Book details of 'SSH, the Secure Shell : The Definitive Guide'

Title	SSH, the Secure Shell : The Definitive Guide
Author(s)	Daniel J. Barrett, Richard Silverman
ISBN	0596000111
Language	English
Published	February 2001
Publisher	O'Reilly & Associates

---

Back to shelf Computer
Amazon.com info for SSH, the Secure Shell : The Definitive Guide

Score:

Vote for this book

The Virtual Bookcase Reviews of 'SSH, the Secure Shell : The Definitive Guide':

Reviewer Rob Slade wrote:
The preface states that the book is intended for system administrators (who may be called upon to support SSH, or use it within their networks), users (who may wish to use SSH out of concern for their own privacy or the security of their transactions), and developers (who may be able to use SSH in order to provide robust and reliable security to their own applications at little development cost). The authors also note that there may be confusion between the protocol (denoted SSH), various products, and individual utilities and programs (indicated by lowercase: ssh). Chapter one outlines what SSH is, and isn't, the basic services it provides (authentication, encryption, and integrity protection), and also notes other protocols and products that provide similar services. Basic operation of the most common clients (ssh and scp) is covered in chapter two, along with a terse but reasonable introduction to asymmetric key pairs. The internals of SSH, and a more extended discussion of cryptographic concepts, such as symmetric encryption, asymmetric, and hashing, are examined in chapter three. (The section concludes with a useful list of threats against which SSH provides little or no protection.) Extensive installation and configuration options are given in chapter four, with server configuration choices in five. Chapter six seems to move the subject to operational issues, addressing key management, and particularly SSH agent use of keys. Advanced topics governing client use are provided in chapter seven. Chapter eight outlines alternative settings for the use of SSH with user accounts. Chapter nine discusses forwarding, which can be used in both network administration (providing a secure tunnel within an unsecured environment) or development (adding encryption or integrity functionality to an application). While previous material gave details of configuration options, chapter ten furnishes the beleaguered sysadmin with a recommended initial configuration. Chapter eleven details options and setups for a variety of applications and situations. Troubleshooting guidance, and a list of common problems, is supplied in chapter twelve. Chapter thirteen equips the reader with tables of settings and features pertinent to the various implementations of SSH. Since SSH is often seen as limited to the UNIX world, details of the Okhapkin SSH1 Windows port are given in chapter fourteen, with SecureCRT in fifteen, F-Secure SSH (for Windows and Mac) in sixteen, and NiftyTelnet (Mac) in seventeen. Too many of the mature and useful security technologies languish in obscurity. Everybody knows that SSH exists, but too few people use it. Hopefully this reference might give more developers and users a chance to try it out, and administrators some resources to support it. copyright Robert M. Slade, 2006
Reviewer amazon.com wrote:
The suite of utility applications that Unix users and administrators find indispensable--Telnet, rlogin, FTP, and the rest--can in fact prove to be the undoing of interconnected systems. The Secure Shell, a.k.a. SSH (which isn't a true shell at all) provides your otherwise attack-prone utilities with the protection they need. SSH: The Secure Shell: The Definitive Guide explains how to use SSH at all levels. In a blended sequence, the book explains what SSH is all about, how it fits into a larger security scheme, and how to employ it as an everyday user with an SSH client. More technically detailed chapters show how to configure a SSH server--several variants are covered--and how to integrate SSH with non-Unix client platforms. As befits its detail- and variation-rich subject, this book comprises many specialized sections, each dealing with some specific aspect of use or configuration (setting up access control at the account level, for example, or generating keys for a particular SSH server). The writing is both informative and fun to read; the authors switch back and forth between text and entry-and-response listings from SSH machines. They often run through a half-dozen or more variants on the same command in a few pages, providing the reader with lots of practical information. The discussion of how SSH fits into a Kerberos Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is great, as is the advice on defeating particular kinds of attacks. Topics covered: The Secure Shell (SSH) for installers, administrators, and everyday users SSH design and operation Server setup SSH agents Client configuration Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) integration SSH1 SSH2 F-Secure OpenSSH for Unix SSH1 and SecureCRT for Microsoft Windows NiftyTelnet SSH for Mac OS
Add my review for SSH, the Secure Shell : The Definitive Guide