I love the OpenBSD concept: security above all. When I took a course in Unix operating systems, I was introduced to OpenBSD, and recommended to purchase this text. Albeit outdated (it covers version 3.2, and OpenBSD is now at 4.0), the book offers an overview of all the basics, including 3 whole chapters on the pf firewall.

Because of its general nature, the author, Lucas, does not solely focus on pf, but instead adds flair to an extremely hostile operating system environment. I don't recall ever working with a more difficult system from scratch. Lucas really helped in getting me through some of the more cryptic areas of installation and configuration. The book itself is quite basic, so if you need something specific, like a korn shell book, look elsewhere. His style also makes the book itself a fun read, I must admit, because of his colorful presentation.

I've had this book for more than a year now.

This may be the most fun textbook-with-no-pictures I've ever read.

Realy I bought the book, I didn't have any OpenBSD contact and I bought the OpenBSD CDs to try it and play, and the book arrived before the OpenBSD's CDs and I begun to read, and learned me how to install OpenBSD, When the CDs arrived realy was very easy to install and get my first steeps in this OS.

It's too bad that versions of software change so fast because this is a great book! I still find myself referring to it even though I've used Acrobat since the dawn of time. Of all the books you can get, this is the one to spend your money on!

I have to concur with the NY reviewer who said this is a manual that all others should aspire to. How to's and examples are often presented in multiple forms to aid in understanding. The illustrations are clean, clear, and exremely helpful. The writing is concise, clear, and actually fun to read! The included CD presents wonderful examples of state-of-the art pdfs. While hardly a geek, I found myself reading the book before bed at night simply because it was so interesting! Kudos to the authors! I highly recommend this book not only to anyone wishing to learn everything worth knowing about Acrobat but also to anyone who aspires to write a similar text. It's a master class in information presentation as well as how to produce pdf's.

I create PDF multimedia presentations and I own every book available on Acrobat 5.0+. Master Class is by far the best reference I own in terms of practical information.

If you're creating complex forms or trying to master Javascript, you'll need Padova and Deubert, too. But if you're looking for ideas on how to create presentations that blow people away, this is the book to buy.

I bought four books on Acrobat 5, and this one is by far the best. It is written conceptually. It appeals to the senses as well as providing an education. Taking vast amounts of information and refining it so that it is presented simply yet thoroughly. I enjoy reading it.
I also bought Classroom in a book by the Adobe Creative Team and it is work. I am sure over time I will derive a lot from it, but Master Class is fun. You would never know that your working because you are too busy seeing all the cool stuff you can do with Adobe 5 and how to do it.
I also bought Real World PDF with Adobe Acrobat 5 by Anita Dennis, Industrial Strength Production Techniques, and that is a book for advanced students. It explains everything clearly, and is a big benefit for explaining the details on how to fit Adobe PDF into your print production overflow.
Adobe PDF is so much more than simply converting your files. It appears simple on the outside, but when you read Adobe 5 Master Class, you will be enthralled with how much more it does. Highly recommended for beginners and advanced students.

It was tough to decide if this is a four-star or a five-star book. Four and a half stars would be my preference.

At any rate, if you can afford only one Adobe Acrobat 5 book, you might be better off buying Acrobat 5 Hands On Training (HOT). I recommend, though, saving up enough money to get every book on Acrobat you can, for it is the wave of the future and a must for anybody wanting to put information-interactively on the web - my term is info-tivity - and the best thing this Hypercard pioneered the process at Apple's MacIntosh.

There probably is not single more valuable software tool for making money than Acrobat and I will be upgrading to version 6 as soon as I return stateside. That's the good news - the bad is that I will likely have to upgrade my library to keep in tune with the changes in this great software.

Back now to the review - if you intend to post any video, animation or audio on the internet you simply are going to have to purchase this book.

Further, if you are going to self-publish any sort of periodical on the web, you will definitely want to download HOW NOT TO START A MAGAZINE. by B. Ann Bell. Then, go read HOW TO START A MAGAZINE, STARTING & RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL NEWSLETTER OR MAGAZINE, PUBLISH YOUR OWN MAGAZINE, GUIDEBOOK, OR WEEKLY NEWSPAPER, and PAPERLESS PUBLISHING and do a google search for the soon-to-be LJs BREAKING FREE$.

