Product Description
Historical records show that there was no real concept of probability in Europe before the mid-seventeenth century, although the use of dice and other randomizing objects was commonplace. Ian Hacking presents a philosophical critique of early ideas about probability, induction, and statistical inference and the growth of this new family of ideas in the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries. Hacking invokes a wide intellectual framework involving the growth of science, economics, and the theology of the period. He argues that the transformations that made it possible for probability concepts to emerge have constrained all subsequent development of probability theory and determine the space within which philosophical debate on the subject is still conducted. First published in 1975, this edition includes a new introduction that contextualizes his book in light of new work and philosophical trends. Ian Hacking is the winner of the Holberg International Memorial Prize 2009. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Another Very Interesting Hacking Book; 4.5 stars
Another very interesting book by Ian Hacking.This extended essay is an ambitious combination of general intellectual history, specific history of probability theory, and some reflections on the philosophical implications of these ideas and how they developed.Ideas of probability were essentially a new development in human thought, emerging only in the 17th century.Hacking begins with several chapters on the background changes that made the emergence of probability theory possible. Probabilistic thinking is made possible by the profound intellectual changes that form the foundation of the Scientific Revolution of the 17th century, including new ideas about evidence and causation.These ideas emerge from abandonment of the emphasis on Aristotlein deductive approaches to knowledge and acceptance of more empirical approaches emerging from the "low" sciences of medicine and alchemy.Against this background, several important figures like Pascal, Leibniz, and Bernoulli begin to develop more probability ideas.Hacking is very good on the immediate and philosophical concerns that drove these investigations.For Pascal, for instance, the development of his contribution to probability and decision theory was bound up in his Jansenist theological preoccupations.Hacking traces the development of these ideas, often with interesting reference to 20th century discussions of probabilistic thought with a minimum of technical language and a wide range of knowledge of this topic.He shows how a number of factors, for example, the need for Dutch provinces to develop profitable ways of selling annuities, contributed to the develop of probabilistic thinking.He concludes with a very interesting and surprising observation about one of the philosophical consequences of the emergence of probability, that it made it possible for Hume to pose the skeptical problem of induction.A really stimulating book.

excellent historical account of probability theory at its infancy
This is the second edition of a book originally published in 1975.The main addition seems to be a large chapter-like section titled "Introduction 2006: The Archaeology of probable reasoning" that puts the work in contect with the thinking, research and publications from 1975-2006 that relate to the topic of the book.

The main premise of the book is that although probabilistic ideas may have been around before 1670 and the detailed mathematical theory of probability and statistics occurred in the 20th century, the original work of men such as Pascal, Liebniz, Laplace, De Moivre, Huygens, and Jacques Bernoulli from around 1670 to the early 1700s really mark the emergence of probability as a discipline and the development of mathematical results that spawned the development of various theories of probability that came about in the 20th Century.

This book is not a technical book and the specific mathematics that is covered is fairly easy for the layperson to understand.The key Idea is that in the work of Pascal and others dual concepts of probability emerged and the distinctions between the two concepts were not clearly delineated at the time.In a very historical account (much like the works of Porter and Stigler)that is also very philosophical in nature hacking points to the two concepts of probability.One is based solely on relative frequencies of occurrences based on empirical data.This led to the development in the 20th century of the work by Richard von Mises and A. N. Kolmogorov.The second concept is based on degrees of belief and led shortly to the work of Thomas Bayes and in the 20th century, Bruno De Finetti, Harold Jeffreys and L. J. Savage in what became known as the Bayesian or subjectivist school of probability and statistical inference.

Hacking refers to the frequentist approach as aleatory probability and the Bayesian approach as epistemic probability.Hacking sees more than two schools of probability, induction and statistical inference.It is Hacking's contention that the emergence of probability can be attributed precisely to the time about 1670 when the work of Pascal first came out.He sees this strong development as the result of the need for probability in several areas. The earliest was games of chance.But it was only because of issues in the law, theology, economics, physics, atronomy and other sciences that the need led to the field flourishing with the top minds of the 17th and 18th centuries addressing the philosphical and mathematical issues.Included were Newton, Liebniz, Pascal, De Moivre, Laplace, Huygens and Bernoulli.

As a professional statistician I found it interesting to learn how the works of the late 1600s and early 1700s influenced probability and statistics as it developed in the 20th century. Some of this work was familiar to me but much of it was not.For example, I found it interesting to learn that the "first" theorem in probability wsa Jacques Benoulli's proof of the weak law of large numbers.This was given as part of his work "Ars conjectandi", the art of conjecturing.Bernoulli died in 1705 and it wasn't until 1713 that his Nephew Nicholas Bernoulli was able to get it into print.

This book is very well researched and the author presents his case in a very articulate manner.I think anyone with an serious interest in probability would enjoy this book.It also contains an excellent bibliography that is 15 pages long.I have not read it but I expect that the authors other book "The Taming of Chance" would be equally informative and fascinating. ... Read more

Product Description

Hacking tells the fascinating tale of Albert Dadas, a native of France's Bordeaux region and the first diagnosed mad traveler. Dadas suffered from a strange compulsion that led him to travel obsessively, often without identification, not knowing who he was or why he traveled. Using the records of Philippe Tissié, Dadas's physician, Hacking attempts to make sense of this strange epidemic.

In telling this tale, Hacking raises probing questions about the nature of mental disorders, the cultural repercussions of their diagnosis, and the relevance of this century-old case study for today's overanalyzed society.

Product Description

Lost in the raging debate over the validity of social construction is the question of what, precisely, is being constructed. Facts, gender, quarks, reality? Is it a person? An object? An idea? A theory? Each entails a different notion of social construction, Ian Hacking reminds us. His book explores an array of examples to reveal the deep issues underlying contentious accounts of reality.

Especially troublesome in this dispute is the status of the natural sciences, and this is where Hacking finds some of his most telling cases, from the conflict between biological and social approaches to mental illness to vying accounts of current research in sedimentary geology. He looks at the issue of child abuse--very much a reality, though the idea of child abuse is a social product. He also cautiously examines the ways in which advanced research on new weapons influences not the content but the form of science. In conclusion, Hacking comments on the "culture wars" in anthropology, in particular a spat between leading ethnographers over Hawaii and Captain Cook. Written with generosity and gentle wit by one of our most distinguished philosophers of science, this wise book brings a much needed measure of clarity to current arguments about the nature of knowledge.

Customer Reviews (11)

Hacking muses on social construction and philosophy of science
Ian Hacking's "The Social Construction of What?" is aptly titled, as it deals with the question what the ever so popular phrase 'socially constructed' actually means, if it means anything.

In his typical upbeat tone, making use of short, almost staccato sentences, Hacking reviews several possible meanings of the phrase 'social construction', notes the "sticking points" that are the core of the disagreement, and takes some cases from sociology, geology, anthropology and physics to illustrate the problematic. Although Hacking is a fine and accessible writer, and anyone at all can read this book with pleasure, he does tend to be meandering; there is little overall structure to the book, which reads more as a series of musings by an intelligent observer on a difficult question than as a definitive stance on the issue, which Hacking doesn't really have. It's also not always clear what the relation is between the examples of scientific research and debate he cites and the philosophy of science question of social construction.

Nonetheless, his philosophical talk is always entertaining and interesting to read, and some people will definitely find a virtue in the fact Hacking never pushes an opinion on the reader, preferring to 'teach the controversy' instead. If there's a sort of philosophical popular science, this would be it.

Misleading title
The book is completely useless if you want a detailed view on constructivism since it is too vague. On the other hand, it is still too technical to be regarded as pop-science.

An Impolite Feud Properly Gerrymandered
For about forty years now there's been a war between two groups of knuckleheads. One group uses social constructionism (or constructivism) to deflate the necessity and relevance of their pet peeves - science is sometimes one of the peeves. The other group of knuckleheads, usually professional peevers, argue back that social constructionists are a bunch of knuckleheads. The practical result of this feud has been significant shifts in social policies, research grant funding, tenure, education programs and a host of tangible issues that bother a lot of knuckleheads, like me.

