Linux consistently turns up high in the list of popular Internet servers, whether it's for the Web, anonymous FTP, or general services like DNS and routing mail. But security is uppermost on the mind of anyone providing such a service. Any server experiences casual probe attempts dozens of time a day, and serious break-in attempts with some frequency as well. As the cost of broadband and other high-speed Internet connectivity has gone down, and its availability has increased, more Linux users are providing or considering providing Internet services such as HTTP, Anonymous FTP, etc., to the world at large. At the same time, some important, powerful, and popular Open Source tools have emerged and rapidly matured--some of which rival expensive commercial equivalents--making Linux a particularly appropriate platform for providing secure Internet services. Building Secure Servers with Linux will help you master the principles of reliable system and network security by combining practical advice with a firm knowledge of the technical tools needed to ensure security. The book focuses on the most common use of Linux--as a hub offering services to an organization or the larger Internet--and shows readers how to harden their hosts against attacks. Author Mick Bauer, a security consultant, network architect, and lead author of the popular Paranoid Penguin column in Linux Journal, carefully outlines the security risks, defines precautions that can minimize those risks, and offers recipes for robust security. The book does not cover firewalls, but covers the more common situation where an organization protects its hub using other systems as firewalls, often proprietary firewalls. The book includes:

• Precise directions for securing common services, including the Web, mail, DNS, and file transfer.

• Ancillary tasks, such as hardening Linux, using SSH and certificates for tunneling, and using iptables for firewalling.

• Basic installation of intrusion detection tools.

Writing for Linux users with little security expertise, the author explains security concepts and techniques in clear language, beginning with the fundamentals. Building Secure Servers with Linux provides a unique balance of "big picture" principles that transcend specific software packages and version numbers, and very clear procedures on securing some of those software packages. An all-inclusive resource for Linux users who wish to harden their systems, the book covers general security as well as key services such as DNS, the Apache Web server, mail, file transfer, and secure shell. With this book in hand, you'll have everything you need to ensure robust security of your Linux system.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 11 Ratings

EXTREMELY helpful, well-written - 2003-01-28
Reviewer Rating:
I run a small home network with a registered static IP. I wanted to secure it and use it to run a web server and an app server. By trade I am an enterprise Java developer. Prior to reading this book, I had had zero experience securing any kind of server, and nearly zero experience administering Linux boxes at all. I was pretty intimidated by the concepts of computer security in general. Also, you should know that I actually read 90% of this book.

Let me say without hesitation that this book has changed my life. I have secured my network, protected my data, detected attempted hacks, and learned a TON. This knowledge has also helped me tremendously in my day job, as an awareness of the overall network security environment is essential to being a good enterprise developer. I give 100% of the credit to Mr. Bauer, whose writing is complete, comprehensible, succinct, and lively. He progresses logically through the material, covering firewall architecture, server hardening, use of ssh for all administration, log watching, web and DNS security, threat detection, and many other topics. His coverage is a judicious mixture of utilitarian and theoretical - he gives you just the right instructions to accomplish your goals, and just enough background to make it interesting and understandable. This approach makes his chapters on bastion hosts, ssh, and tripwire especially definitive. His humor, unlike that of many other technical authors, actually is funny and helpful. When he refers to the complex Diffie-Hellman key exchange algorithm as a "large-prime-number hoe-down," he succeeds in both entertaining and providing an adequate summary for the average network administrator. Bauer's sense of organization and style enables him to take the mystique and complexity out of computer security and empower the reader.

I take extreme exception to the negative reviewer who claims that Bauer relies too heavily on graphical tools, which is bad since one should not even have X11 running on a secure server. Obviously this other reviewer never read the book. In his chapter on hardening Linux, Bauer EXPRESSLY SAYS not to install X11 on a secure server. Almost NOWHERE in the book does he use graphical tools. What the other reviewer has written is unfair and untrue. Maybe he read a different book.

One minor quibble I have is that the log monitoring software Bauer suggests, "swatch," is adequate but has really been superseded by "logwatcher," which comes with Red Hat Linux. Logwatcher has built-in smarts, and does not need to rely on downloading modules from CPAN onto your secure server. But consider this: the fact that I can even raise this issue, after previously knowing absolutely nothing about computer security, is further testament to the greatness of this book.

Great articles, but an incomplete book - 2003-01-24
Reviewer Rating:
This book was created by gluing together the famous "Paranoid Penguin" columns that the author writes for Linux Journal. Now, the articles are great. When expanded into book form, there's more space available for detail. However this book doesn't have the breadth to be a good security book on it's own. Since it only pulls from the articles, it misses many key points that would be necessary for someone to really secure their machine. Many of the topics here are not geared toward securing your machine, or building a secure server at all - they're more "how to do things securely". Now that is a good thing, but the book title makes it sound like you need only this book to build a secure machine, and that is definately not the case.

This book saved my day...more than once! - 2003-07-02
Reviewer Rating:
Several months ago I decided to setup my personal weblog on one of my home based Linux box. I knew, that counting on cheap DSL router "firewall" capability, to keep real hackers out of the system is simply not enough (and counting on the fact, that hacker wannabes and script kiddies outnumber real hackers in real life, is not reassuring either).

Sure, soon after, I opened necessary ports on DSL router for web, mail and ftp service I regularly noticed port scanning probes in router log. I questioned myself if I really built secure Linux box or not? What should I do next time, to strengthen security right from the beginning, and not later, when server is already in use? Where to place Linux server and how to protect my internal network? Of course, I realized that my general knowledge about security (especially on Linux) is insufficient. I'm following Mr. Bauer excellent articles in Linux Journal for some time, appreciating not only the author knowledge in the field of security, but also his writing skills. It was a logical choice for me to begin learning about security on Linux with the help of his book.

It's not some kind of "super" book on the security subject that'll give you answers on all your questions and the same time cover all security aspects.
On contrary, it covers the most important security issues concerning the services and tools that you'll probably use or support on average Linux box connected to the net. This book really helped me a lot in that respect, not only with home project but also on my daily job that is only occasionally related with network security.

If my case sounds familiar to you then you're definitely the prime candidate for this book.

Must-have book to secure your linux server! - 2003-08-11
Reviewer Rating:
The author covers all of the major issues facing an administrator looking to secure a linux server. I purchased this book based on the reviews here and I have not been disappointed.

If you are a security professional or would like to be, this is the book for you. Take advantage of the author's years of experience as well as the knowledge he has gleaned and refined from his years of writing security articles for Linux Magazine.

Non Fiction - 2007-09-03
Reviewer Rating:
Bought to help while away a long plane flight, this book was somewhat useful as a introduction to linux security, and where to start when looking at exposing servers to the evil outside world. Included is more importantly what not to start, and what not to do, at the beginning. Not a bad book.

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