Yes, that list is long but each of these is a valuable source of information for anyone trying to make money by publishing on the internet - Bill Anderson (LJ).

I had received PSE 2 from a peripheral purchase (printer or scanner, I can't remember) and was intrigued by what I had heard in general about Photo Shopping pictures. However, the tutorials that came along with the help file weren't all that helpful so I put off learning the program. For some reason a bee got in my bonnet and I decided to look into the program again. I searched Amazon and found this book and after reading the reviews ordered my copy.

I can honestly say I was quite impressed. Usually, How-To books can get you headed in the right direction but for the most part you will only go to the chapters that you are interested in. This book is different. Each session leads into the next building upon what you have already learned. The instructions are fantastic. They are clear and the visuals that accompany them are easy to see and follow. The CD provides all of the photos you work with so there is no guess work. You can stop in a session and come back a few days later without having to reread everything again. At the end of each session there is an excellent review over what you have just learned. The author definitely has a good teaching style.

I can't say enough positive about the book. If you have ever been interested in learning Photo Shop here is your perfect opportunity.

This book has some good practice lessons. One thing I didn't like is that every lesson involves creating a project using sports pictures. I would have liked to seen lessons creating projects other than sports, like portraits or landscapes. Other than that, good basic lessons.

I like the book very much, BUT "DID NOT RECEIVE" THE TRAINING CD THAT WAS TO BE INCLUDED. Is there a chance of getiing, I will even pay for!!!!!!
Thats what prompted me to purchase book.

Thanks much and have a good day. Jerry

Both my wife and I love this book. I received Photoshop Elements 2 with my camera and had trouble figuring out how to use it. My wife read somewhere about how good and easy this book was to use. The key to this book is that it explains step by step how to use all of Photoshop Elements 2s' tools. It is a lot to learn and takes time, but you can redo each leasson to get better and better at it. The key is to use it! It's nice to have this book to fall back on when you forget how to use a certain tool because you haven't had to use it for some time. The lessons are well planned out and the samples and photo work are all excellent. If you only work part time on your photos this book is a must have to make using this program easier.

Probably the most helpful computer book I have ever used. Purchased a second copy for a friend just starting with digital photo printing. As a professional photographer I would encourage anyone interested in digital printing to buy it.

This is a fantastic book for the newly-diagnosed breast cancer patient. It was given to my by my surgeon's office. It does a great job explaining things on a level that the average person can understand. It also has great diagrams, lists of questions to ask your medical team, glossary of terms, websites to check out and comments from breast cancer survivors and/or significant others of survivors. I highly recommend this book.

We give this book to surgeons in our area to distribute to women diagnosed with breast cancer. Before purchasing it, we had a group of 4 breast cancer survivors review and rate 3 separate books on breast cancer. This book "won" hands down, based on numerous criteria -- everything from its explanation of breast cancer treatments, to its index and glossary, to its discussion of life after cancer. It is clear and easy to read, provides comprehensive information on types of breast cancer and corresponding treatment alternatives, has wonderful graphics and photos, and provides interesting anecdotal stories of actual patients in its sidebar. Highly recommended!

I was introduced to this book at work and am now giving it to women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. I am on oncology certified nurse in the radiation oncology department of my cancer center. In January 2007 I also became our Breast Cancer Patient Navigator. I find this book gets excellent reviews from patients and their families alike. It is a great source of information, covering all the topics from diagnosis to living life 'after cancer'. I only wish I would have had this book when I was on my personal breast cancer journey! I highly recommend this book for someone newly diagnosed with breast cancer.

"Many experts believe that Herceptin represents the future direction of breast cancer drugs, because it targets a particular protein on the cancer cell, rather than attacking all cells at random. As research progresses, scientist hope to make all anti-cancer drugs as specific as possible." ~ pg. 97

Designed to compliment the book, the DVD provides an environment of understanding with explanations for all the procedures and various situations that will occur after a diagnosis. New treatments like Immunotherapy are discussed and there is an extensive resource section with additional CD options, including a CD-ROM program that is an interactive guide to treatment.