Professor Hacking tries to take the middle ground in this debate. In a series of disjointed chapters (some of which were published before in different contexts) he explains social constructionism in a way that both (a) deflates some of the bad armchair constructionist-speak and (b) makes good sense of constructionism to skeptics of the *discipline* - who really can't be blamed after all. I mean, since Berger and Luckmann's outstanding treatise so much poop has been published under that rubric.

Professor Hacking admirably accomplishes this mediation by clarifying, loudly and slowly as it were, exactly what social constructionism IS NOT. This is a handy way to quell mis-directed criticisms, hopefully. Less ink is spent telling us what it IS in any way that wasn't already (mis)understood by its critics. It's not a bad idea to have some basic understanding of the sociology of knowledge going into this - and I don't mean the kind of knowledge one gleans from reading books which APPLY constructionism; they're usually the poop.

The chapter about Child Abuse and the chapter about Weapons Research (and parts of the one on Natural Sciences) are worth the price of the book. For me it didn't get going 'till about half way through. Professor Hacking's style was sometimes strained to be neutral. The book did not flow well from chapter to chapter - and I was surprised that he could write a chapter called "Madness: Biological or Constructed?" with only a glance toward Thomas Szasz. Maybe I'm just old fashioned.

I gained a lot of respect for the author while reading this. The book both educated me on the state and history of the feud AND provided me with a better understanding of where Professor Hacking is coming from. This knucklehead gives it 4 stars.

Are the Science Wars a Social Construction?
Like many people might, I looked at the title of this one and fell in love. "Social construction of what?" I'm in, I said to myself, for a great 'take em down' kind of book a la Dawkins and Sokal and, honestly, I love those kind of books. Well, I used to; untill Hacking took all the fun out!!

Why do I say that? Because I've been fooled all these years by gross caricaturizations of social constructionism (which, as were told, ALWAYS must be synonymous with relativism). This book, the only neutral one I've seen, is devoted to explaining, I think, to both sides of the debate (if you want to call it that!) that there is much more middle ground than is realized. Like most answers to most questions, the most likely answer to "Are you a social constructivist?" should be "It depends on the circumstance".

Hacking, a philosopher of science, goes through different meanings of social construction: on the less contreversial side, we have laws and I.Q. Not many will say these aren't real in the sense that they work, but besides that they don't really exist. You can't hold them, directly observe them; they are social tools. In the middle, you have mental disorders and averages. Like the others, they don't exist outside of our classification of them. (one might make a case for mental retardiation, but ask five psychiatrists what "schizophrenia" is and you will get five different answers). The most contreversial, of course, are things like gender and physical matter. Both of these things are observable, thus, it is hard t osee how social construction can change anything with them. Hacking calmly explains how some people suggest you can.

Anyhow, Hackings point is that most of us, however small a degree, are social constructionists about something; we just didn't know it. For my part, on Hackings three part quiz (try it, you'll like it!) I scored a 4-5-1. I never would've realized that by reading more of the polarized books about the science wars and the straw-men therein. Makes me woner...Are the science wars social constructs?....

Balanced and helpful, but also frustrating
In the neverending battle to define "what is real" for each other, to persuade each other of what is good, bad, and important, one disturbing trend in academia is to jump on the bandwagon of things considered "socially constructed."The banner of social construction has become a lightning rod of sorts for all sorts of bizarre things that represent what the author refers to in terms of "rage against reason."X was socially constructed, and therefore is unreal, and even bad, and should be modified or replaced by Y.

Emotions, knowledge, the mind, the economy, the deficit, gender, mental illness, even facts and reality, all have been subjected to literary claims that they are "socially constructed."

Hacking provides an interesting perspective on this whole trend by de-emphasizing the social aspect and focusing on the construction aspect.He views this simply as a way of arguing against the inevitability of something.For example, arguing about 'social construction' of our understanding of quarks in physics, part of the standard model, the question becomes whether an alternate equally successful science could have arisen that had no such concept as a quark.Hacking then struggles with what a successful science means, and how we would recognize it.There are many examples that follow this pattern, each discussed in terms of whether X was inevitable, and thus how else it could have been constructed in our minds and in culture.

Hacking goes as far as an offhanded treatment of nominalism and essentialism relevant to this inevitability question (essential qualities are those that are seen as inevitable).He breaks down difficult questions into relatively simple ones using this same kind of straightforward procedure.In analyzing the social construction of X for many examples, he looks for those elements of X that were inevitable, and those that serve "extra-theoretical" purposes and could have been constructed differently.

One particularly unique aspect of hacking's work here, the prototype of social constructionism here is not the sociology of science in general.He uses Pickering, LaTour, and Woolgar as his prime examples, rather than folks like Harry Collins and Trevor Pinch, who are often considered in the same category.Hacking considers them distinct for his purposes, and this reveals some interesting distinctions.

What I liked best about this book is that while it is carefully done, there is an offhanded air about the points Hacking makes.He makes some very difficult analyses seem very easy by pulling particularly useful examples from the literature.He navigates a lot of difficult philosophy by asking deceptively simple questions, like "what is the point ?" rather than "what is the meaning ?"

There are some interesting sweeping gestures here like claiming that social construction can simply by thought of as an argument against the inevitability of X, and then analyzed for how committed the author is to claiming X is bad and overturning X. Another interesting example is Hacking's description of essentialism as simply a way of talking about inevitability.

This book is somewhat disappointing if you're looking for simple answers to each of the questions posed, "is X socially constructed or not ?" However, it provides an extremely helpful way of looking at each case and trying to decide whether a 'social construction' critique actually has any value, or whether it just gives the history of the topic.Perhaps most useful is Hacking's "3 sticking points" with which to address the construction of a concept:contingency, nominalism, and stability.

This is a thinking person's book, but not nearly as incomprehensible to the layman as most works of modern philosophy, and much easier to read and more helpful than most of the "social construction" literature itself.

I'd go as far as to say that in many cases, we could replace the "social construction of X" arguments with Hacking's style of analysis about inevitability and the 3 sticking points, and come up with a more enlightening answer about the reality of the X in question.

If there is any flaw that I found here it is that I didn't think there was enough detail provided on any one topic to resolve the questions asked, they are pretty much all examples, and more questions are raised than answered.That can get maddening when you are just getting interested in the topic. ... Read more

Product Description
Ubuntu, an African word meaning “humanity to others,” is the hottest thing in Linux today. This down-and-dirty book shows you how they can blow away the default system settings and get Ubuntu to behave however you want. You’ll learn how to optimize its appearance, speed, usability, and security and get the low-down on hundreds of hacks such as running Ubuntu from a USB drive, installing it on a Mac, enabling multiple CPUs, and putting scripts in menus and panels. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Useful Hacking Ubuntu book; command line.
I have found this book useful as a reference book even though I have used the Debian Operating System about a year prior to this which is what Ubuntu is based on.

I just recently installed Ubuntu (Xubuntu with e16, e17, Enlightenment, awn, sapphire, fluxbook on my Zino HD (Dell 400, 4GB RAM, 250GB HD.)I found this book useful for further tweaking my system to get the set up I wanted so that I have a fast, responsive system with plenty of eye candy.

The book is good as an entry point book as well as one for those who know a bit of Ubuntu. I found things that I had not used before. It has proved useful too for my Dual boot Mac (eMac using Debian and OSX); but I mainly use it for my Xubuntu which boots up ready to use in twenty seconds even with nessus, firewall(arno iptables, firestarter) and other start up services. "Hacking Ubuntu" by Neal Krawetz is easy to read; easy to use as a quick reference book. I still find new things to know in the book which is great. It is not exhaustive as areference book as it is only 388 pages with a relatively short index; but it has proved useful for me.

It is apart of Wiley publishers Extreme Tech series which has books about all sorts of computer related things OS, games, etc. Extremetech also has a website too which I find useful and I found from this book (Hacking Ubuntu.)

