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

Black Hat is an excellent, enjoyable read that tells the computer layman just about everything he needs to know about the dangers of online computing. If you've ever used a computer, you'll already be familiar with some of the topics discussed here - spam, viruses, online scams, etc. John Biggs takes you much further into these dire subjects, however, and I can almost guarantee that you will learn something you didn't already know - which is especially good, in that it can translate into better computer security for you. This isn't just a "what they are, what you can do" kind of book, though, as Biggs also takes you some way into the hacker community and lets you take a gander at the kind of mindset that drives all these script kiddies and outright criminals making our online experiences much less enjoyable than they could and should be. Hackers weren't always the spawn of Satan, and you will find a measure of respect in these pages for the hacker purist community, but that reflects the feelings of many computer experts. Your original hacker did it for the challenge, and I daresay software designers learned a great deal from these intellectually-oriented hackers - and what they learned has been incorporated into tighter, more secure software than we would have seen otherwise. There is a difference between these guys and the unscrupulous minds working their scripting magic to bring down networks or steal your personal data. The book ends on a positive note, as Biggs talks about the White Hats out there working silently to offset the dangers posed by today's Black Hats. The book opens with an illuminating look at spam and some of the Spam Kings making money off what they consider to be a legal business method. This is the best overview of spam I've ever read; it gets a little technical in places, but it's a truly informative read. From there, Biggs is off to spyware and adware, those increasingly pernicious programs that install themselves silently on your hard drive, bombard you with unsolicited pop-up ads and slow down your system's performance speed significantly. I take care of the public computers in a university library, and these malicious programs are a constant thorn in my side. As many precautions as you take and as many sites as you block, these things just multiply like rabbits and keep coming at you thanks to users who have no qualms about clicking on anything and everything they see online. If you are an online user of any kind, you really need to know all you can about protecting your computer from spyware and adware, and the author tells you all about it in this book. Lest we forget viruses, these are also covered in some detail. Call me crazy, but I actually enjoy getting ye olde "Nigerian" scam emails; they are a constant source of amusement, and you have to wonder if anyone actually takes these things seriously. They do, and they come out much poorer for their mistake. Biggs tells you all about the most popular

This is a very readable journey into the smarmy underside of the Internet. In straightforward, nontechnical prose, it explains the basic ideas behind spam and viruses and worms. Plus ostensibly benign spyware. And outright scams, that are a particularly pernicious subset of spam. Space is given to explaining about the Nigerian 419 and of phishers.Then there is the explanation of downloading of copyrighted material (usually music). This differs from the others in that here millions actively participate. Whereas the others are pushed out to millions, most of whom decline.The book is ideal for a person still new to the Internet, and worried about snares. It eshews a sensationalistic or preachy tone. The only unfortunate thing is that it is pessimistic about defeating spam. The reasons give reflect the current consensus in the antispam field. But a few others, like myself, believe, based on our own works, that spam can indeed be crushed.

This is easily one of the best books available today to teach the average person what goes on in the darkest corners of the Internet. Author John Biggs takes the reader on a mind-expanding journey into these areas where questionable characters are more the rule than the exception. Along the way you will learn about port scanning, viruses, spam, spyware, worms, scams, pirates, and hacking. This is one of the very few books that teach the reader what can happen and how to be prepared without becoming a book that teaches malcontents how to become a hacker. This makes it one of the very few books that I could recommend to high schools, youth groups, and adult groups who want to understand the dangers of the Internet. "Black Hat" is a book that is long overdue for publication. Most books on this subject are too technical for the average reader; this one is the exception. Everyone who surfs the net, for whatever reason, should read a book like this just so they know what can happen. If you are a non-technical user then "Black Hat: Misfits, Criminals, and Scammers in the Internet Age" is the best book available today for this purpose. This book should be considered as a gift for friends and family you love that surf the net and need to be safe.

I recently received a copy of Black Hat: Misfits, Criminals, and Scammers in the Internet Age by John Biggs from Apress. While the information technology professional might not learn anything new from this book, it will serve as a readable resource to help typical computer users to understand the threat to their well-being when they surf the internet. The chapter selection is as follows: Black Hats: Things That Go Ping In The Night; Y.O.U MAYHAVE ALREDY 1!: SPAM; Deep Cover: Spyware; Shockwave: Worms and Viruses; Dear Friend: Scams; Upload Or Perish: Pirates; Break In: Hacking; Don't Get Burned: White Hats; Glossary; Selected Reading; Index Biggs has written a relatively short (158 pages) book that deals with most of the major security risks an average user will face on a regular basis on the internet. For example, the chapter on spam starts off with a real-life scenario involving Alan Ralsky, a well-known spammer. You're then taken back to the early days of the 'net when the first generally recognized piece of spam made its appearance in UseNet. The growth of unsolicted mail is tracked to current day levels, as well as the reasons why spammers do what they do. He even takes a typical piece of spam mail and dissects the headers to show the reader how all is not as it seems in terms of where it came from and how it got to you. The current solutions, along with the pros and cons of each are discussed, in addition to where spam seems to be headed in the future. All this is done in a narrative fashion that stays at a level that is understandable to the average "Joe Computer User". The chapter on scams is also very valuable for helping people avoid getting fleeced. A lot of space is given to the Nigerian 419 scam, where you are asked to help someone transfer money out of their country into your bank account for a cut of the millions. I keep thinking no one would fall for this, but it still keeps sucking people in. Biggs also explains phishing scams, where users end up at web sites which are clever imitations of real sites. The person enters financial or personal information, and then finds themselves the victim of credit or identity fraud. This is definitely a scam on the upswing, and can catch people at all levels of internet expertise. I personally enjoyed reading it, knowing that there were a number of people I would recommend it to. Like my kids or my parents. :-) If you're not an IT professional but you are an internet user, this book will help you to understand and avoid some very real dangers out there.

This is security for the rest of us. How do worms work? What can we do to keep our information safe? How can we keep hackers, spam, and spyware off the family computer? This book as answers.It's fun: there are little stories for each chapter and a lot of helpful info.