Helpful up-to-date information about why you may not need a mastectomy and only a lumpectomy is encouraging and gives hope. Radiation and Chemo is also discussed in detail. Throughout both the DVD and book, women tell their stories and that gives a sense of the range of experience. There are over 150 color photographs and graphics to illustrate important points.

A variety of questions are given in each section so you know what to ask your doctor. The stages of breast cancer are given so you know exactly what your doctor is talking about. The main sections include:

Facing Breast Cancer - Your feelings, support groups, healthcare teams and overview of treatment options.

Breast Cancer Basics - Types of Breast Cancer

Diagnosis and Staging - Tumor Testing, the Pathology Report, Additional Tests, How Stage is Determined

Surgery - Reconstruction, Lumpectomy and Mastectomy options, Lymph Nodes

Reconstruction - Choosing a Plastic Surgeon, External and Internal Options

Radiation Therapy - How treatment is given, Brachytherapy

Chemotherapy - Side Effects, Common Chemotherapy Drugs

Hormone Therapy - How Treatment is Given, Who should be Treated, Side Effects

Immunotherapy - Future Therapies and Herceptin

Clinical Trials - Participation Ideas and getting the newest treatments...

Life after Cancer - Emotional Recovery, Physical Recovery

The Guide for Your Partner is a special section your partner can read. If possible, watching the DVD together would be ideal because it explains all the basics in the book.

Be a Survivor is an excellent resource because it gives you all the questions you need to ask and answers a number of pertinent questions any woman will be asking the moment she is diagnosed.

Vladimir Lange, MD is one of the most respected doctors in this field of study and this book came into being after his own wife was diagnosed with breast cancer.

~The Rebecca Review

I can also recommend "Reconstructing Natalie" by Laura Jensen Walker.

Be a Survivor was chosen by our women's health professional group as the educational tool of choice to use with patients diagnosed with breast cancer. The book offers excellent graphic examples to reinforce the information provided and enlightens the reader through documented personal experiences with breast cancer. As a health care practitioner who has never experienced breast cancer it is an excellent tool for education and a take home reference for the patient throughout the breast cancer experience. The accompaning DVD is an excellent way for the patient and / or family to view the information when they are at home. The DVD also allows for a different learning medium for those visual learners.

I'm an intermediate coder, familiar with programming and I have about 1.5 years programming C#. I've already used this book(C# Cookbook 2nd edition) to write C# code navigating in and around directories and files. The examples in the book regarding "Directory Info" and "File Info" were so clear and concise, I was able to complete my programming task with almost no lost time to the learning process. What I like most was that there was not one example, but many examples for the most used functionalities. This book has already paid for itself when I consider the time it saved me the first time I needed it!

Being an advanced programmer I was looking for books to use as references or to further my skills. This book has proven a valuable asset.

I came across a project that had to do with XML, and I came to love this book. It has a lot of suggestions that helped me jump start my project.

I wouldn't recommend this book to learn C#- (pick up John Sharp C# step by step for that.)

If you are just coming into C# or have been doing it for a while - it doesn't matter - BUY THIS BOOK!!! Oreilly as we all know, makes very good tech/programming books and this one is one of the best I've had so far. This will be a book that will spend much less time on my shelf and much more time next to me on my desk.

The C# Cookbook, Second Edition has been updated and revised for C# 2.0 and version 2.0 of the .NET framework, and despite the fact that version 3.5 of the .NET framework is imminent, it remains a must have book to have on hand. It is essentially a collection of examples showing how to solve specific programming problems (some of which you might not have even realised you have, such as boxing/unboxing and efficient string handling, to name just a few...)