Somewhat disappointed
I ordered this book as an add-on to my primary purchase, and was pretty disappointed.It really added no new information, and really did not provide any "hacks" which were not already known, or in the other book I purchased.Moreover, I found the author wrote far to little on far to much.In other words, nothing was covered in detail, and he tried to cover a lot of ground in very few pages.

I would have been happier if he covered less in more detail, and brought something new to the table.If this had been the only book I purchased, I would have been left wanting more information and detail, and felt like Ubuntu was a lot harder than it really is to use and customize.

I would not recommend this book, particularly as a sole reference.

Not quite good enough
There is nothing wrong with this book.There just isn't a lot right with it.It sells itself as a book to hack Ubuntu, making it sound like it has all kinds of secret ways to make Ubuntu do whatever you want it to.Unfortunately, it is just a run-of-the-mill how-to book, only slightly advanced beyond the beginner stage.Coming from ExtremeTech, I expected better.It was more like it came from PC Magazine.All the information is easily found online faster.As I said, it isn't a bad book; it just has an overinflated opinion of itself.

One of the most useful Linux books I own
This book is a gem. Most other Linux books are heavy with theory but don't get you where you need to go. By contrast, this book is chock full of really practical mods (hacks) that are easy to do, yet provide great enhancements to the usability and security of your new Ubuntu system. If you're new to Ubuntu, get this book!

Not comprehensive enough for me
I hope for the book that will clearly tell me step by step how to hack/customize things in Ubuntu.This book tries to cover too many topics thus not details enough to be successful on the first try.I still have to go to various forum to read more.It is only introduce me to various topics.For the really confusing things such as network sharing, it doesn't go into details at all.Very disappointing. ... Read more

Product Description
With cyber-terrorism and corporate espionage threatening the fiber of our world, the need for trained network security professionals continues to grow. This book describes the tools and penetration testing methodologies used by ethical hackers to better understand how to protect computer networks. A thorough discussion is first established outlining what and who an ethical hacker is, and how important they are in protecting corporate and government data from cyber attacks. This title provides a structured knowledge base for preparing security professionals to understand how to protect a network using some of the skills and tools of a penetration or ethical hacker. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

good
in perfect condition.Altough, I had to wait for too long (like a little bit more than a week), and the class had already started.

a good security professional beginner book, but book is with strong unpleasant odor

Good starter book, easy to read, simple and to the points. A lots hands-on activities which is good for learning, but not so up-to-date.
This book I got was with very strong unpleasant odor; I have this one almost three months now, it still smells so bad whenever I open it."Watch out" the saler!

Make sure you get the up to date version!
I purchased this book new from Amazon. I just recentley found out that the software disk provided no longer works and that there should have been a new version disk included with the book. You must have the correct disk to complete the labs. So basicly I have a new door stop!
Buyer Beware!

Great book!
This was used as the textbook for the ethical hacking class I took last fall.It was a great intro book although some of the links are outdated and the CD did not work (the CD did not work for anyone regardless of the source - including the campus bookstore)

I kept the book for reference. ... Read more

Product Description
Take a geek and a PC, add one soldering iron, a home, and a copy of Home Hacking Projects for Geeks, and you'll give new meaning to the term, "home improvement." From fearless neophytes to tool-wielding masterminds, the home hacker in any geek will find new inspiration and plenty of hands-on guidance to take on a variety of home-transforming projects once relegated to the world of sci-fi.

This fun new guide combines creativity with electricity and power tools to achieve cool--and sometimes even practical--home automation projects. Never again will you have to flip a light switch when you enter a room or use a key to open your front door. With a few off-the-shelf devices, some homemade hardware, and a little imagination, you can be living in your own high-tech habitat.

Home Hacking Projects for Geeks shows hackers of all ability levels how to take on a wide range of projects, from the relatively small but energy-conscious automating of light switches, to building home theaters using Windows or Linux-based PCs, to more complicated projects like building home security systems that rival those offered by professional security consultants. Each project includes a conceptual diagram, a "What You Need List" and a small "Project Stats" section that describes the relative difficulty, time involved, and cost of the project. What's more, each project is a workable, practical way to improve your home--something unique that you can customize for your individual needs.

The thirteen projects in Home Hacking Projects for Geeks are divided into three categories: Home Automation, Home Entertainment Systems, and Security, and include projects such as:

Remotely Monitor Your Pet

Make Your House Talk

Remotely Control Your Computer's MP3 player

Create Time-Shifted FM Radio

Watch Your House Across the Network

Build a Home Security System

If you've ever thought the Jetson's had it made, or looked around your house and thought, "I could make that better " then you're ready for Home Hacking Projects for Geeks. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Very Good Book
I have read through this book once already and plan to try most of the projects within.I have been very happy both with the projects themselves and the instructions.A must have for any geek or people who like to tinker with things

Not bad, not too tricky
I thought this was an amusing book that described a collection of neat ideas.Most of them are not too technically sophisticated so that you could have come up with the design yourself if you are a technical person, using web resources, but the value was in the idea itself and the way it is suggested.

Not what youi might call worth while
Since I am a computer engineer I was hoping to find that this book offered some home projects let alone hacks. First let me state that this book doesn't offer any"Hacking Projects". To be honest it barely offers any "Home projects". Fortunately for me I have a friend who is an electrical engineer. This book is extremely misleading. More than half of the projects listed in this book simply can not be accomplished because the projects mentioned severely lack the required information or were never honestly tested to see if the might actually work. A good part of this book suggests you will need a skill set of 3 out of 5 to accomplish a given task. What it doesn't say it that you will need significantly more money and electrical knowledge than this book will ever provide. Many of the projects listed here are extremely costly and provide little advantage to some running it through a computer. In addition, you will have to know a computer language [Pearl] in order to get remote benefit from any project. Having looked over the Pear scripts I have found some mistakes in the programming. It seems to me that O'Reilly just wanted to sell a book.

One big commercial for X-10... the product
Nothing in the splash page, back cover or anywhere with info letting you know it is almost 100% about the X10 hardware. I already own a house full of X10 stuff, so the fact that I wasted money on this book burns my soul. Not one thing deals with how to set up, rig or configure any of the projects without having to spend money on whichever X-10 product will do the job. If I wanted that I would just buy the product and read the installation guide that comes with it.
The author suckered me into buying the book... don't let him sucker you!

Interesting but nothing innovative
A great deal of the projects in this book are basically various forms of X10 module automation.The projects include how to automate a light with motion sensing, how to remotely monitor your pet, creating a whole house audio or time shifted audio, a keyless entry system, and intrusion detection and deterrence.For each project the items are detailed, the software described in detail, information is included on where to locate them, assembly instructions, scripts, and everything else you need to complete it.Only basic skills are needed for each project.Each project includes information on estimated cost, time and difficulty ratings so you can easily decide which ones you will tackle and which ones you may not want to.Home Hacking Projects for Geeks is recommended to anyone wanting to have a little fun with home electronics. ... Read more

Product Description
Here is the first book to focus solely on Cisco network hacking, security auditing, and defense issues. Using the proven Hacking Exposed methodology, this book shows you how to locate and patch system vulnerabilities by looking at your Cisco network through the eyes of a hacker. The book covers device-specific and network-centered attacks and defenses and offers real-world case studies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

A good reference on Cisco security
If you are a cisco security expert maybe this book will not have any new information for you, but since most of us are not, I would recommend it for anyone who is trying to protect a Cisco infrastructure. The author covers a lot of material, and as with any internet resources, some move and disappear but it still puts you on the right path to know what needs to be hardened. The language is not as smooth as it could be, but it certainly better than most and the subject matter can get pretty complicated at times so some tolerance is reasonable. Overall I would recommend it to someone wanting to know more about practical Cisco security.

Pretty good
I really nice first attempt at zeroing in on and attacking Cisco devices, something I do for a living.The book, however, is NOT really a "Hacking Exposed" line from the Scambray, Kurtz and McClure camps.It is funny how fast people will buy anything tagged with "Hacking Exposed."This book does deliver some VERY good hardening and attacking techniques and I would suggest it for anyone that is in the network security field, especially those that are directly involved with the routers/switches.

