Research Catalog

Title

Black hats : misfits, criminals, and scammers in the Internet age / John Biggs.

Author

Biggs, John, 1975-

Publication

Berkeley, CA : Apress ; New York : Distributed to the Book trade in the U.S. by Springer-Verlag, c2004.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xvi, 158 p. : ill.; 23 cm.

Summary

• "You fear them. They make the evening news with their exploits. Governments can't control them, laws can't touch them, and CEOs tremble at their persistence, cleverness, and daring. Black hats are hackers, crackers, and phreaks. They're mischievous troublemakers, geniuses, criminals. They're impossible to track down and pop up everywhere. Nothing you say or do online is safe from them."
• "You don't need a master's degree in computer science to enjoy the chapters in this book on Nigerian 419 scammers, worm writers, and the rest of the underground menagerie that make up the world of the black hats. You'll go to Nigeria and Russia to explore the underworld of Internet scams, and chat with the spam king of Detroit and uncover the secrets that mass emailers use to slide past scanners and firewalls. You'll learn how not to get nabbed in an international swindle, how to spot different cons as they blow through your mailbox, and how to spot programs that can steal your passwords, credit-card numbers, or worse.
• You'll examine a worm and show how it spreads throughout the Internet, and talk to a 16-year-old worm writer in Austria who has created a system for generating these viruses. To wrap it up, you'll hear testimony from some white hats, the folks who keep you safe while you surf." "Black Hat: Misfits, Criminals, and Scammers in the Internet Age is about the things that go ping. Featuring in-depth interviews with real hackers, crackers, spammers and scammers - along with commentary on the current state of computer security - this book is a must read for anyone interested in staying safe on the Internet."--Jacket.

Subjects

• Computer crimes
• Computer security

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 147-148) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Black Hats: Things That Go Ping in the Night -- Y.O.U Mayhave Alredy II: Spam -- The Problem -- The Cost of Free Marketing -- From Them to You -- The Solution -- A Dissection -- The Future of Spam -- Deep Cover: Spyware -- Benign Spyware -- Malignant Spyware -- Know Your Enemy -- Underhanded Ads -- Spyware vs. Antispyware -- Sneaky Tricks -- Lessons Learned -- Shockwave: Worms and Viruses -- Infection -- Dissection -- The Menagerie -- The Great Worm -- A Worm Named After a Stripper -- The Worm Heard Round the World -- Immune Deficiency -- On the Front Lines -- Dear Friend: Scams -- Save My Life -- Nigeria Fights Back -- Dehydrated Water -- Gone Phishing -- Sold, to the Gentleman in the Trench Coat -- Pump and Dump -- The Law -- Upload or Perish: Pirates -- Dinosaurs -- The Tale of the Tape II -- DVD Jon -- Code = FreeSpeech? -- Napster Is Dead, Long Live Napster -- Hundreds of Strangers, Working in Concert -- The Cost -- Break in: Hacking -- Modern Hackers -- Purple Haze, Blue Boxes -- Lord Digital -- Busting Punks for Fun and Profit -- Script Kiddies Attack -- The Pro Circuit -- Hired Guns -- Don't Get Burned: White Hats -- The Three Rules of Safe Surfing -- Trust No One -- Encrypt Everything -- Look for the Open-Source Label -- Last Words on Safety -- End Users: Don't Click There! -- Administrators: Stewards of the Realm -- Lawmakers: Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way -- Things Are Going to Be OK -- Hacking -- Open Source -- System Administration.

ISBN

1590593790 (alk. paper)

LCCN

^^2004010327

OCLC

• 55098138
• SCSB-10518149

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library