Posts Tagged ‘security’

You Are Not A Gadget

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

book coverYou Are Not A Gadget – A Manifesto, Jaron Lanier, Knopf, 2010

This book is about the social and cultural problems that can grow out of poorly considered Internet software design. It is difficult reading in places, but its message is important. Hardcover, 200 pages. This book is in the “Express Collection” so the quickest way to get your hands on it is to check the 7-day Express shelf. Which branch? At the library site, click on “Availability details”, find which branches it is at, then unfortunately you may have to visit one of those branches. It is currently on the shelf at Centennial in Bells Corners.

Cyber War

Monday, June 14th, 2010

book coverCyber War: The next Threat to National Security and What to Do about It, Richard A. Clarke, Ecco, 2010

Here is the state of Internet security, from the viewpoint of the American Security Czar. The Orange cover is appropriate: the book is meant to alarm American voters. The alarm is justified: white-hats worldwide would do well to keep their systems guarded (patched, monitored, firewalled..). But the author needs to distinguish between war and internet security.  Military systems that need to be secure from hackers simply should not be connected to the Internet. Likewise with critical infrastructure such as power grid controls.  Internet security then has little to do with war, important as it is. 250 pages, hardcover.

Adobe Reader Vuln

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

What a pain it is updating Adobe’s products due to security vulnerabilities! Note that Reader needs to be updated today, and even then you have to worry about something that Adobe claims is not a vuln. You need to disable an option as described here: Clear the check box “Allow opening of non-PDF file attachments with external applications”.

Better still, why not get rid of Adobe Reader and install evince?  It works fine, and you can make it the default for PDF’s so it will be invoked automatically when you click a link in your browser.

Hacking Exposed Malware & Rootkits

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

book coverHacking Exposed Malware & Rootkits : malware & rootkits security secrets & solutions / Michael Davis, McGraw Hill, 2010

Security pro’s will learn how to defend (or attack). 350 pages.

Gray Hat Python

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

book coverGray Hat Python : Python programming for hackers and reverse engineers / by Justin Seitz, No Starch Press, 2009

If you can get over the not-quite-black-hat metaphor, this book is a good introduction to Python and web security. It contains just enough information to get you hooked, and then you will need other more complete books or some good web resources. 200 pages.

Applied Oracle Security

Monday, December 28th, 2009

book coverApplied Oracle Security : developing secure database and middleware environments / David C. Knox, McGraw-Hill, 2010

Here is a book for Oracle database pro’s. 600 pages.

24 Deadly Sins of Software Security

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

book cover24 Deadly Sins of Software Security : programming flaws and how to fix them / Michael Howard, McGraw-Hill, 2010

Most programmers will find this timely book very useful, despite its lurid fascination with the word ’sin’. All common languages are covered. 350 pages.

Truth About Identity Theft

Friday, November 13th, 2009

book coverThe Truth About Identity Theft / Jim Stickley, FT Press, 2009

Here is a book you can give your dad so he will not get scammed online. 150 pages.

Hacking Exposed 6

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009

Hacking Exposed 6 : network security secrets & solutions / Stuart McClure, McGraw-Hill, 2009

Here is good practical information to help you defend your systems against hackers. The authors are executives at McAfee. 650 well written pages.

Developer’s Guide to Web Application Security

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

Developer’s Guide to Web Application Security / Michael Cross, Syngress, 2007

Here is a readable (though not current) book with security information every developer needs to know, but many don’t. 450 pages.