The C# Cookbook has over 1100 pages and is arranged into 20 chapters, each of which focuses on a particular area in C#. Despite its size it is not daunting to read. Here are the topics covered:

1. Numbers and Enumerations
2. Strings and Characters
3. Classes & Structures
4. Generics
5. Collections
6. Iterators and Partial Types
7. Exception Handling
8. Diagnostics
9. Delegates, Events and Anonymous methods
10. Regular Expressions
11. Data Structures and Algorithms
12. Filesystem I/O
13. Reflection
14. Web
15. XML
16. Networking
17. Security
18. Threading and Synchronisation
19. Unsafe Code
20. Toolbox

This book is in O'Reilly's `cookbook' series Problem-Solution-Discussion format, and like other books in the series can either be read from cover to cover, or be used as a reference to shed light on a particular problem. Each `recipe' starts with a description of the problem, followed by a complete, documented code sample showing you how to solve it, along with a detailed discussion of how and why it works, and any drawbacks. This format can also serve as an excellent way of mastering aspects of C#.

Like the other O'Reilly cookbooks, this book manages to strike a perfect balance between reference and instruction on real problems developers encounter every day. Hats off to Jay and Stephen for creating such a useful resource.

If you are a developer who writes C# code for a living, I would be surprised if you do not find something useful the first time you pick this book up. If you are thinking of buying just one book on C# 2.0, make it this one. Highly recommended for beginners and experts alike.

[...]

I looked in several books regarding this subject and think this is the best book about PHP/Mysql. I just read the first chapter because I am presently too busy with adobe Actionscript. Hope have time soon to continue it.

For a recent project that I needed to build I had to dive into PHP and MySQL. I have purchased quite a few books on the subject matter. A books real value to me is how much the book is used after you finish reading it. This is one of those books that has just enough to get you going on most PHP topics. With the help of this book and a couple of others I have been able to build a complex CMS system. This is the best of the bunch.

As an experience programmer from ASP.Net, I can say that this is a good book for getting into PHP. The book paces pretty well, making sure you get the necessary basics but not bore you with overstuffed material.

The only thing that annoys me, is the amount of typos on the samples and sample codes. If you are a seasoned programmer like me, you will pick them up with no problem before testing them. But for the novice, it could give them extra time debugging.

Still I recommend this book.

I don't write reviews unless I feel very strongly about the book. This is indeed the first time I wrote in amazon.com.
I feel this is the one book you must have for web application development using PHP and mySQL, although frankly there are many good ones around too. I have seen many books and I strongly recommend this.
It has a comprehensive coverage. Many reviews have mentioned it so I am not going to repeat. I find that I learned something not covered in other books - about building robust, secured, and efficient codes. I have not seen people write that kind of codes for PHP. Marc has been most generous in shraring these with the readers. The 3 last projects were superb. It is well suited for the techie.

I have had bad luck with the core series of books in the past, they are in desperate need of both a copywriter/spellchecker, and technical fact checker. However this was a very pleasant surprise - it suffered from neither of the above mentioned problems . the author covered topics most other books cover i.e., Unicode handling, Security, and his explanation of OOP in PHP is the best I have ever read.

I would recommend this book to anyone planning to write PHP.

If you are considering buying any guide for Check Point Firewall-1 NG buy this one first and forget the rest.

Don't let the author's "phoneboy" aka make you think twice. This is one of the best guides I have ever read. Most are dry boring and overly technical. This guide is a very easy read, it is well written and to the point and covers all aspects of Check Point Fire Wall thoroughly.

Welch-Abernathy has taken great care to present installation, configuration and troubleshooting in a manner anyone will understand, whether you are seasoned pro or just getting started. He has covered all OS models and taken many of the trobleshooting questions from his site FAQs at www.phoneboy.com and shown examples of how to understand and correct them. In addition to actual Q and A, he outlines the step by step sample configurations excellently with actual scripts, screenshots, notes and diagrams.

Welch-Abernathy also guides you through creating network structures on a scale that allows someone new to Check Point to design and impliment smallto medium network configurations in easy to manage ways.

The author starts out buy giving a great overview of firewall security technologies and there relation to OS Models while comparing the benifits and short comings of both.

Welch-Abernathy then guides you through the installation and developing your rule base. He includes tables and charts to show examples of each and backs up his examples with the most common Q&As making an installation seem like a breeze.

