Operating Systems Books

The author has a refreshing sense of humor that makes you grin as you learn. He provides dozens and dozens of hard-to-find applications and tells you exactly what to type to implement the program. The CD includes helpful utilities, entertaining games, and even a full office suite. (Try to get THAT in your Windows O.S.!) Most of the programs on the CD include complete source code as well as a binary executable file. Many of the tools can run right off the CD.

This book is hard to beat if you want to get that "extra edge" in Linux. Your friends will be amazed and exclaim, "Gee, I didn't know you could do THAT with Linux!!!"

Lloyd W. Cary
~~~~~

Beginning at the beginning, he starts off with the basics and goes into enough detail to give the reader a good context for his instruction and, at the same time, gives the reader good, useful information about networking in general.

After the basics, its onto the "meat" of networking: IP addresses and their classes, subnetting and other network-related tasks--too many to mention here.

If you are seriously thinking about using Linux in a networked environment at the office or even at home, then buy this book. It's all you'll need to get started and up and running in no time!

A well written and well structured book it starts with the basics of configuring Linux (using Red Hat), building a kernel suited for networking, configuring Ethernet and dialling using PPP. After this thorough grounding it goes on to file sharing using NFS, Samba and netatalk and printer sharing. Once you've covered these sections you can connect to your Linux server from other Unix boxes, Windows or a Macintosh, indeed using this book I set up a Linux server to act as a bridge between Macs, Windows 95 and NT servers and two Sun workstations.

It then covers remote login, either using shell protocols telnet or ssh, or X logins using VNC or X Server. Finally it has two chapters on IP masquerading and firewalls.

OK, go over that list again - every aspect of building an intranet is covered.

Having used this book extensively I've found its flaw. When everything works this book is great. Once you run into problems it is less useful. The large amount of ground covered means that Smith has glossed over likely problems and solutions. Troubleshooting is ignored almost entirely.

I would recommend this book as a good beginners guide to building an intranet around Linux to almost everyone with the caveat that you may need more specific information in some areas when you run into serious trouble. If nothing else it is marvellous inspiration.

Also, the book is very well organized. The author knows which subjects need to be covered before others. You may be urgent to get to a specific subject, but if you patiently read "prerequisite" chapters (i.e. in the order presented), you won't be disappointed with the wait.

He does cover command line options, usually first, but also includes equivalent GUI tutorials (e.g. linuxconf). He also uses RedHat 6.0 throughout as the preferred example distro. However, he doesn't leave the non-RH user out in the cold by any means.

I bought "Linux Network Servers 24 Seven" beforehand and was lost within the first three chapters. Bought this book to help get a lighter start at leaning Linux networking and it's had all the right information at the right time. (Now I can get my money's worth out of that 24 Seven book).

One special word of advice: No "be all" book seems to cover Samba to a sufficient extent (at least to my satisfaction). In other words, be prepared to also buy a book dedicated to the subject of Samba configuration.

I found the hacks involving bluetooth, cellphones and your Mac worth the price of the book. Prior to this I "wanted" a bluetooth phone. Now I "need" a bluetooth phone. =) I was also happy to find the info on getting the Postfix Mail Server running.

The great thing about the hacks, IMHO, is that despite there only being 10 hacks or so that you might find useful enough to start using right away, you're bound to come up with another few on your own. For example, by combining what I learned from a few of the hacks, I was able to set up Virex to scan my Mail inbox for viruses every 15 minutes. So far, I've only found W32 viruses, but you can never be too cautious. =)

If you want to feed your inner geek, this book is for you.

Sure it is short, to the point, generallized, but GET THIS BOOK it is great reading while waiting for your computer to boot up and I must say... wonderful bathroom reading.. Cheap enough to have that extra copy in your bathroom and in your office..

I wish there were other books just referenced and crossreferenced like it.. wonderfull index, toc, and even the Colophon was a nice touch.

It's always hard to select a book online- sometimes the description of the book does not really tell you what you want to know. So I'll take this space to tell you a little about the book.

What It Is:
If you're interested in a book that is part technical reference, part programmer's guide, and all Windows 2000, then this book is for you. It goes deep enough into each topic to give you a thorough understanding of the feature or concept being described, but does not bog down and put you to sleep like a technical reference. It is not just "fluff" material, however- the material is what I would generally describe as 300 level in terms of technical depth.

What It's Not:
If you're looking for a step-by-step guide to hardening a Windows 2000 machine, then you should look elsewhere. This is not a rehash of information you'll find on the Microsoft security site. It is also not just a programmer's guide. There are entire books dedicated just to security programming on Windows NT. However, if you're already familiar with NT security programming, and just want an quick orientation to using the new features of Windows 2000, then this book may be for you.

This book discusses Windows 2000 security from an architectural standpoint, then discusses how to write code to use some of the new features such as CAPI 2.0, and closes with discussions of intrusion detection, penetration testing and security best practices.

