Computer Book Reviews

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Maximum Security Third Edition by Anonymous
Sams, May, 2001.
Trade Paperback, 861 pages.
ISBN: 0672318717
Ordering information:
Amazon.com

Maximum Security is now in its third edition for a reason: companies and people know web security is important, but they don't understand it. It is also helpful to have a book that compiles all the security information for you. Maximum Security does this for the reader, and more. Written anonymously by a security consultant and a group of security experts, the book explains methods hackers can use to violate your website, what you can do to prevent hacking and how security measures work on different operating systems. Hacking attacks come without warning, in a variety of ways and from very different hacker personalities. The book provides profiles of hackers, including script kiddies (young, unskilled hackers who use freely available scripts), black hats (the bad guys) and white hats (the good guys). Other topics covered in the book include firewalls, scanners, auditing tools, password crackers, sniffers, denial of service attacks, trojans and security policies. The book also includes a reference section listing additional resources and contacts for security consultants. A CD-ROM included with book contains third party security software tools.

Although this book should definitely be read by system administrators and computer professionals, it should also be read by anyone frequently using a computer and the Internet so they can familiarize themselves with security risks. The book makes for some very interesting reading; it contains pages and pages of information on ways information on computers can be violated and/or stolen. Thankfully, it also covers methods and solutions for preventing these security breaches. Highly recommended.

Photoshop 6 Artistry : Mastering the Digital Image by Barry Haynes and Wendy Crumpler
New Riders, May, 2001.
Trade Paperback, 482 pages.
ISBN: 0735710376
Ordering information:
Amazon.com

This detailed, well-organized book teaches readers Photoshop 6 skills. This is the fifth edition of the popular book and it includes coverage of Photoshop's latest features, including RGB soft proofing, full calibration, laser styles, shape layers and ImageReady 3. Practically every single page in this slightly oversized trade paperback contains sample color screenshots which help the reader learn a specific Photoshop skill. Written by the photographers and teachers of a Photoshop workshop, the book provides lots of easy-to-follow advice for working with and manipulating photographs and digital images. The book can be used as a course, as readers work their way from beginning to more advanced subjects, or readers can jump to the section that covers a specific task in which they are interested. The book comes with a CD-ROM which includes all the images and photographs used in the examples in the book, so readers can work along on their computer.

The only drawback to the book is that some readers may find the font used in the text in the book a bit on the small side. The small font was probably used because it may have been impossible to use larger text and still convey the extraordinary amount of detail Photoshop 6 Artistry contains. For example, the smaller font and slightly larger-sized book actually helps in some instances, because all the steps (including screenshots) for a specific procedure can be found on the same page, preventing the reader from having to flip through several pages. Readers who follow this book and CD-ROM from start to finish will learn a great deal about working with digital images and Photoshop, including knowledge of advanced skills. Highly recommended.

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Computer Book Reviews

Maximum Security Third Edition by Anonymous

Photoshop 6 Artistry : Mastering the Digital Image by Barry Haynes and Wendy Crumpler