Steal This Computer Book 4.0: What They Won't Tell You About the Internet - Softcover

Wallace Wang

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1593271050 ISBN 13: 9781593271053

Publisher: No Starch Press, 2006

Synopsis

If you thought hacking was just about mischief-makers hunched over computers in the basement, think again. As seasoned author Wallace Wang explains, hacking can also mean questioning the status quo, looking for your own truths and never accepting at face value anything authorities say or do.

The completely revised fourth edition of this offbeat, non-technical book examines what hackers do, how they do it, and how you can protect yourself. Written in the same informative, irreverent, and entertaining style that made the first three editions hugely successful, Steal This Computer Book 4.0 will expand your mind and raise your eyebrows. New chapters discuss the hacker mentality, social engineering and lock picking, exploiting P2P file-sharing networks, and how people manipulate search engines and pop-up ads to obtain and use personal information. Wang also takes issue with the media for "hacking" the news and presenting the public with self-serving stories of questionable accuracy.

Inside, you’ll discover:
–How to manage and fight spam and spyware
–How Trojan horse programs and rootkits work and how to defend against them
–How hackers steal software and defeat copy-protection mechanisms
–How to tell if your machine is being attacked and what you can do to protect it
–Where the hackers are, how they probe a target and sneak into a computer, and what they do once they get inside
–How corporations use hacker techniques to infect your computer and invade your privacy
–How you can lock down your computer to protect your data and your personal information using free programs included on the book’s CD
If you’ve ever logged onto a website, conducted an online transaction, sent or received email, used a networked computer or even watched the evening news, you may have already been tricked, tracked, hacked, and manipulated. As the saying goes, just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you. And, as Wallace Wang reveals, they probably are.

The companion CD contains hundreds of megabytes of 100% FREE hacking and security related programs, like keyloggers, spyware stoppers, port blockers, IP scanners, Trojan horse detectors, and much, much more. CD compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux.

About this title

Review

If ever a book on cyberculture wore a fedora and trench coat and leaned against a lamppost on a foggy street, this is the one. It is an unabashed look at the dark side of the Net--the stuff many other books gloss over. It's hard-edged, wisecracking, and often quite cynical as it pours over the reality of online scams, illegal activities, and simple annoyances.

Wang's stated goal is to open the reader's eyes about what's really there. He shows what's being done, how it's being done, and how to avoid problems or even strike back. He begins with a chapter about the news media, and his message is that no source is to be trusted completely. He examines issues important to Internet users: the cost of getting computerized (with tips on how to find the real bargains), who is using the Internet as a source of hate information, and how your privacy can be invaded and protected.

He shows you the secrets of malicious hackers and others and how some of them attack computer systems without the ethical mindset typical of the original, idealistic hackers. Wang shows you how you can set up your defenses against such an onslaught, discussing how to protect yourself and your kids from online stalkers and how online con games work.

Wang never claims that the Internet is the electronic den of darkness that the pop media make it out to be. But he makes it clear that something this big has its lowlights--it's own "net noir." His messages are "know your enemy" and "be careful who you trust," an ideology verified by the examples he provides. --Elizabeth Lewis

From the Back Cover

National bestseller with over 175,000 copies sold!

Now completely revised and updated

If you thought hacking was just about mischief-makers hunched over computers in the basement, think again. As seasoned author Wallace Wang explains, hacking can also mean questioning the status quo, looking for your own truths and never accepting at face value anything authorities say or do.

The completely revised fourth edition of this offbeat, non-technical book examines what hackers do, how they do it, and how you can protect yourself. Written in the same informative, irreverent, and entertaining style that made the first three editions hugely successful, Steal This Computer Book 4.0 will expand your mind and raise your eyebrows. New chapters discuss the hacker mentality, social engineering and lock picking, exploiting P2P file-sharing networks, and how people manipulate search engines and pop-up ads to obtain and use personal information. Wang also takes issue with the media for "hacking" the news and presenting the public with self-serving stories of questionable accuracy. Inside, you’ll discover:

—How to manage and fight spam and spyware
—How Trojan horse programs and rootkits work and how to defend against them
—How hackers steal software and defeat copy-protection mechanisms
—How to tell if your machine is being attacked and what you can do to protect it
—Where the hackers are, how they probe a target and sneak into a computer, and what they do once they get inside
—How corporations use hacker techniques to infect your computer and invade your privacy
—How you can lock down your computer to protect your data and your personal information using free programs included on the book’s CD

If you’ve ever logged onto a website, conducted an online transaction, sent or received email, used a networked computer or even watched the evening news, you may have already been tricked, tracked, hacked, and manipulated. As the saying goes, just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you. And, as Wallace Wang reveals, they probably are.

The companion CD contains hundreds of megabytes of 100 % FREE hacking and security related programs, like keyloggers, spyware stoppers, port blockers, IP scanners, Trojan horse detectors, and much, much more. CD compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Edition details

• Publisher: No Starch Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1593271050
• ISBN 13: 9781593271053
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 4
• Number of pages: 384