The authors explanation of remote access, NAT and high availability servers don't get any simpler. Any Admin who needs load balancing and fail over on a server cluster should keep this
guide around for refferance as well as daily use.

In addition to the main body of knowledge Welch-Abernathy also includes a great appendex covering OS Bastion security that is not only simple it is direct as well. Also included in the Appendices are a use policy template, ldap configuration, fine tuning for performance and two pages of concrete internet resources.

The author starts out buy giving a great overview of firewall security technologies and there relation to OS Models while comparing the benifits and short comings of both. I also found his overview and specifics of the licensing to be very helpfull.

Welch-Abernathy then guides you through maze of the installation process and developing your rule base. He includes tables and charts to show examples of each and backs up his examples with the most common Q&As making an installation seem like a breeze.

His examples of authentication, encyption and vpn make this a must read for anyone running Check Point on a corpoarte network.

I also found his overview and specifics of the licensing to be very helpfull as well.

If you are running Check Point Firewall-1 or considering using Check Point Firewall-1 you won't go wrong by putting this one in your library.

Alot of subjects in IT and security are covered over and over with a mass of books that may be a little better or a little worse, but are essentially identical. While Checkpoint is a less crowded topic than, say, NT Administration, I suspect this book will continue to stand out. In researching Checkpoint issues I've been struck by the extent to which "Phoneboy" is personally identified with the topic, both by newbies and by seasoned professionals. It's for good reason. This book is extremely thorough (within its scope) and brings alot to the table in the way of the details that a professional would need. I've read alot of technical texts, but this one stands out, both generally and with the specific topic. The book is written well, with a good structure and giving useful examples. I found the bug reports and known issues particularly useful. As a technical resource it seems unmatched. It was an excellent resource, both on the job and in earning my CCSA.

Each chapter of the book starts off with describing what the reader will learn or accomplish by reading that chapter. This sort of information is helpful for allowing readers to skip information that may not be useful to them and find the answers they seek. Many of the chapters also contain FAQ's and sample configurations and illustrations to help reinforce the information.

The book tries to cover a very broad scope and apply to a wide audience. It contains information all the way from holding the readers hand if they are new to Checkpoint Firewall-1 NG to providing detailed troubleshooting and configuration steps for experienced Checkpoint administrators.

I have never administered a Checkpoint firewall personally, but I found the information mostly straight forward and understandable. Again, this is not a book one would typically read casually, but for anyone who administers a Checkpoint firewall or is looking at installing a Checkpoint Firewall-1 NG system this is an excellent source of information.

(...)

Checkpoint FireWall-1 has become one of the top firewall software products in the industry. There are many reasons for its predominance. It was the first commercial
firewall on the market, but more importantly, the FireWall-1 GUI and its ease of use impressed corporate CIO's.

Although FireWall-1 is easy to use, some users face difficulty in configuring the product correctly and appropriately. In fact, one of the biggest dangers of a firewall is that it can
provide a false sense of security; if not properly configured, a firewall may have so many holes that it actually functions as nothing more than a router. Firewall expert Marcus
Ranum notes that, "...eventually, if enough data is going back and forth through your firewall, it is no longer a firewall -- it is a router."

Many times, firewall administrators are hired not because of their expertise in information security, but because they know network and systems administration quite
well. Many FireWall-1 administrators start with zero experience and knowledge. This is good from a job security and training perspective, but terrible from a security perspective.
Despite the proliferation and ubiquitous nature of FireWall-1 over the past decade, it is only in the last few months that any worthwhile books on FireWall-1 have become
available. One of the best is Essential Checkpoint Firewall-1: An Installation, Configuration, and Troubleshooting Guide by Dameon Welch-Abernathy. Welch-
Abernathy maintains a Web site, ..., which contains information on anything and everything related to FireWall-1. In fact, many FireWall-1 administrators have
... bookmarked as their prime site for FireWall-1 information, even before the Check Point support site.