Not a great book - not a bad book either
"Hacking Exposed: Cisco Networks" is not bad but then again not great.What caused it to only get 4 out 5 stars was that many of the tools and links no longer work and this review is being written in March 2006 for a book published in Jan 2006!

One example of many:
- page 521: Cisco's tcphijack
I would then have to Google to see if the tool was now elsewhere - sometimes successfully, sometimes - not.

Another example of bad tooling - page 519 - Arpworks.Yes it is still there but they fail to mention that it only works on Windows 95/98.I could go on and on.

The thing that really annoys me on this book is the binding.The softcover binding is made of some very cheap paper which curls up.For a $50 list-price book (I paid $50 for ordering it 1st and not waiting 2 months for the price to drop to $30), I would think that Osborne could have popped for an extra $1 on a good jacket quality - which would never happen with O'Reilly.

I did pick up a few tools I was not aware of, but was it worth $50?!Nope.Is it worth now $30?Questionable.If you live and breath Cisco security there won't be much new to learn here, but it does give you a reference to lend to others that keep asking you the same questions.:-)

Hank Nussbacher

Great Overall View of the Situation
I think that it is difficult, perhaps impossible, to build a modern network that does include at least some Cisco equipment. Following the general set up rules in the various manuals produce a system architecture that is generally considered to be at least reasonably secure.

Basically this book may well change your mind on just how secure your Cisco system really is. As the major supplier of network equipment, Cisco is also the major target of the bad guys that are out there.

The information in this book is presented through the eyes of the penetrator. It discusses in a step-by-step way how to break into various Cisco devices on a network. By knowing how to break into the network, you can then go plug the holes in your system to keep other people from doing the same thing.

Much of the material here is available in bits and pieces around the web, in various postings, even in publication form. What this book does is bring all of the information together in one place. If you're already an expert on the subject, you might get a point or two here and there. If your just beginning to think about this kind of situation, here is a great way to get started.

A good first cut at Cisco-centric attack and defense
I've always been a fan of Osborne's Hacking Exposed books (although subjects like "Computer Forensics" don't seem to fit the spirit of the series).I previously read Wi-Foo: The Secrets of Wireless Hacking by the same authors who wrote Hacking Exposed: Cisco Networks (HECN).Comparing the two books, I agree with previous reviewer Sean E. Connelly; I think HECN was rushed to market.The book needs better technical review, proofreading, and copyediting as well.Nevertheless, I still recommend reading HECN -- it's a unique book on a critical subject.

One of the more striking aspects of HECN is the amount of original research committed to the book.Sure, the authors document already known Cisco vulnerabilities.However, they also developed a suite of tools to implement attacks discussed in HECN.They demonstrate how to apply various tools and when those applications are realistic.HECN's authors discovered a variety of new exploits (documented at the book Web site) which they submitted to Cisco's PSIRT.I appreciated this degree of originality.

HECN is on the leading edge of attacks happening right now.While reading the book I assisted with an incident response involving a Cisco switch.It appeared that bot net command-and-control traffic was originating from a switch on a client network.Upon closer inspection, I could tell that unknown intruders were bouncing IRC traffic through the management interface of the switch, probably using a variant of the ciscoBNC tool introduced in Ch 10.HECN also describes the possibilities offered by Tcl scripting on Cisco routers, which I expect to see intruders abuse.

I had two sorts of problems with HECN.First, the text can be somewhat confusing to follow.In some parts this is caused by the authors' writing style.In others confusion is caused by the authors' unwillingness to fully describe sensitive exploitation techniques.For example, they mention ways to reverse engineer and/or patch IOS binary images, but they are deliberately vague.This helps the authors stay out of trouble with Cisco, but it leaves the reader frustrated.The second problem with HECN involves the tone of the book.In some places I was left wondering why the authors made certain comments.A good example of material that should simply be dropped is the final "case study" at the end of the book.

Some minor technical issues should be fixed in future editions.In addition to those outlined by previous reviewers, I would add the item on p 460 that says AH is IP proto 49; it should be 51.I also thought the Nmap scanning recommendations on p 136 were somewhat silly.It's best to stick with the simplest scan possible and avoid the poorly-named "stealth" options Nmap offers.Finally, some of the screen shots were too fuzzy.Images taken from Ethereal in Ch 4 are examples of this problem.

Overall, I would still buy HECN.Administrators and security professionals must recognize that Cisco equipment (along with infrastructure from other vendors) are actively targeted, exploited, and abused by intruders.HECN explains how this happens and what you can do to prevent, or at least detect, these compromises.It's like 1999 all over again -- get the Hacking Exposed title that will help you mitigate a new class of threats! ... Read more

Product Description

The latest Windows security attack and defense strategies

"Securing Windows begins with reading this book." --James Costello (CISSP) IT Security Specialist, Honeywell

Meet the challenges of Windows security with the exclusive Hacking Exposed "attack-countermeasure" approach. Learn how real-world malicious hackers conduct reconnaissance of targets and then exploit common misconfigurations and software flaws on both clients and servers. See leading-edge exploitation techniques demonstrated, and learn how the latest countermeasures in Windows XP, Vista, and Server 2003/2008 can mitigate these attacks. Get practical advice based on the authors' and contributors' many years as security professionals hired to break into the world's largest IT infrastructures. Dramatically improve the security of Microsoft technology deployments of all sizes when you learn to:

• Establish business relevance and context for security by highlighting real-world risks
• Take a tour of the Windows security architecture from the hacker's perspective, exposing old and new vulnerabilities that can easily be avoided
• Understand how hackers use reconnaissance techniques such as footprinting, scanning, banner grabbing, DNS queries, and Google searches to locate vulnerable Windows systems
• Learn how information is extracted anonymously from Windows using simple NetBIOS, SMB, MSRPC, SNMP, and Active Directory enumeration techniques
• Prevent the latest remote network exploits such as password grinding via WMI and Terminal Server, passive Kerberos logon sniffing, rogue server/man-in-the-middle attacks, and cracking vulnerable services
• See up close how professional hackers reverse engineer and develop new Windows exploits
• Identify and eliminate rootkits, malware, and stealth software
• Fortify SQL Server against external and insider attacks
• Harden your clients and users against the latest e-mail phishing, spyware, adware, and Internet Explorer threats
• Deploy and configure the latest Windows security countermeasures, including BitLocker, Integrity Levels, User Account Control, the updated Windows Firewall, Group Policy, Vista Service Refactoring/Hardening, SafeSEH, GS, DEP, Patchguard, and Address Space Layout Randomization

Customer Reviews (6)

Overpriced
It makes no sense that the publisher are charging the same price for this electronic version as their print edition...except for greed.

Worth the upgrade from Hacking Exposed: Windows Server 2003
I've been reading and reviewing Hacking Exposed (HE) books since 1999, and I reviewed the two previous Windows books.Hacking Exposed: Windows, 3rd Ed (HEW3E) is an excellent addition to the HE series.I agree with Chris Gates' review, but I'd like to add a few of my own points.The bottom line is that if you need a solid book on Windows technologies and how to attack and defend them, HEW3E is the right resource.

It has been fashionable for the last six or seven years for supposedly "elite" security people to laugh at HE books.Sure, the books don't teach you how to find zero-day vulnerabilities or write new exploits.The strength of the HE series is in its approach.HE books teach you about core Windows security technologies in a manner that you usually can't find elsewhere.Then the authors explain how to attack those technologies, as a penetration tester might.Finally they conclude with recommended countermeasures, as available.You can't ask for more in a security book: how it works, how to break it, how to fix it.There's something for everyone -- admin, red team, blue team.

