Rating: 
Summary: Simply the Best Book on Information Warfare for the Layman
Review: Schwartau is a compelling writer, who spells out in easy-to-understand terms just what the internet REALLY means to those who live, work, and play there. He delves into security issues for the personal user, as well as for the businessman, while never treating the reader like an ignoramus. It's a riveting, enjoyable book, packed full of information that will both fascinate and unsettle everyone who logs on-line for any length of time, for any reason. Schwartau gives us a study of hackers and phreakers that doesn't treat them as heroes or villains, but as members of a different culture, as apart from the mainstream as the beats and hippies of the 50's and 60's were to Ozzie and Harriet. Buy this book, read it, make notes. And then for god's sake tell EVERYONE you know to get their own copy. This thing is more a primer for the 21st century, than a book on computers.
Rating: 
Summary: A Hacker's Thoughts on cyberSecurity
Review: Speaking as someone who once spent three months behind bars for computer hacking, I can vouch for the authenticity of this book. It should scare you right out of your socks.And it's not the technical details that should scare you, though there's enough of that. It's the simple "social engineering" that can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars. A good hacker doesn't need to touch a computer - he just picks his target, gains a bit of information and uses others to do the dirty work, all unsuspecting. By the time you work out you are under attack, someone has taken out a second mortgage on your home, cashed in your life insurance, raided your credit cards and had a hell of a good time at your expense. Here are case studies to demonstrate it. people driven to bankruptcy, despair and suicide. Get a firewall on your computer right NOW. And do all the other things this book advises. Otherwise you are a mug. Don't figure it won't happen to you - if you are at all active in cyberspace, then you are leaving footprints behind that can be picked up and exploited by a hacker looking for his next target. Buy this book - it will be the best handful of dollars you ever spent.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book for the Layman!
Review: The author covers just about every area on information warfare, however, the book would be strengthened with the addition of a software CD that included free security tools and liks to security sites. ZoneAlarm is a free internet firewall that makes it virtually impossible for a internet hacker to access your computer without physical access. Freedom, is another piece of software the protects your identity and internet habits/practices/visits even from your ISP check it out: http://www.zeroknowledge.com/clickthrough/click.asp?partner_id=10124 Another FREE program/account gives you a way to securely and with certainty spend and receive money online (privately and anonymously if neccessary) http://www.24karat.cjb.net Tons more...email me if you need them by clicking on the reviewers name above this post. Hope that helps some :-)
Rating:
Summary: Sensationalist, Populist, Useful, Worthy
Review: There will be those quick to trash this book as sensationalist, and they are partly right. What most people, including the critics, do not realize is that Winn Schwartau went out on a limb in the late 1980's and early 1990's and is *the* primary reason Congress got concerned enough about these issues to demand a Critical Infrastructure Protection program funded at over $1B--it was Winn, not others quick to claim the line, that testified to Congress about an "electronic Pearl Harbor" on 24 June 1991. This book is unabashedly populist and seeks to make this very complex threat entertaining and understandable, and for that reason alone it is worth the time to consider. There are many other serious books for engineers, this is the one for anyone at all from housewife to student to executive. Great airplane book, won't save the world, but will certainly increase your consciousness across the board. Worthy.
Rating:
Summary: Sensationalist, Populist, Useful, Worthy
Review: There will be those quick to trash this book as sensationalist, and they are partly right. What most people, including the critics, do not realize is that Winn Schwartau went out on a limb in the late 1980's and early 1990's and is *the* primary reason Congress got concerned enough about these issues to demand a Critical Infrastructure Protection program funded at over $1B--it was Winn, not others quick to claim the line, that testified to Congress about an "electronic Pearl Harbor" on 24 June 1991. This book is unabashedly populist and seeks to make this very complex threat entertaining and understandable, and for that reason alone it is worth the time to consider. There are many other serious books for engineers, this is the one for anyone at all from housewife to student to executive. Great airplane book, won't save the world, but will certainly increase your consciousness across the board. Worthy.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting Stuff
Review: This book is a good explanation of hackers of all varieties, their techniques, and what ordinary people and businesses can do to protect against them. In a usually-even-tempered voice, Mr. Schwartau tackles common misconceptions and explains what hackers really are and what threats we should really be worrying about. He has had a reputation of being a Chicken Little with regard to hacking, but at least a respected Chicken Little. None of this is real knock-your-socks-off stuff. But it's good in an enjoyable sort of a way.
Rating:
Summary: One-stop course to common sense on the net
Review: This book is a must read for "just the facts" about the seedier side of the internet. As a "netcop" for a large ISP, I have recommended it to several people. It give the nuts and bolts of how things like viruses, denial of sercvice attacks, cyberstalking, and email fraud work with a friendly, no-jargon style. From everything on how to protect your privacy while online, to why spam is a bad thing, this book covers all the bases. Unlike many books on the same topic, this one does not go into the details of how to do these deeds- just how to keep them from happening to you. I especially recommend the section on how to keep your kids safe on the net... this book is a one-stop course to common sense on the internet.
Rating: 
Summary: Cashing in on Media Hype
Review: This book is basically Schwartau's attempt at making a few quick bucks by writing to a paranoid audience created by the media. He makes no attempt at truth in this book, his only purpose seems to be to scare his readers into never touching a computer again. Schwartau makes statements which have no foundation of truth in the real world. He even goes so far as to talk about such sci-fi subjects as EMP, Herf guns, and "mind-hacking", warning the reader that there are "microwaves that are tuned to specific frequencies and turn your fillings into radio receivers." I suspect that his next book will be entitled "Big Brother - They're Always Watching You" wherin he will encourage his readers to wear hats made out of aluminum foil. If you want to read anything serious about hacking, I suggest you look elsewhere. Paul A. Taylor's "Hackers-Crime in the Digital Sublime" or Tom Forester and Perry Morrison's "Computer Ethics-Cautionary Tales and Ethical Dilemmas in Computing" are good books on the subject and actually cite their studies, both of which I would highly reccomend.
Rating:
Summary: Winn's best yet, a readable Info-War book
Review: This book is needed, it covers the broad area of Information Warfare, and actually gives realistic and understandable examples. A must read for those interested in the topic. The writing style is relaxed, but the content is not shallow. Read it!
Rating:
Summary: Blatant plea for attention -- no real facts
Review: This book is similar to those "When Animals Attack, Part 2" shows on the Fox network -- and just as thoughtfully written. It's here to sell copies and get the author on the talk show circuit. You'll see him on "Inside Edition", "Hard Copy", and Ollie North's radio program. He cites "studies" but doesn't provide any details on those studies. He lumps the entire "hacker" world into one category. His psychological profiles would make an undergrad professor ill. Heck, this book doesn't deserve any more of my time for a review. If you must read it, read it as you would a bad spy novel, but don't tie it to the real world.
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