When Practical Unix Security was first published more than a decade ago, it became an instant classic. Crammed with information about host security, it saved many a Unix system administrator from disaster. The second edition added much-needed Internet security coverage and doubled the size of the original volume. The third edition is a comprehensive update of this very popular book - a companion for the Unix/Linux system administrator who needs to secure his or her organization's system, networks, and web presence in an increasingly hostile world. Focusing on the four most popular Unix variants today--Solaris, Mac OS X, Linux, and FreeBSD--this book contains new information on PAM (Pluggable Authentication Modules), LDAP, SMB/Samba, anti-theft technologies, embedded systems, wireless and laptop issues, forensics, intrusion detection, chroot jails, telephone scanners and firewalls, virtual and cryptographic filesystems, WebNFS, kernel security levels, outsourcing, legal issues, new Internet protocols and cryptographic algorithms, and much more. Practical Unix & Internet Security consists of six parts:

• Computer security basics: introduction to security problems and solutions, Unix history and lineage, and the importance of security policies as a basic element of system security.

• Security building blocks: fundamentals of Unix passwords, users, groups, the Unix filesystem, cryptography, physical security, and personnel security.

• Network security: a detailed look at modem and dialup security, TCP/IP, securing individual network services, Sun's RPC, various host and network authentication systems (e.g., NIS, NIS+, and Kerberos), NFS and other filesystems, and the importance of secure programming.

• Secure operations: keeping up to date in today's changing security world, backups, defending against attacks, performing integrity management, and auditing.

• Handling security incidents: discovering a break-in, dealing with programmed threats and denial of service attacks, and legal aspects of computer security.

• Appendixes: a comprehensive security checklist and a detailed bibliography of paper and electronic references for further reading and research.

Packed with 1000 pages of helpful text, scripts, checklists, tips, and warnings, this third edition remains the definitive reference for Unix administrators and anyone who cares about protecting their systems and data from today's threats.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 35 Ratings

Best for beginners - 2003-08-01
Reviewer Rating:
As a Linux administrator, I ordered this book hoping to find out how hackers typically gain access to systems and neat little tricks for locking down my system, as well as detecting and dealing with intruders. While Practical Unix & Internet Security did cover these topics, it covered little I didn't already know.

Significant time is spent explaining how unix-based systems work. The book covers things such as file systems, partition structure, file ownership/permissions, users and groups, inodes, ssh, backups, etc. Each command, utility, procedure or feature is detailed over several pages followed by an explanation of what you should be doing with said topic.

There are also a few real-world examples here and there; stories most of us have heard before, like the admin who had . in his path.

Unlike many computer books, this one is well written and an easy read, and it's certainly a lot more friendly than some unix geek's advice which consists of RTFM.

I think this book would be great for someone who has a very basic understanding of unix-based systems but has never administrated one before, but for those of us who've already had some experience running unix there's probably not anything new here for you.

A mile wide, several inches deep, great for filling in gaps - 2003-11-01
Reviewer Rating:
I hate to repeat the cliche, but if you can only buy one security book this year and you are a *nix geek, this should be it, hands down. As some point out, you can probably find everything in this book online, but then again you can find anything online, so why buy any books at all? I don't like giving 5 stars; this book left me no choice.

The strength of this book lies in several areas. First, the authors probably have 50+ years experience between them and it shows. You really get the impression that they've "been there, done that". But they don't try and "wow" you with their intelligence and they aren't condescending, in fact they write quite clearly.

The "mile wide" crack I made in the title refers to the fact that this book covers everything from physical security and social engineering, to how to setup up integrity checking with tripwire and use PAM. Basically I found this book to be invaluable because while I could breeze through certain sections, there was a ton of material that I needed more knowledge about, but either never got around to it, or didn't even know I was lacking. An example is NFS. I knew I needed more background about NFS because I work in infosec, but every place I've ever worked has banned NFS outright, which makes it a little more difficult to learn.... Another 2 technologies pop into my mind: LDAP and PAM. I knew what they were, but now I know how to set up the basics and can branch out on my own.

In our infosec world it's simply not possible to know everything. This book gives the reader a solid grounding in a ton of stuff, which enables him to go out and Google around intelligently for more advanced information. In a pinch it can also be used as an anti-theft device since it weighs in at 900+ pages and is quite heavy.

Excellent Guide - 2006-03-05
Reviewer Rating:
This book is just what I was looking for. Excellent Security Guide to day to day security issues at my workplace. Information about TPC and UDP ports and their security risks have been very useful.

This book must be part of every UNIX System Security Profesional.

Awesome security book! - 2003-08-31
Reviewer Rating:
Practical Unix & Internet Security, the 3rd Edition has a ton of new useful information.

If you have but one security reference, this should be it!

Order a wrong edition - 2005-09-16
Reviewer Rating:
I saw that there is a bargain of another paperback edition on the page of 3rd edition, so I didn't recheck whether it is 3rd edition. So I end up in buying 2 books, 2nd and 3rd editions, because I need the 3rd edition for my class. It would be better to put edition number up in the page, not only paperback or library binding!

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