My personal favorite sections included Ch 5: Hacking Windows-Specific Services, Ch 7: Post-Exploit Pillaging, and Ch 8: Achieving Stealth and Maintaining Presence.I didn't think Ch 6: Discovering and Exploiting Windows Vulnerabilities was very strong.I was disappointed by Ch 10: Hacking Microsoft Client Apps.Client-side attacks have been the dominant security problem for enterprise security teams for the last five years.You could probably write a whole book titled Hacking Exposed: Client-Side or similar!If/when the authors decide to write a 4th Ed, I'd like to see more coverage of client-side apps, like Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Office, and the like.

Overall I strongly recommend reading HEW3E.It's not a five star book but you will learn a lot reading it.The target audience includes security-conscious admins, those who try to attack Windows systems, and those who defend them.

Really Good
This Book it's the one you should read If you want to learn how to protect against hackers methodologies out there,
highly recommended.

Must have book!
This is a must-have book for anyone who works with Windows clients or servers as a part of their job.It gives a lot of detail, both on what security issues Windows security administrators face, as well as guidance on how to mitigate risks regarding Windows security.The checklists in the back of the book alone are worth keeping as a baseline lockdown policy.

Not bad for the 3rd iteration
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of HE:Windows.

The latest HE:Windows takes us toe to toe with Vista and Server 2008 and gives us a recap of some Win2k3 and Win2k knowledge.I was torn between whether to give this book three or four stars.I ended up giving it a four because it was well written, hit the majority objectives it laid out, and would be useful for someone that didn't have the two previous iterations, if you have the other two keep in mind there is a fair amount of content reuse and if you do this for a living, it may come up short of expectations.

The book covers a lot of ground but at the end I was left feeling like the authors were saying thatif I was pentesting a Vista host or Server 2008 host/domain I should just call it quits.Going back and rereading a bit of the HE: Windows Server 2003 book I felt they said the same thing in that book as well.This obviously ended up being not the case, and I don't think will be the case with Vista and Server 2008 either. Its also not a viable option for any penetration tester.

Some examples of what I am talking about can be seen inChapter 4 where the SMB enumeration examples only work against Windows 2000 and maybe Windows XP SP1.No mention of how to actually start pulling that information out from current environments.The Active Directory section reused the old content and made no discussion of any current tools or changes in 2003 environments and 2008 environments which have pretty much eliminated anonymous binds to extract information. Chapter 5, Hacking Windows Specific Services reused a lot of content which was disappointing, especially disappointing was the reuse of the smbrelay content, especially with tools that work much better like the smbrelay module in the metasploit framework.

The rootkit chapter is pretty good and talks about a rootkit I had never heard of (Unreal rootkit)..

Client side attacks has a decent update to it covering phishing, ActiveX, office and pdf exploits and a bit of cross site scripting, but refers you to the HE Web Applications book for more detail, which is fair.

Physical Attacks section is mostly the same with some updates on wireless, keyloggers and bootkits but mostly just overviews not followable steps.

Ch12 windows security features and tools is probably what pushed the book from a 3 to a 4.It coveredbitlocker, Vista Windows integrity control, server hardening, stack protections, and others information. ... Read more

Product Description
Hands-On Ethical Hacking and Network Defense, Second Edition provides an in-depth understanding of how to effectively protect computer networks. This book describes the tools and penetration testing methodologies used by ethical hackers and provides a thorough discussion of what and who an ethical hacker is and how important they are in protecting corporate and government data from cyber attacks. Readers are provided with updated computer security resources that describe new vulnerabilities and innovative methods to protect networks. Also included is a thorough update of the federal and state computer crime laws, as well as changes in penalties for illegal computer hacking. With cyber-terrorism and corporate espionage threatening the fiber of our world, the need for trained network security professionals continues to grow. Hands-On Ethical Hacking and Network Defense, Second Edition provides a structured knowledge base to prepare readers to be security professionals who understand how to protect a network by using the skills and tools of an ethical hacker. ... Read more

Product Description
Dr. Ali Jahangiri, a world-renowned information technology (IT) expert, brings us the next must-have in IT training: Live Hacking, the definitive and comprehensive guide to computer hacking.Groundbreaking, insightful, and practical, this guide serves to inform IT professionals about and challenge existing conceptions of hacking, its victims, and its consequences, but with an eye to empowering prospective victims with the knowledge they need to thwart the criminal elements in cyberspace.Whether you work in a Fortune 500 company or if you're just looking to protect your home office from hackers, this book will provide you with all the information you need to protect your valuable information.Live Hacking is straightforward, easy to read, and a reference that you'll use again and again.It's the kind of book you'll want to keep in your back pocket!With a user-friendly writing style and easy-to-follow diagrams and computer screenshots. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Recommended
The book contains useful information, specially for people like me, beginning in this area. Recommended.

Good Book
Live Hacking is enough for anyone first stepping into the field, and with its tricks, tips and real-world experiences even the veteran penetration tester will find enlightening.

Good Book.

Easy to follow
I used Live Hacking book to study for my CEH exam ( Exam 312-50). There is no confusing or extra editorial to fill pages and the book is very easy to understand and follow.

The title speaks by itself
There are a handful of books that should be "must-reads" for anyone responsible for computer or network security and this is one of them. Learning the information in this book will help you learn current attacks and hacking techniques and develop effective countermeasures to protect your network. Hands down, Live Hacking should be on every network or security administrator's desk for quick reference.

When I first heard about Dr. Ali Jahangiri's book, the title immediately caught my attention. Things change quickly in the security world and the author of the book, have done a tremendous job at making a great thing by taking the new attacks techniques and countermeasures.

Even if you already have experience in the security field, the new and updated information in this book are worth the investment.

Teaching your mom about hacking
This is not anywhere close to being "ultimate" and it's certainly NOT for security experts or even professionals.It is a reasonably well written BEGINNER's guide for someone with no knowledge of the subject.Furthermore you will find darn few countermeasures of any real value.

Maybe if you were somewhat computer literate and were curious about what this "hacking" thing is all about you could find some value here.

If you want an expert book try Silence on the Wire by Zalewski--it's everything this book is NOT.

Very disappointing. ... Read more

Product Description
Hacker Code will have over 400 pages of dedicated exploit, vulnerability, and tool code with corresponding instruction. Unlike other security and programmingbooks that dedicatehundreds of pages to architecture and theory based flaws and exploits, HC1 will dive right into deep code analysis. Previously undisclosed security research in combination with superior programming techniques from Foundstone and other respected organizations will be included in both the Local and Remote Code sections of the book.

The book will be accompanied with a FREE COMPANION CD containing both commented and uncommented versions of the source code examples presented throughout the book. In addition to the book source code, the CD will also contain a copy of the author-developed Hacker Code Library v1.0. The Hacker Code Library will include multiple attack classes and functions that can be utilized to quickly create security programs and scripts. These classes and functions will simplify exploit and vulnerability tool development to an extent never before possible with publicly available software.

* Learn to quickly create security tools that ease the burden of software testing and network administration
* Find out about key security issues regarding vulnerabilities, exploits, programming flaws, and secure code development
* Discover the differences in numerous types of web-based attacks so that developers can create proper quality assurance testing procedures and tools
* Learn to automate quality assurance, management, and development tasks and procedures for testing systems and applications
* Learn to write complex Snort rules based solely upon traffic generated by network tools and exploits ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Definitely a worthy book for developers and security pros alike
Hacking the Code is a must read if you want to pick apart .NET Web applications in the name of better security. More people in development and IT need to read books like this. I like how it focuses on ASP.NET - the language that a large portion of Web applications are developed in today. The book covers the important areas of securing applications and shows some good examples. Appendix A also has some good ASP.NET code samples for real-world concerns.

I especially like the coverage on authentication mechanisms which is something that's often taken for granted by developers but where I tend to find a lot of the weaknesses in the work I do. Plus it doesn't just focus on the technical side of things with the coverage of users awareness and policies. Overall, very good at covering the root of many of our security problems.

Spot on
In my never ending attempt to educate myself on web application security I thought it would be a great idea to look at this from the developer perspective.This text is a great piece on the ASP.NET side of development and security. It does a great job of showing what the developer may normally code and why that is NOT security oriented.It is a great tool for bridging the gap between security team and developer team so that you can speak intelligently on both even though you are NOT a developer or security professional.If you have an ASP.NET dev shop in your environment you should have someone if not everyone from your dev and security teams read this book to facilitate a more open line of commination between the two. Highly recommended.

