Rating: 
Summary: a great resource for security professionals
Review: this is pretty much the book i've been looking to add to my library for a while. schiffman covers the major libraries in security (libnet, libdnet, libpcap, openssl, libsf, and libnids) in a smooth and excellent way, and then brings them together in several small apps and then firewalk 5.0. in this book we learn techniques to complement the tools we learn how to craft. i was a bit let down in some of the details being left out of the libraries schiffman didn't write, such as pcap and ssl. these are really difficult to master libraries, some more attention could have been given here. another reviewer noted that the book really ignores the windows developer, which is true to an extent. however, what schiffman doesn't say (and the reviewer doesn't state) is that several of the libraries (pcap, libnet, libdnet, openssl) work just fine on windows. it would have been helpful to have seen that covered more, but perhaps in the next edition. all in all, a reccomended book. now infosec people will have no reason to say they can't write their own network attack apps. and hopefully it will inspire someone to write a better mousetrap, too. i'm still surprised it took so long to appear on the shelves!
Rating:
Summary: Impressive
Review: This was a great book that provided wonderful insight into the world of open-source security tools. This is the first book of Mike Schiffman's that I have read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. At times I felt that the technical jargon was a bit over my head, but it was very informative. I would highly recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Perfect Reference for Network Programers
Review: Very well structured book with clear examples. Serves good as a reference and starting point for network programers. Highly recommended book.
Rating:
Summary: A timely book full of useful information
Review: While Schiffman's second book is more of a reference manual than his first (Hacker's Challenge), it still maintains a high level of readability. Detailed diagrams and well written sample code highlight the subject matter, while descriptive explanations of functionality provide the foundation. Schiffman has been a contributor of source code and techniques to the computer security world for almost a decade and this book is the culmination of his tool writing. The chapters on libsf and passive reconnaissance are very useful. I find this book to be an indespensible source of information.
| 