Although the documentation that comes with FireWall-1 is quite good, Essential Checkpoint Firewall-1 often surpasses it. This is what makes Welch-Abernathy known as
the man for FireWall-1. Even Nir Zuk, who was a principal engineer at Check Point, stated that Welch-Abernathy's knowledge of FireWall-1 in many cases surpassed the
knowledge of Check Point's own engineers.

As its title implies, the book covers the installation, configuration, and troubleshooting of FireWall-1. Whereas the product itself is pretty straightforward to install (except for the
software license information), the real challenge is in the post- installation arena. The book has 14 chapters and, by Chapter 3 (page 34), the book is already into FireWall-
1. Other books often include up to 100 pages of filler on topics such as computer secrity, cryptography, threats, etc., and don't get to the main subject until half way through the
book. Chapter 4 of this book provides a thorough overview of how to build a rulebase. The chapter describes the various fields and objects that need to be created for the
firewall to be effective. Although the simplicity of the Check Point GUI is obvious, the definition of names, network objects, and so forth, must be carefully planned -- especially
for rollouts of FireWall-1 in large enterprise environments.

Chapter 8 provides an excellent overview of content security. FireWall-1 is built on its patented Stateful Inspection capabilities, but it has other security facilities including CVP
(Content Vectoring Protocol), UFP (URL Filtering Protocol), and others. The chapter describes much of the secondary content protection capabilities of FireWall-1. Such

capabilities are crucial in light of the volume of information that passes through corporate firewalls (including streaming media, email, files, Java, etc.).

Essential Checkpoint Firewall-1 covers all the crucial topics that any FireWall-1 administrator needs to know. From authentication, VPN, logging, high availability, and
more, it is all there. This is what makes Essential Checkpoint Firewall-1 the book of choice for FireWall-1.

This is one of those rare books that delivers what the title claims. It gives in-depth instructions on Firewall-1 installation, configuration and troubleshooting, and also includes additional material on security and networking that goes beyond what the title promises.

What I especially liked about this book are the little details that have a big impact if they're overlooked. Notable examples include:

(1) Quick, but thorough, introduction that provides an overview of firewalls at a general level, and the key features and benefits of Firewall-1 in particular.
(2) Issues, such the need for a security policy, are addressed early on. This is an important consideration and the author goes beyond merely highlighting the need by giving you a brief template to use in creating one.
(3) Guide through the labyrinth of Check Point's Firewall-1 licensing schemes - this is a nice touch because mastering the technology is a less daunting task then figuring out Check Point's sales strategy.
(4) Strengths and weaknesses of candidate operating systems, and a straightforward process for installing and configuring Firewall-1. The latter is a strong point because you'll benefit from the author's extensive experience and will save time by having a strategy instead of getting bit by obscure issues and learning painful lessons.

I like the way that each section ends with frequently asked questions. The author anticipates and answers common questions about installation, configuration and troubleshooting. Because of the way this book is structured it can serve as an off-the-shelf implementation and maintenance guide, eliminating the need to develop this material in-house.

This is one of the best written and well thought-out technical guides that I've had the pleasure of reading. It sets a high standard for similar books, but more importantly, it so completely covers Firewall-1 that you won't need anything but this book to implement and support this product.

Had never used the product and needed a crash course and this was very helpful at the time.

This is an excellent manuscript for teaching yourself Captivate. Its even helping me review while learning the upgrade.

There arent many books on Captivate. It's too bad, because this software is very common in the education and eLearning field.
I needed to teach myself the software for my job, and this book helped a lot. It is full of practical lessons and examples. Upon completing the book, I had a very good command of the program. I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to learn Captivate.

Well written with excellent instructional design. The best way to learn this powerful software quickly. I couldn't have developed my project without it.

I ordered this a couple weeks ago and just got around to using it two days ago. I wasn't in a hurry because I have viewed the videos about Captivate 2 on Lynda.com and thought this book would just be review--which it isn't. As an educator I should know the difference between just watching something done and actually doing it. In this book you do the exercises--which are clearly explained step-by-step in easy bits! I'm halfway through the book and all I can say is how thankful I am that I ordered this. I've been wanting to create interactive online material for my courses for the past five years. Now, with Captivate 2 and this book I will be able to do it.