Great book
english is not my native language but this book has a clear language that is easy to understant and examples are very good. Writer tells many experiences that he faced at past about security, it's vulnarables and precautions.
I highly recommend this book.

Secure Coding 101
Personally I work as a penetration tester, so Hacking the Code was right up my alley. I read the book over the course of a day, stuck at an airport. (...)Mark has a certain way of showing information to the reader in a very clear and thought-out manor. Content of the book may be of highly technical nature but it is very easy to read (a rare mix).By the end of the book I felt like I knew everything about ASP, its amazing how much there really is to know.
If you work in the security industry then this book is a must, however, if you are a developer, webmaster or even someone curious about code security, READ IT.

Highly recommend

very unprofessional
The authors can't connect two words together. Don't waste money on this book. ... Read more

Product Description
The best way to secure your iSeries - AS400 server environment is to see how it can be hacked by an unfriendly party. This book will guide you through the steps a hacker would take in order to take over your AS400 and steal your data. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Useful but hardly indispensible
I found Hacking iSeries to informative and helpful, but overall not worth the price for what I needed to accomplish.Your experience will differ depending on what you need to do.The book is well written in that one can easily find the important topics and issues are explained clearly.If you want to secure your iSeries, I found IBM's own documentation available for free on the web to be much more comprehensive.A lot of the "hacking" information in the book is also available online from various sources, including the author's own site.It appears that this author has done a lot of good work, in this book, on his web site and through presentations to Black Hat conferences at getting the word out to the IT community about iSeries vulnerabilities.So, especially if you are new to the topic, buy the book to support the author. ... Read more

Product Description
Take control of your cable modem ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Some interesting stuff here but...
Acting on it might get you in trouble. If you live in a small town like I do, the publicity of getting embarrassed in the local newspaper is not worth it. The network operations center can see the bandwidth consumption in an instant.

must be good
This book must be good since the author was just arrested for alleged selling hacked modems.

Good Stuff
First of all I want to object to the comment titled "How to be a Theif"

ThisEarlier comment suggests the book should be banned, and it will get you arrested if you follow it's instructions. The truth is in most cases, there is little cost benefit to go after everyone that bends the rules as long as they are not causing a service disruption or running up too much in tarrifs (which don't exist too much these days) Of course in come cases in America and Australia a few people will get sued as a token gesture to scare the masses into submission]. It also varies on your ISP. Some ISP's (as detailed in the book) has deployed various forms of countermeasures. But on HFC networks you can almost get away with murder if you do Mac Cloning.


I've worked in IT 12 years. I'm have a very analytical mind and I love to understand how things work. Is it a crime to be curious? I thought in America book burning and witch hunting finished a long time ago, and since then there has been a few constitutional amendments and a bill of rights. The latter of which not even other democracy's like Australia has.

Maybe he is akin the same guy that wanted to put Phill Zimmerman in jail for allowing everyone to have secure private communications with the advent of PGP. Oh that was published in a book too. And PGP was classified as export restricted military technology at the time. It was declared a lawful act of publishing by the courts. In other words, just on the legal points he has no case to stop anyone reading this, or buying this book.

Right now America and my home country (Australia) lag behind the rest of the world because inferior network infrastructure is being overcharged by telco's raking in huge profits for the better off stock owners.

The customers in Australia for example under Optus get every form of capping there is (snmp metering, rate limiting, filters, strobes for services, etc) and then traffic shaping and off-site network accounting as a backup - because this book was too effective. That's right Optus had to role out more expensive switching hardware to regain control because people didn't like having equipment they own being rate limited, and remotely configured.

Right now I'm in Korea where FTTH (Fibre to the Home) costs only $30 USD a month on a contract (100mbit each way). In Australia they are still mulling over getting FTTN (node street - then VDSL or Docsis 3.0 or slower broadband variants) in the many years to come. Korea's has had it for as long as I can remember.

Do you really think with so much bandwidth on Korea's network they will mind if an artful network Engineer helps get a P2P video conferencing network platform of the ground in his home lab with his 10mbit uplink using a Motorola SB4100 someone threw in the trash it was so old?

My project will in turn allow other users to leverage the nations' network infrastructure for on-line personal development, i.e. education. Then more Asian's can take US customer service roles with impeccable English. That's a good payback for their investment.Damn right! They paid for the network and they have so much capacity in reserve it's not funny. No wonder Korea is already submitting more patents to the US Patent office than Americans. Don't worry, I'll try and recruit American's to teach them too. But unfortunately American's will have to pay about 5 times what the Korean's do to get the same bandwidth, and that fibre connection is limited to only a few zip codes.

So how unethical is someone uncapping in my case going to be? The most I could get is 10mbit U/L, and 30 mbit if in invested in a BlackCat'ed SB5100 cable modem, when everyone else is buying 100mbit for $30 a month.

Then again the poster above thinks your stealing? I'd say the thief's are the cable companies back in the US and Australia. How much government grants did Optus (now foreign owned by Singtel - SG Govt) take in Government grants to roll out their fibre and support AARNET (Australian Academic Research Network), yet the QoS their customers get are a lot to be desired. I just got a customer a $1500 refund from the TIO (Telco Ombudsman) on their Voice over DSL offering. So my prior comments on their other products and services have weight backed up by determination by a government regulator.

If you google it you'll find the posts on whirlpool. Back then there was was a bunch of Telcho phoney's challenging me. But in the end I got the data to prove my case 100%, and won in the tribunal. This is no different.

Get used to freedom of speech ;) It's not outlawed last time I checked.

P.S. I read the great book. Only disappointment, not enough emphasis on alternatives for the Unix users, but hey they usually know what to do anyway ;) It's less of a walk through book as you would expect, and focuses a bit on the theory and his history of experimentation. Next thereare the avenues that can be employed to get more from your cable modem, and of course the risks involved. In order words this book will get the ball rolling, educate you and make you ready to carefully make any changes you need TO YOUR OWN EQUIPMENT ;) Merely gaining access to your own equipment is not a crime, however if you configure it to provide you a higher class BE CAREFUL. Remember they have to unplug ever different node in the street to find where you are ;)

After buying this book I'm confident I can get a speed increase I need. Where I am staying because I'm a foreigner I'm not entitled through conventional means to get fastest internet, unless someone gets it in their name for me.

Instructional Manual more than anything
This is a clear instruction manual on different kinds of modems. It is really good- and really clear - easy to follow, but doesn't go to much into any in depth topics. My friends all get really excited to borrow the book though! So if you buy it - you may have a lot of people borrowing!

Not a bad book, but don't try this at home!
I think it's well written, informative, and a great resource if you want to hack into your modem.

But...

1) You will get caught if you uncap your modem.The companies that provide cable modem service can trace unchecked bandwidth, and they'll ban you for life from their service.Uncapping will backfire on you.This has been in the news a lot lately, with stories of people getting caught doing this.It hardly seems worth it to me.
2) There is really no other reason (besides uncapping it) to hack your modem unless you just like tinkering with electronics.If that's what you're after, get the book.For most of us, we wanted to get faster speed, but since that's going to get your busted really quick, why waste your time?
3) Doesn't cover all modems, esp the newer ones (that's to be expected), so be cautious since the hacking methods may not transfer to a newer model (like mine). ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (40)

Interesting story, so so book
This book was written about the next case of a missing pregnant wife after Scott Peterson and the subject was interesting enough that I kept reading this book.It is a little simplistic as well as it seemed like the author was grasping for material.For example, there is a whole section about the Hacking's cat.Either way, it was an okay read.Feel very sorry for her whole family.

Well written
I think the author did a good job describing the type of person Lori was. So often it seems that true crime authors put most of their focus on the killer and the victim becomes almost an after thought. It sounds like Lori was a very loving and good person. What a terrible tragedy for her family to loose her in this way. My heart goes out to her family. I am sorry for your loss. I am a little surprised this book has such a low rating. I read a lot of true crime and this book held my attention well.

