How To Cheat At Securing Your Network

Most Systems Administrators are not security specialists. Keeping the network secure is one of many responsibilities, and it is usually not a priority until disaster strikes. How to Cheat at Securing Your Network is the perfect book for this audience. The book takes the huge amount of information available on network security and distils it into concise recommendations and instructions, using real world, step-by-step instruction. The latest addition to the best selling "How to Cheat..." series of IT handbooks, this book clearly identifies the primary vulnerabilities of most computer networks, including user access, remote access, messaging, wireless hacking, media, email threats, storage devices, and web applications. Solutions are provided for each type of threat, with emphasis on intrusion detection, prevention, and disaster recovery. * A concise information source - perfect for busy System Administrators with little spare time * Details what to do when disaster strikes your network * Covers the most likely threats to small to medium sized networks

Wireless connectivity is now a reality in most businesses. Yet by its nature, wireless networks are the most difficult to secure and are often the favorite target of intruders. This book provides the busy network administrator with best-practice solutions to securing the wireless network With the increased demand for mobile connectivity and the decrease in cost and in the time required for installation, wireless network connections will make up 20% of all corporate network connections by the end of 2006. With this increase in usage comes a commensurate increase in the network’s vulnerability to intrusion. This book provides the typical network administrator with the basic tools and instruction they need to maintain a secure network while allowing acceptable access to users. · A practical product and technology specific guideline to securing a wireless networks for the busy System Administrator · Takes a simplified multi-layered approach into easily deployed plans for a straight forward understanding · Does not bog you down with history, but offers practical useful information for today

The perfect book for multi-tasked IT managers responsible for securing the latest version of SQL Server 2005. SQL Server is the perfect product for the How to Cheat series. It is an ambitious product that, for the average SysAdmin, will present a difficult migration path from earlier versions and a vexing number of new features. How to Cheat promises help in order to get SQL Server secured as quickly and safely as possible. Provides the multi-tasked Sys Admin with the essential information needed to perform the daily tasks Covers SQL Server 2005, which is a massive product with significant challenges for IT managers Emphasizes best-practice security measures

Linux servers now account for 33% of all networks servers running worldwide (Source: IDC). The top 3 market share holders in the network server space (IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and Dell) all use Linux as their standard operating system. This book teaches Linux system administrators how to protect their servers from malicious threats. As with any technologies, increased usage results in increased attention from malicious hackers. For years a myth existed that Windows was inherently less secure than Linux, because there were significantly more attacks against Windows machines than Linux. This was a fallacy. There were more attacks against Windows machines because there were simply so many more Windows machines to attack. Now, the numbers tell the exact opposite story. Linux servers account for 1/3 of all servers worldwide, but in 2005 there were 3 times as many high-severity security vulnerabilities discovered on Linux servers (Source: IDC). This book covers Open Source security, implementing an intrusion detection system, unearthing Rootkits, defending against malware, creating Virtual Private Networks, and much more. The Perfect Reference for the Multitasked SysAdmin * Discover Why "Measure Twice, Cut Once" Applies to Securing Linux * Complete Coverage of Hardening the Operating System, Implementing an Intrusion Detection System, and Defending Databases * Short on Theory, History, and Technical Data that Is Not Helpful in Performing Your Job

Windows 2003 Server is unquestionably the dominant enterprise level operating system in the industry, with 95% of all companies running it. And for the last tow years, over 50% of all product upgrades have been security related. Securing Windows Server, according to bill gates, is the company's #1 priority. While considering the security needs of your organiztion, you need to balance the human and the technical in order to create the best security design for your organization. Securing a Windows Server 2003 enterprise network is hardly a small undertaking, but it becomes quite manageable if you approach it in an organized and systematic way. This includes configuring software, services, and protocols to meet an organization’s security needs. * The Perfect Guide if "System Administrator is NOT your primary job function * Avoid "time drains" configuring the many different security standards built into Windows 2003 * Secure VPN and Extranet Communications

The Perfect Reference for the Multitasked SysAdmin This is the perfect guide if network security tools is not your specialty. It is the perfect introduction to managing an infrastructure with freely available, and powerful, Open Source tools. Learn how to test and audit your systems using products like Snort and Wireshark and some of the add-ons available for both. In addition, learn handy techniques for network troubleshooting and protecting the perimeter. * Take Inventory See how taking an inventory of the devices on your network must be repeated regularly to ensure that the inventory remains accurate. * Use Nmap Learn how Nmap has more features and options than any other free scanner. * Implement Firewalls Use netfilter to perform firewall logic and see how SmoothWall can turn a PC into a dedicated firewall appliance that is completely configurable. * Perform Basic Hardening Put an IT security policy in place so that you have a concrete set of standards against which to measure. * Install and Configure Snort and Wireshark Explore the feature set of these powerful tools, as well as their pitfalls and other security considerations. * Explore Snort Add-Ons Use tools like Oinkmaster to automatically keep Snort signature files current. * Troubleshoot Network Problems See how to reporting on bandwidth usage and other metrics and to use data collection methods like sniffing, NetFlow, and SNMP. * Learn Defensive Monitoring Considerations See how to define your wireless network boundaries, and monitor to know if they’re being exceeded and watch for unauthorized traffic on your network. Covers the top 10 most popular open source security tools including Snort, Nessus, Wireshark, Nmap, and Kismet Follows Syngress' proven "How to Cheat" pedagogy providing readers with everything they need and nothing they don't

Windows 2003 Server is unquestionably the dominant enterprise level operating system in the industry, with 95% of all companies running it. And for the last tow years, over 50% of all product upgrades have been security related. Securing Windows Server, according to bill gates, is the company's #1 priority. The book will start off by teaching readers to create the conceptual design of their Active Directory infrastructure by gathering and analyzing business and technical requirements. Next, readers will create the logical design for an Active Directory infrastructure. Here the book starts to drill deeper and focus on aspects such as group policy design. Finally, readers will learn to create the physical design for an active directory and network Infrastructure including DNS server placement; DC and GC placements and Flexible Single Master Operations (FSMO) role placement. The next book in our best selling and critically acclaimed How to Cheat series. This is the perfect book for users who have already purchased How to Cheat at Managing Windows 2003 Small Business Server. * Active Directory is the market leader in the directory services space, and 57% of all Microsoft corporate customers have deployed AD * Follows Syngress's proven "How To Cheat" methodology * Companion Web site offers dozens of templates, "Cheat Sheets", and checklists for readers

Over 95% of computers around the world are running at least one Microsoft product. Microsoft Windows Software Update Service is designed to provide patches and updates to every one of these computers. The book will begin by describing the feature set of WSUS, and the benefits it provides to system administrators. Next, the reader will learn the steps that must be taken to configure their servers and workstations to make the compatible with WSUS. A special section then follows to help readers migrate from Microsoft’s earlier update service, Software Update Service (SUS) to WSUS. The next chapters will then address the particular needs and complexities of managing WSUS on an enterprise network. Although WSUS is designed to streamline the update process, this service can still be a challenge for administrators to use effectively. To address these issues, the next chapters deal specifically with common problems that occur and the reader is provides with invaluable troubleshooting information. One of the other primary objectives of WSUS is to improve the overall security of Windows networks by ensuring that all systems have the most recent security updates and patches. To help achieve this goal, the next sections cover securing WSUS itself, so that critical security patches are always applied and cannot be compromised by malicious hackers. * Only book available on Microsoft's brand new, Windows Server Update Services * Employs Syngress' proven "How to Cheat" methodology providing readers with everything they need and nothing they don't * WSUS works with every Microsoft product, meaning any system administrator running a Windows-based network is a potential customer for this book