I personally found the chapter "Writing Secure Code" to be particularly interesting. As a demonstration of insecure coding practices, it actually walks you through constructing a buffer overflow attack against a vulnerable Windows application that you also write.

Here's the table of contents:

I. Windows 2000 System Basics
1. Windows 2000 Architecture
2. Processes and Threads
3. Security Model
4. NTFS 5.0
5. Services
6. Drivers

II. Computer Network Security Foundations
7. Windows Networking Protocols
8. Cryptography
9. IPSec
10. PKI
11. Kerberos
12. X.500 and LDAP

III. Network Security in Windows 2000
13. Networking Model
14. Active Directory
15. Authentication
16. SSPI
17. CryptoAPI
18. Certificate Services
19. COM, DCOM, and RPC
20. VPNs
21. EFS
22. DNS, DDNS, & WINS

IV. Protecting Youself and Your Network Services
23. Secure Computing Practices
24. Building and Administering a Secure Server
25. Security with High-Speed Full-Time Connections
26. Detecting and Reacting to Intrusions
27. Recent Issues Explored
28. Penetration Testing
29. Writing Secure Code

It's always hard to select a book online- sometimes the description of the book does not really tell you what you want to know. So I'll take this space to tell you a little about the book.

What It Is:
If you're interested in a book that is part technical reference, part programmer's guide, and all Windows 2000, then this book is for you. It goes deep enough into each topic to give you a thorough understanding of the feature or concept being described, but does not bog down and put you to sleep like a technical reference. It is not just "fluff" material, however- the material is what I would generally describe as 300 level in terms of technical depth.

What It's Not:
If you're looking for a step-by-step guide to hardening a Windows 2000 machine, then you should look elsewhere. This is not a rehash of information you'll find on the Microsoft security site. It is also not just a programmer's guide. There are entire books dedicated just to security programming on Windows NT. However, if you're already familiar with NT security programming, and just want an quick orientation to using the new features of Windows 2000, then this book may be for you.

This book discusses Windows 2000 security from an architectural standpoint, then discusses how to write code to use some of the new features such as CAPI 2.0, and closes with discussions of intrusion detection, penetration testing and security best practices.

I personally found the chapter "Writing Secure Code" to be particularly interesting. As a demonstration of insecure coding practices, it actually walks you through constructing a buffer overflow attack against a vulnerable Windows application that you also write.

Here's the table of contents:

I. Windows 2000 System Basics
1. Windows 2000 Architecture
2. Processes and Threads
3. Security Model
4. NTFS 5.0
5. Services
6. Drivers

II. Computer Network Security Foundations
7. Windows Networking Protocols
8. Cryptography
9. IPSec
10. PKI
11. Kerberos
12. X.500 and LDAP

III. Network Security in Windows 2000
13. Networking Model
14. Active Directory
15. Authentication
16. SSPI
17. CryptoAPI
18. Certificate Services
19. COM, DCOM, and RPC
20. VPNs
21. EFS
22. DNS, DDNS, & WINS

IV. Protecting Youself and Your Network Services
23. Secure Computing Practices
24. Building and Administering a Secure Server
25. Security with High-Speed Full-Time Connections
26. Detecting and Reacting to Intrusions
27. Recent Issues Explored
28. Penetration Testing
29. Writing Secure Code

And most important, this book came through for me in an area that I have not found in the other books -- variables, functions and expressions. Roberts eases the reader into this area, which is by far the core of Authorware's strength and flexibility. Then the reader gets into two or three chapters that deal with this area in depth. The material was so good I couldn't help but want more, but alas, I think an entire book could be written on just variables and functions.

Even though I use Authorware 5.1, I found this version 4 book 100% useful -- all it lacks is info on how to use 5.1's Knowledge Objects -- which surprisingly is also absent in the newer Authorware 5 books that I have seen. But from what I've heard from other folks, the lack of K.O. information is no great loss. I just hope that Nick Roberts comes out with another AW book one of these days -- maybe on AW 6 when it hits the market.

The book's coverage of licensing is easily the most complete source for understanding a very complex subject. There are so many misconceptions of what licensing means in terms of software that the book is a must read if you either run a software company or are considering investing in one.

The only issue I have with the book is its description of the Java programming language as not having "a community". Being on the board of directors for the local Java User's Group I naturally take issue with that characterization, but for the sake of brevity, as well as sticking to the topic at hand, I will refrain from bringing out the voluminous amount of evidence to the contrary. :-)

For disclosure, I must admit to having met Mr. Rosenberg in the Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina. This isn't hard to do, considering he attends meetings of nearly every technical group I can think of, and is an expert on "people" networking.

The book is well written and organized, with interesting side stories that provide a drill-down view of key areas. There is also good discussion of the strategy that is behind the key players in the game today, as well as insights into emerging opportunities.

For anyone who wants a good overview of this revolutionary method of software development, this is it.

As someone involved with open source strategies at a large corporation in the computer industry, I found Donald's book to be objective, insightful, and current which reflects an intimate knowledge of someone on the inside.

The level-headedness of this book makes it an essential read for anyone trying to understand the counter-intuitive nature of open source or protect themselves from the FUD, emotions, and convoluted conversations that plague Open Source.