Threw it in the trash
What I did read of this book was very inaccurate. I am not sure why the author chose to write about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints as the main topic of the book.Just because the victim and suspect were members of the Church didn't mean that the Church or Church teachings had anything to do with the crime.

What he wrote about the Church, including the temple ceremonies was grossly inaccurate. I have no idea where he got his information, but it wasn't correct.

I have been in the Bountiful Temple a couple of times.I was recently there for my niece's wedding and found the sealing rooms to be quite lovely, nothing at all like a hotel lobby as the author describes.He also didn't mention that most couples choose to have a nice reception after their sealing like most weddings have.

The misinformation was upsetting to me, so I decided to skip ahead.I hoped that the author would abandon using the Church or Mark Hacking's Priesthood title "The Elder" instead of his name or another term for everything to do with the case.He didn't.The book didn't get any better, so I just threw it away.I'm glad that I got it through a paperback swap club and didn't pay for it.

So many pages, So little insight
Amazingly, the book barely touches on the most interesting part of this story - the lies told by Mark Hacking. It's obvious the author had no direct interviews with either family, because there's little insight gleaned by the time you finish the book. It was a quick read, and some interesting facts were revealed, but this book is simply a collection of facts about the case.

It's also repetitive - the author makes the same point over and over again, I guess for lack of anything insightful to say. The author also spends a lot of time on "filler" information - talking about all the different defense attorneys in town, the professional background of the judge, the climate, the scenic landscapes - if the book was whittled down to interesting, relevant information about this couple, it would be half as long.

for lori hacking...
not the page turner i was hoping for....
i feel for lori and her family-and hope mark rots in hell for what he did to her/family
but this story--needs another writer to write it!! ... Read more

Product Description
Get crafty! Veteran WoW player and creator of the most popular World of Warcraft add-on (Atlas) Dan Gilbert guides you through making your stay in the world of Azeroth more exciting. Whether you’re human, dwarf, elf, or orc, you’ll feast on numerous unique hacks such as combat, artwork and model, map, interface, loot, chat, raid, PvP, and more. You’ll also learn to create and use skins and themes, write your own macros, create add-ons, and work with frames and XML so that you can improve your experience with the hottest online game on the planet—planet Earth, that is. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

Geared at those Starting out and basic commands
I bought this book and two others to create a couple of interfaces for things I do often.

This book referenced many of the existing add-on applications, and some basic calls. I could have used this info a year ago when I started, but I had already pass beyond this info with stuff from some of the sites listed here. Also two of the links I tried had already either changed or gone dark, so my take is the printed reference does have a time-line.

I did find it well written, and organized, and had I seen this a year ago it would have been ideal.

Dated - but still terrific!!!
By its very nature, this sort of material is dated by the time it can go to press. That being said, the authors have done an exemplary job of providing material that covers lasting principles, and not specifics that will be immediately invalidated. In addition, supporting material on-line is fresh and regularly updated. A solid 5 stars!

Good guide for the lazy!
Wasn't the best book, but for the price it didn't hurt. Best part about it is it had a list of addons for a few different categorys, and their descriptions, which was nice because he doesn't include any of the poor quality addons that litter addon sites. But for the not-so-lazy group, you can get all this information off addon sites quite easily.

good...but bad
The book's good at what it is tryign to do, but that thing is useless.
play for a month and it will all come together, this is a waste of money


and if you cant install an addon, just ask someone in your guild or something..its the easiest thing to do.

if you dont know...

find the addon you want download it, and click open [not save] on the pop up window. when it opens a screen with the addon file[s] you need to open my computer, then open drive C, then open program files, then open 'Wolrd of Warcraft' files, then open the interface folder. your should see an 'add ons' folder in the interface folder, simply go to the window with the addon files, hold down Ctrl [control] and left click each of the files in the folder. when they are are highlighted, drag them into the addons folder.

when you launch WoW make sure the addon is checked in the addons list [where your character selection screen is] from there you can enable/disable an addon if you decide you dont like it.

if you have lots of extra $$ then go for it, i'd just learn from playing

Warlock
Pretty simple guide really, just needs one line of text:

Roll a Warlock

am i rite? ... Read more

Product Description
Twenty-five years ago one could list by name the tiny number of multiple personalities recorded in the history of Western medicine, but today hundreds of people receive treatment for dissociative disorders in every sizable town in North America. Clinicians, backed by a grassroots movement of patients and therapists, find child sexual abuse to be the primary cause of the illness, while critics accuse the "MPD" community of fostering false memories of childhood trauma. Here the distinguished philosopher Ian Hacking uses the MPD epidemic and its links with the contemporary concept of child abuse to scrutinize today's moral and political climate, especially our power struggles about memory and our efforts to cope with psychological injuries.

What is it like to suffer from multiple personality? Most diagnosed patients are women: why does gender matter? How does defining an illness affect the behavior of those who suffer from it? And, more generally, how do systems of knowledge about kinds of people interact with the people who are known about? Answering these and similar questions, Hacking explores the development of the modern multiple personality movement. He then turns to a fascinating series of historical vignettes about an earlier wave of multiples, people who were diagnosed as new ways of thinking about memory emerged, particularly in France, toward the end of the nineteenth century. Fervently occupied with the study of hypnotism, hysteria, sleepwalking, and fugue, scientists of this period aimed to take the soul away from the religious sphere. What better way to do this than to make memory a surrogate for the soul and then subject it to empirical investigation?

Made possible by these nineteenth-century developments, the current outbreak of dissociative disorders is embedded in new political settings. Rewriting the Soul concludes with a powerful analysis linking historical and contemporary material in a fresh contribution to the archaeology of knowledge. As Foucault once identified a politics that centers on the body and another that classifies and organizes the human population, Hacking has now provided a masterful description of the politics of memory : the scientizing of the soul and the wounds it can receive. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Very Smart *and* Very Readable
Ian Hacking is a brilliant thinker and an elegant writer. I read this book after one of my husband's friends suggested it. He said it was the best book he can ever remember reading (like me, he prefers to read good nonfiction).
After reading the book (during which I couldn't help marking particularly good passages because I knew I'd want to reread them), I have found myself refering to this book frequently in my own writing (I'm an academic) and conversation with my students. I must agree with my husband's friend: this is certainly one of the best books I've read.
If you enjoy smart analysis of contemporary culture and the frailties ofsciences claiming to map the human mind, you will really enjoy this book. If you are a deep believer in the pure and virtuous authority of psychology, you will feel disturbed. ... Read more

Product Description
The Jetsons would be proud!

A gizmo as cool as Roomba just begs to be hacked. Now, with this book and the official ROI specification furnished by iRobot®, you can become the robotic engineer you've always dreamed of being. Build a Bluetooth interface for your Roomba. Turn it into an artist. Install Linux on it and give it a new brain. Some hacks are functional, others are purely fun. All of them let you play with robotics, and not one will void your warranty.

• Build a serial interface tether.
• Set up a Bluetooth® interface.
• Drive Roomba.
• Play with sensors.
• Make it sing.
• Create a Roomba artist.
• Use your Roomba as a mouse.
• Connect Roomba to the Net.
• Wi-Fi your Roomba.
• Replace Roomba's brain.
• Install Roomba-cam.
• Put Linux® on Roomba.
• Features a companion Web site.

All thisand it will still clean your floor!

Get the official iRobot Roomba Open Interface (ROI) specification and all code presented in the book in ready-to-run form at wiley.com/go/extremetech. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Good book for intermediate engineers serious about programming&robotics
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/ROOE9CP9S3O8E Tod must write more books on engineering. I liked his style of explaining things in a lucid manner. The book is also comprehensive. I will let the video do rest of the talking.

Update: new video on youtube watch?v=6owDZIy5hcc

Technology is getting old
Some of the add-on parts used are no longer available (wireless routers) or replaced by newer versions (BlueSmirf). Fundamental approach still applies but will take some reader knowledge to apply with current products. Interesting hack book nonetheless.

