Book details of 'Steal This Computer Book'

Title	Steal This Computer Book
Author(s)	Wally Wang, Wallace Wang
ISBN	1886411212
Language	English
Published	June 1998
Publisher	No Starch Press

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The Virtual Bookcase Reviews of 'Steal This Computer Book':

Reviewer amazon.com wrote:
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.
Reviewer Rob Slade wrote:
Although this book seems to be being promoted as a security text, the table of contents seems to list a bewildering variety of topics, some related to security and others not. The introduction doesn't really provide much information about what the book is about, either, except that it seems to be big on self-improvement. On the other hand, the book starts out by claiming that "unlike other books, this book provides more objective information about hackers, the Internet, unwholesome Web sites, and viruses than any other book on the shelf," which seems to indicate that the author does not suffer from any lack of self-esteem. (In reaction to the initial draft of the review, the author has stated that "the book is meant less as a how-to manual for hacking but more a philosophical statement urging people to think for themselves." In response, all that I can say is that neither the promotion of the book nor the text itself stresses this intention, and I personally cannot find any utility in the volume for teaching critical thinking skills.) Part one purports to promote freedom of thought. Chapter one lists a number of Web sites of major commercial publishers and news services. It also presents a set of "search engines," actually directory pages of conspiracy theorists, pornography, witchcraft, and other vital topics. Intelligence agency (mostly US) and terrorist Web sites share chapter two. The hate group pages listed in chapter three will probably have fairly short life spans. (I tried all of the racial and gender preference links listed, and failed to get a page to load from any of them.) Part two seems more concerned with fiscal than personal freedom. The advice on getting cheap computers, in chapter four, may have its good points, but you'll have to be able to judge it. (For example, if you can build your own computer you probably don't need anything this book can tell you.) As for "almost-free" software, I notice that for all his bravado, Wang stops short of pointing out where to actually find key generators for pirating software. For that matter, there is plenty of software that is completely free for use, without getting into any dicey legal situations, that the book never gets beyond mentioning. The description of encryption, in chapter five, betrays no real understanding of the technology, and the recommendation to use the KOH virus, without mention of its well-documented flaws and problems is almost criminally negligent. For that matter, in telling people about cookies the author has to recommend special programs, rather than giving some fairly simple information that would allow users to look for themselves. Chapter six gives you the type of information on phone phreaking that you can get in any underground 'zine: anecdotal, outdated, incomplete, and of interest primarily to the gullible. For anyone who does not know how to get past a Windows 3.1 screensaver password (do I see any hands? I didn't think so) you can get some rather labored instructions in chapter seven. Broadly speaking, it gives the computer illiterate just enough information to be dangerous. There are also some tedious workarounds so you can get to porn sites even if your legal guardian has installed site blocking software. Somehow this adolescent activity seems to fit the general tone of the book. Part three glamorizes some basically criminal activity, but fortunately most of it does *not* provide enough information to the terminally stupid to create any kind of problem. Chapter eight tells you where to find the dirty pictures on AOL and CompuServe, and also how to get yourself kicked off. Spam generating programs, outdated spam identification and tracking, and some phenomenally stupid things to do if you are annoyed by spam is listed in chapter nine. Chapter ten describes some recent unauthorized modifications of prominent Web sites. The ways that chapter eleven lists for getting information on people are fairly public and innocuous. A few old frauds and confidence games now "upgraded" with net involvement are discussed in chapter twelve. Chapter thirteen describes some viruses of the past, and fourteen has some suggestions on protection. These chapters were better than I expected, although they seem to average about one error per two paragraphs. However, the author isn't terribly helpful, shying away from any really detailed information, and countering just about every piece of information or suggested action with an "or maybe not." Chapter fifteen starts out by telling us that "[i]f the thought that someone would deliberately write a computer virus horrifies you, remember that every day someone on this planet wakes up and deliberately dumps toxic waste into the environment, bribes a government official, or sells weapons to unstable Third World countries." Those thoughts horrify me, too, so I'm not sure why that idea is supposed to convince us that virus writers are "just plain folks," and that virus writing is good, clean fun. In the end it doesn't matter much: this chapter is almost completely content-free. A final chapter tries to sell you the idea that you can create interesting hostile applets with Java, but aside from listing some old implementation bugs and an applet that will send you some unconvincingly forged email there is no indication that the author understands Java security at all. Bottom line? This book is unfocussed in conception and hasty in execution. Again, in reaction to the initial draft of this review, the author objected that my criticisms were more appropriate for a book directed at a technically skilled audience. In regard to that charge, I would have to say that the lack of complete and analytical technical tutorial rather supports my objections than the reverse. On the one hand, it does not provide the esoteric information that both the author and publisher promise, so it isn't any threat. On the other hand, the author demonstrates no particular technical skill or knowledge on any topic, so it hasn't any other value, either. This random collection of information may provoke some thought in non- technical computer users, but browsing of the net for yourself is probably much, much more useful in that regard. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998
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