Secure your computer network with SSH! With transparent, strong encryption, reliable public-key authentication, and a highly configurable client/server architecture, SSH (Secure Shell) is a popular, robust, TCP/IP-based solution to many network security and privacy concerns. It supports secure remote logins, secure file transfer between computers, and a unique "tunneling" capability that adds encryption to otherwise insecure network applications. Best of all, SSH is free, with feature-filled commercial versions available as well. SSH: The Secure Shell: The Definitive Guide covers the Secure Shell in detail for both system administrators and end users. It demystifies the SSH man pages and includes thorough coverage of:

• SSH1, SSH2, OpenSSH, and F-Secure SSH for Unix, plus Windows and Macintosh products: the basics, the internals, and complex applications.

• Configuring SSH servers and clients, both system-wide and per user, with recommended settings to maximize security.

• Advanced key management using agents, agent forwarding, and forced commands.

• Forwarding (tunneling) of TCP and X11 applications in depth, even in the presence of firewalls and network address translation (NAT).

• Undocumented behaviors of popular SSH implementations.

• Installing and maintaining SSH systems.

Whether you're communicating on a small LAN or across the Internet, SSH can ship your data from "here" to "there" efficiently and securely. So throw away those insecure .rhosts and hosts.equiv files, move up to SSH, and make your network a safe place to live and work.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 34 Ratings

It is administrators guide, not implementors guide - 2007-09-27
Reviewer Rating:
This is good for beginners and administrators to get an understanding of the SSH. After reading it, you will know, how to set up and configure the SSH.

However, it will not give you details of the SSH protocol for an implementor. I had to look into chapter 7 of "VPNs Illustrated: Tunnels, VPNs, and IPsec by Jon C. Snader" to get an overview of how the SSH protocol really works behind the doors. This chapter gave pictorial descriptions as opposed to textual descriptions in the SSH RFCs.

In the next version, I would expect this book to contain a chapter giving implementation details of the SSH protocol.

Tries to be all things to all ssh users - 2008-07-26
Reviewer Rating:
The main problem with this book is not that it is incomplete, but that you will probably have to wade through portions that do not apply to you to get to what you need to know.

The authors are knowledgable, and I had no problem with the presentation. However, I was looking for the format of ssh and scp commands for the purpose of programmng them in PERL and the needed security files that have to be present for those commands to work without the necessity of logging in every time. I found what I needed to know in this book, but I might have been better off if I had just done a web search for this information.

Likewise, network and UNIX administrators probably have the information they need in this book too, but they will have to wade through the information for programmers as well as the information for IT managers who are deciding whether or not to install SSH on their machines and why. I'd still recommend it since it is a well-written and well-illustrated book. Just be prepared to go digging for what applies to your specific situation.

Decent Book - 2008-06-09
Reviewer Rating:
Good book, but a little hard to understand. Considering the subject matter that is unavoidable. Part of the problem is due to UNIX/LINUX forks. By that I mean no two versions of UNIX/LINUX are exactly alike.
This book is mostly for system administrators. However those of us below that level can glean a few nuggets of usefull information out of it.

A Wonderful Book - 2008-04-15
Reviewer Rating:
This is a prime example of how technical books should be written. The material is not easy, but the authors' mastery of the subject matter is clear. It is superbly well organized and very well written. I was only interested in OpenSSH and not Tectia, but the way the material is presented, it was easy to skip over material covering the latter. If you need to know more than what is in this book, you better start working with the development team.

This is not just a "how to" book where you follow a recipe to do task X. But it DOES tell you how to do most anything you'd ever want to get done. It would not surprise me if it is being used as a college course book on SSH. You will probably have to read it more than once to absorb everything. A nice blend of history, theory, and practice - even a bit of techno-geek humor. (I honestly do not understand the (few) poor reviews given for this book. I don't know how anyone could ask for more.)

Very highly recommended. Well worth the money.

Great learning book and reference - 2008-01-12
Reviewer Rating:
This book is great if you need to set up an SSH client or server. If you are new to SSH this is
the book for you. As an experienced Linux sysadmin this book still helps. It walks you through
key setup, agents, and explains the differences between the different versions/flavors of SSH.

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