Roomba mods unleashed
Great book, I would suggest getting more than one roomba so you can mod one and still vac the floors. Top fun, all good info in one book, Yes you can get most of the info online but I think its better to have the directions at hand when halfway through a mod instead of rushing to look it up again link after link

So far, so good...
I've only gotten into chapter 3, with a few peeks in the back, but so far this book has lived up to my expectations and more. It has all sorts of basic information for people who haven't had much experience with tinkering with electronics. There's also plenty of reassuring and cautionary information for those concerned that their attempts to play with or improve their Roomba will break it instead. I'm looking forward to trying the experiments -- the book will be worth reading even if I never get around to them, though.

A must have
I received a "Rootooth" adapter as a Christmas present so I bought this book to expand on hacking Roomba. It is very detailed and easy to follow.The book assumes that you have some basic programming knowledge (i.e. MS VB, MS C#, MS C++, Java)to get the most out of it. You need to know how to compile and execute Java code to do the experiments in this book.It has some cool experiments and a lot of references to downloads for any utlities you will need to hack Roomba.I would highly recommend "Hacking Roomba" as a must have. ... Read more

Product Description
I wish I had known that when I was in college!" Sadly, it's an all too common phrase among college graduates. There's a big difference between college graduates, who often end up working the same Mcjobs after graduation they had as students, and those who have used college as a launching platform which prepares them to survive and thrive in the 21st century.How do you learn this neat little hack? By listening to those who already have. Hacking College will teach you how college works. More importantly, it will teach you how to make college work for you!Among the valuable and often surprising lessons Hacking College offers:College is a portal to the world--use it as one!Why you are a start-up company.What you need to master in college to thrive in the globalized world.Why all schools are not the same and why a "good school" might be a bad choice for you.How you can get into and afford almost any school if you plan ahead.How to navigate Finance and financial aid in the 21st century.What to do when the system fails you and how to prevent it from happening.How your social network can be more valuable than your degree.There is a digital divide, and you don't want to be on the wrong side.The easiest route to the most valuable degree. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

You will kick yourself ...
From the beginning to the end, this book is an eye opener. Dean's passion for the subject is infectious. It is never too early down the college path to read this book! Makes a GREAT high school grad gift!

Hacking College
This should be required reading for any high school student planning to go to college.

CDRitter
Every high school student should receive this upon graduation.Dr. Kohrs has created a road map that should be followed, not just through college but also into your first job after college. ... Read more

Product Description

The stories about phishing attacks against banks are so true-to-life, it’s chilling.” --Joel Dubin, CISSP, Microsoft MVP in Security

Every day, hackers are devising new ways to break into your network. Do you have what it takes to stop them? Find out in Hacker’s Challenge 3. Inside, top-tier security experts offer 20 brand-new, real-world network security incidents to test your computer forensics and response skills. All the latest hot-button topics are covered, including phishing and pharming scams, internal corporate hacking, Cisco IOS, wireless, iSCSI storage, VoIP, Windows, Mac OS X, and UNIX/Linux hacks, and much more. Each challenge includes a detailed explanation of the incident--how the break-in was detected, evidence and clues, technical background such as log files and network maps, and a series of questions for you to solve. In Part II, you’ll get a detailed analysis of how the experts solved each incident.

Customer Reviews (10)

Very Helpful In Incident Response Excercise
I bought the entire series of these books to help my organization during Incident Response exercises. As part of our yearly audits we are required to test our procedures and tighten up any loose ends. I felt a great way to test them was with predefined scenarios such as the ones in this book. We had to modify them a little to meet our infrastructure and business model, but that was not too difficult. It was amazing to work through these scenarios as a group and see how each of us would handle the situations differently. Overall it was a very effective way to share ideas and thoughts on how we would handle these situations in the future.

Overall I think the book was an enjoyable and thought provoking read, and can be used for real world situations. Perfect for getting your security team thinking about what might hit them next and how they will handle situations when they arise.

OK, but not what I expected from the HC series
The stories were entertaining but they lacked the detail I had been looking for. It would be a great book for non-technical managers to read so they know their techs are not just over-bearing security freaks.

I also feel that several of the investigations were flawed in how they were conducted. It is possible that the book is just being faithful to the 'real' story, but it would have been good to see comments on what could have been done better at the end of each one.

If you are looking for a broad picture of the types of attacks you might face and some procedures for what to do during or after an attack the book can be a helpful starting point (wake up call for some).

Everything needed for readers to test their skills
HACKER'S CHALLENGE 3: 20 BRAND-NEW FORENSIC SCENARIOS AND SOLUTIONS comes from too-tier security experts who offer 20 new real-world network security incidents to allow readers to test computer forensics skills and responses. From phishing and internal corporate hacking to wireless and Linux hacks, each challenge includes an in-depth explanation of the incident, how it was detected, and provides technical logs and network maps: everything needed for readers to test their skills at solving the incident. And yes, detailed analysis of successful results appear at the end.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Still entertaining, still educational
I read and reviewed HC1 in Nov 01, and HC2 in Jan 03.Now in Aug 06, I'm happy to be reading Hacker's Challenge 3 (HC3).Like its predecessors, HC3 is the sort of book that needs to be used when interviewing new hires or promoting technical staff. If the candidate has read the book and knows the answers to the challenges, she at least demonstrates her commitment to learning, as well as an ability to remember what she reads. If she can solve the challenges without having read the book, she shows a higher level of skill. If she has no clue how to respond to the challenges, you can move on to the next candidate.

The 20 challenges cover the following: phishing, DNS cache poisoning, Web app hacking (multiple), anonymous FTP abuse, wireless misconfigurations and abuse, social engineering, disgruntled soon-to-be-ex-employees, malware, password reuse, p2p abuse, router exploitation, XSS, and an iSCSI compromise.The last of these was my favorite because I have not seen this in the field yet.Almost all of the other exploits will seem familiar to anyone performing security consulting.

I believe all of the HC books are wonderful learning and discussion tools for junior security analysts.I would caution them to not accept the "approved solutions" as the proper way to conduct incident response and forensics, however.In 4 or perhaps 5 of the 20 cases, the IR process commenced with direct examination of suspected systems.In other words, admins or security folks jumped right onto possibly compromised hosts and began searching for clues of intrusion.

This is not the proper way to perform IR, yet I saw it demonstrated in Chs 4, 6, 9, and 12.Ch 12, p 119 was especially disappointing -- "the obvious place to begin the investigation is the Oracle server."Wrong -- unless you want to contaminate evidence, tip off the intruder, or introduce other problems into the security equation.

One of Anton Chuvakin's cases demonstrated a better way to approach the IR problem -- look for application logs, firewall records, and network traces first.Avoid touching suspected victims until there is no other option, and then do so carefully.

I do not intend to say through my comments that this process was universally ignored in HC3.Several times proper host-based IR procedures are followed, when using forensic live CDs or obtaining hard drive images.However, please keep my comments in mind while reading HC3.Since the book claims to be based on real events, it's possible the authors are retelling flawed investigations by their customers!

Overall, I definitely recommend reading HC3 if you are new to security or if you need to quiz your newer employees.The book is technically sound (except for a mention of Windows 2002 on p 265) and entertaining.Kudos for the HC3 team for sharing their creative ideas with us.

Reads like a suspense novel!
One of the best ways to teach is via the use of examples. This book is chock full of real world forensic scenarios along with their solutions. As the author of a forensics book myself, I understand and appreciate the hard work that these four brilliant individuals have put into this excellent text. We need to see more books like this in the future! ... Read more

Product Description
Bringing together important writings not easily available elsewhere, this volume provides a convenient and stimulating overview of recent work in the philosophy of science.The contributors include Paul Feyerabend, Ian Hacking, T.S. Kuhn, Imre Lakatos, Laurens Laudan, Karl Popper, Hilary Putnam, and Dudley Shapere.In addition, Hacking provides an introductory essay and a selective bibliography. ... Read more