Microsoft Windows Security Resource Kit

Rating:
Summary: An overly wordy reference with lots of hidden gems
Review: I've read nearly a dozen security related books now, including a lot from the Hacking Exposed team. This doesn't compare. There's no flare, there's no personality, it's a reference text.

It reads like a text book, infact, 90% of what's in it is probably in the standard MS texts, manuals and online. So while it's great they've brought all this info together in one place, they might have been better to wrap explination around references, rather than repeating information verbose.

There are lots of gems hidden away, like a detailed description of how kerberos and the token issueing processes work. But sometimes it really falls short, like when listing security related event IDs, it only lists the "more common" ones and there's no reference to locate the rest.

I read this cover to cover, which I think was a mistake, it's probably better as a reference, where if you've got a task to perform, you skim the relevant sections.

Your milage may vary.

Rating:
Summary: An overly wordy reference with lots of hidden gems
Review: I've read nearly a dozen security related books now, including a lot from the Hacking Exposed team. This doesn't compare. There's no flare, there's no personality, it's a reference text.

It reads like a text book, infact, 90% of what's in it is probably in the standard MS texts, manuals and online. So while it's great they've brought all this info together in one place, they might have been better to wrap explination around references, rather than repeating information verbose.

There are lots of gems hidden away, like a detailed description of how kerberos and the token issueing processes work. But sometimes it really falls short, like when listing security related event IDs, it only lists the "more common" ones and there's no reference to locate the rest.

I read this cover to cover, which I think was a mistake, it's probably better as a reference, where if you've got a task to perform, you skim the relevant sections.

Your milage may vary.

Rating:
Summary: A *MUST* have for every computer owner.
Review: Incredible.
It is true, experienced or new - this book is a definite must read for anyone who makes a living in the computer field. Whether you are a developer,administrator, or Engineer, this is practical advice from obvious gurus in the industry.

These men are serious about giving you real, solid and invaluable knowledge about securing your comptuer systems.

Instead of wandering through blah-blah-blah and making the book huge (which seems to be the case with most computer-related books these days) the authors do a great job of sticking to the purposes of the book.

In a single summary, you are only doing yourself GOOD by reading this book.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, No-non-sense Seciruty Advice.
Review: Incredible.

It is true, experienced or new - this book is a definite must read for anyone who makes a living in the computer field. Whether you are a developer,administrator, or Engineer, this is practical advice from obvious gurus in the industry.

These men are serious about giving you real, solid and invaluable knowledge about securing comptuer systems.

Instead of wandering through blah-blah-blah and making the book huge (which seems to be the case with most computer-related books these days) the authors do a great job of sticking to the purposes of the book.

In a single summary, you are only doing yourself GOOD by reading this book.

Rating:
Summary: Handy security reference manual to have around.
Review: Recently I passed the 70-214 exam, Security in a Windows 2000 Network Environment, I had very little resources to work with in my studies. What I could have used is this book which makes the perfect companion to Microsoft Press 70-214 Study guide.

The text is written to a specific exam, but rather to a specific topic, security and securing your network. The book works with Windows 2000 and XP network environments and gives you extensive coverage of the security settings you may need to implement on your network.

The authors created a 650 plus page text, which covers everything from passwords and group policies to terminal services and remote access security. I found some very and highly useful information, I really like chapter 2, Understanding Your Enemy.

Included with the book is a cdrom with over 50 utilities you can use for finding security leaks, holes and other risks. One tool I think needs to be added is the MBSA utility and this can be added in future updates.

Overall if you are looking to find ways to make you network more secure than this book is for you. Also whether you are new to the security arena or an old timer you can certainly learn something new.

Rating:
Summary: Great security info and not just for administrators
Review: The Windows Security Resource Kit is a wonderful wealth of information on securing Windows networks and operating systems. It is useful for anyone above the beginner level. It concentrates on using features of primarily Windows 2000 and XP to maximize security for various levels of needs. It is not about building a bastion host or configuring firewalls.

It is not a "cookbook" like too many training manuals are these days and is not full of fluff - it covers a lot of territory in it's 680 pages and is not geared for technogeeks, but is clearly written and understandable to the average Joe and Jane [except page 349]. The first two chapters put you in the security "mindset" - Key Principles of Security [including the Ten Immutable Laws of Security] and Understanding Your Enemy. I think that is very important, because security needs to be approached from an attitude about what you are up against and how only one vulnerability can sink your boat.

The next twenty three chapters are logically divided into security topics that can later be accessed easily as needed for reference purposes. Each chapter ends with best pratices recap and references to other books or Knowledge Base articles.

I thought the "meat" of the book was thorough, interesting, and accurate. Finally I have one place to go for an explaination of what ALL the user rights, security options, and services are. There is an excellent chapter on securing tcp/ip with specific recommendations on registry modifications to defend against a denial of service attack and even a .vbs script on the cdrom to implement them all. An equally excellent chapter on auditing including comprehensive tables explaining Event Ids and Event ID 681 failure codes. I finally know what the difference is between auditing account log on and log on events. Chapter 10 goes into great detail about ALL of the various settings in the Web Content Zones for Internet Explorer and how to configure them for your needs. Cookie/Privacy settings are also explained in detail. Chapter 7 includes specific recommendations on ntfs security settings for every folder in a new installation and a security template to implement them. I was impressed with Chapter 21 in that it shows you how to secure an IIS 5.0 server without having to be an IIS expert. Chapters 22 and 23 nicely explain patch management, Windows Update, using Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer tool, and using SUS for patch management on a large scale basis. The chapter on remote access and vpn explains the differences in pptp and l2tp and when to use each. Other chapters cover securing Terminal Services, authentication - various settings for Lan Manager authentication level, managing security templates/Security Configuration and Analysis tool, wireless networking/WEP, EFS [ten pages of crucial info], ipsec, Certificate Services, Group Policy, Active Directory [I now know how to use dsacls to reset object permissions to default], securing laptops [very informative], permissions, account/password policies, and managing users. Chapter 24 covers using security assessment tools including how to port scan and a extensive chart of common Windows ports and what applications use them.

Part VI of the book breaks away from Windows specific configurations and is called Planning and Performing Security Assessments and Incident Responses. It discusses vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, and security audits. This part is also extremely informative to those of us who are not trained in what to do after an incident - what to do when an intrusion is detected, who to inform , and most importantly how to preserve data in the event of criminal prosecution or to reconstruct the attack. The last chapter goes into privacy issues that one needs to know as how far can one go in gathering information from a legal standpoint.

Windows Security Resource kit is a very valuable resource in my opinion to anyone interested in securing a Windows computer or network. The writing style is very understandable and you do not have to read the whole book for it to make sense if only certain topics are of interest. It does not however go into too much detail on importance of virus/trojan protection or perimiter/firewall security but there are whole other books written on those topics. The included cdrom has many tools from the Resource Kit and the book itself. I also highly recommend it to anyone studying for their MCSE and consider it a "must have" for anyone planning to take any of the MCSE security exams or pursue the MCSE Security certification. Kudos to Microsoft Press for this one.

Rating:
Summary: Can I get another star?
Review: This is easily the best technical book I have ever read. Simply excellent. You will not regret buying nor reading this one!