Book Review: Hacking For Dummies

Hacking and hacker are terms which make purists cringe when they hear them today. Being a hacker was once a noble profession simply implying that you had the right mix of knowledge, daring and luck to make the equipment do what you want it to do. Books like Hacking The XBox, Windows XP Hacks and others refer to this "good" hacking. The term has been co-opted by the media though (myself included)and "hacker" can mean just about anyone doing something illegal with a computer.

Ethical Hacking

If "hacking" is now used almost universally to mean illegal or unauthorized access with malicious or, at best, mischievous intent, what is "ethical" hacking? Well, ethical hacking is sort of the new and improved way of saying you are part of the noble profession of hacking rather than the seedy underground of hacking. It is also sometimes referred to as "white hat" vs. "black hat" hacking as an allusion to the days of the wild west where the good guys always wore white hats and the bad guys always wore black hats.

Part of the basis of protecting your network or computer and being an ethical hacker is the premise that in order to stop or catch a thief you must first think like one. The goal of books in this genre is not to teach you how to illegally access a computer or network. The goal is to teach you how a hacker might do so in order for you, as the ethical hacker, to test your own systems and proactively protect them. The more you understand about the thought process, tools and attack techniques of your enemy the easier it will be for you to defend yourself.

My Review

There is certainly no shortage of books in this genre- Counter Hack, Hack Attacks Revealed and the best-selling Hacking Exposed (and all of its spin-offs) have covered this information in grueling detail. What sets this book apart is that it does not assume you are already a CISSP or network security guru. Being a "For Dummies" book means that it is written from the assumption that you don't know anything and the information is written in plain English and in terms that even a child could often understand.

One of things that makes "For Dummies" books like this one great is the use of humor and icons to help lighten the information while also pointing out the key points and highlighting the "need to know" information. Hacking For Dummies walks the reader through basic computer and network security and progresses through various topics of hacking such as hacking applications or hacking various operating systems.

Anyone interested in this topic, but especially those who are new to the world of computer and network security, should read this book. It is great on its own, but also provides an excellent foundation for someone interested in proceeding to more detailed works such as Hacking Exposed.