Black Hat: Misfits, Criminals, and Scammers in the Internet Age

Rating:
Summary: Introduction to Internet Blackguards and Self-Protection
Review: When I set up my first e-mail account, I received an e-mail about every three days. That same account now gets over 150 pieces of spam an hour! And most of what comes is worse than the garbage that is handed out in the sleaziest part of Times Square. That's the sort of great problem that the Internet brings along with greater connectivity.

I was intrigued by this book because I wanted to learn more about those who are creating problems on the Internet for the rest of us. If you just want to know a little more about spam, spy ware, worms, viruses, scams, pirates, break-ins and how to avoid the problems, this book is a fairly good introduction that you can read quite quickly. Each chapter is a stand-alone, so you can skip the subjects that don't interest you.

If you are a security professional, this book is much too elementary for you to find it helpful. If you have been effective at avoiding scams, identity theft, spam, viruses and worms through your own diligent effort, you probably won't learn too much of practical value from this book.

The ideal reader is probably someone who started onto the Internet in just the last year or so . . . or doesn't know how to overcome some practical problem related to these nuisances. There is a brief bibliography for those who would then like to learn more.

I was pleased to see that the author appreciates the benefits of the open software movement and can explain the economics of complex battles over piracy quite well. So you are getting a sophisticated view of the on-line world presented in its simplest form. Nice!