Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful book, title should mention Unix.
Review: 802.11 Security is another fine O'Reilly book, it is very nicely written and laid out and the message is crystal clear.The reason I gave it three stars was that the book is heavily biased towards Linux, Free BSD, and Open BSD and the title does not reflect the bias. That is not a bad thing, I found the unix information wonderful, but if you are ordering 802.11 Security over the web, you might easily miss the unix emphasis and end up with a book that doesn't meet your needs.
Rating: 
Summary: David Weeks MyMac.com Book Review
Review: GEEK ALERT! Warning Will Robinson! This small book on 802.11b wireless security (167 pages not including the comprehensive index) is not for the faint of heart. To take full advantage of the copious amount of detail that Potter and Fleck provide, you need a good working knowledge of networking, and familiarity with either the Linux, FreeBSD, or OpenBSD operating systems. 802.11 Security is aimed at people who need to configure and administer secure 802.11b wireless (popularly named Airport or WiFi) networks. 802.11 Security is NOT targeted at the casual home computer user who merely wants to keep others from poaching their wireless connection. Those users are best served by Adam Engst's and Glenn Fleishman's Wireless Internet Starter Kit. However, if you have any interest in comprehensive and detailed knowledge of how 802.11b security works from the network administrator's viewpoint, 802.11 Security is the book for you. Potter and Fleck have years of experience with Unix security issues, and have several papers on the subject to their credit. After setting the stage with a good discussion of the many problems with wireless security, the authors outline some of the more common types of attacks on wireless networks. Why? Their point is that understanding the nature of the "Man-in-the-middle" attack (for example) is important for knowing how to prevent it. This point shows that 802.11 Security is more than just a "cookbook" manual. It provides the "why" as well as the "how." The bulk of the book covers how to configure FreeBSD, Linux, and OpenBSD clients, gateways, and access points (base stations for us Apple types). Plenty of examples are provided. However, with no CD included to allow copy-and-paste, you'll need to enter everything manually if you want to follow the examples verbatim. In reality, the lack of a CD is not an issue, as the typical sysadmin is going to be working on their customized installation, and will need to tweak the code examples. 802.11 Security does have ten pages on Mac OSX station configuration, as well as a smaller section on Windows setup. For those adventurous readers, the Mac setup section has plenty of examples on how to configure OSX's built-in firewall for best wireless security. The relative paucity on client computer setup is one of the few drawbacks for an end-user reader, as the book focuses on administrator issues. 802.11 Security is a good read for the Unix sysadmin who is new to wireless networks, or for the aficionados who want to roll their own home wireless network security. Again, this is not a mass-market book. But if you're not the average home user, 802.11 Security is a worthwhile book. MacMice Rating: 4 out of 5 David Weeks
[website]
Rating:
Summary: David Weeks MyMac.com Book Review
Review: GEEK ALERT! Warning Will Robinson! This small book on 802.11b wireless security (167 pages not including the comprehensive index) is not for the faint of heart. To take full advantage of the copious amount of detail that Potter and Fleck provide, you need a good working knowledge of networking, and familiarity with either the Linux, FreeBSD, or OpenBSD operating systems. 802.11 Security is aimed at people who need to configure and administer secure 802.11b wireless (popularly named Airport or WiFi) networks. 802.11 Security is NOT targeted at the casual home computer user who merely wants to keep others from poaching their wireless connection. Those users are best served by Adam Engst's and Glenn Fleishman's Wireless Internet Starter Kit. However, if you have any interest in comprehensive and detailed knowledge of how 802.11b security works from the network administrator's viewpoint, 802.11 Security is the book for you. Potter and Fleck have years of experience with Unix security issues, and have several papers on the subject to their credit. After setting the stage with a good discussion of the many problems with wireless security, the authors outline some of the more common types of attacks on wireless networks. Why? Their point is that understanding the nature of the "Man-in-the-middle" attack (for example) is important for knowing how to prevent it. This point shows that 802.11 Security is more than just a "cookbook" manual. It provides the "why" as well as the "how." The bulk of the book covers how to configure FreeBSD, Linux, and OpenBSD clients, gateways, and access points (base stations for us Apple types). Plenty of examples are provided. However, with no CD included to allow copy-and-paste, you'll need to enter everything manually if you want to follow the examples verbatim. In reality, the lack of a CD is not an issue, as the typical sysadmin is going to be working on their customized installation, and will need to tweak the code examples. 802.11 Security does have ten pages on Mac OSX station configuration, as well as a smaller section on Windows setup. For those adventurous readers, the Mac setup section has plenty of examples on how to configure OSX's built-in firewall for best wireless security. The relative paucity on client computer setup is one of the few drawbacks for an end-user reader, as the book focuses on administrator issues. 802.11 Security is a good read for the Unix sysadmin who is new to wireless networks, or for the aficionados who want to roll their own home wireless network security. Again, this is not a mass-market book. But if you're not the average home user, 802.11 Security is a worthwhile book. MacMice Rating: 4 out of 5 David Weeks
[website]
Rating: 
Summary: No worth the money---DON'T WASTE IT on this book.
Review: I did the smart thing and got this book on inter-library loan BEFORE making a decision whether to purchase it. I noted that the book was only 176 pages long. Word to the wise: If a book on tech stuff is that short, be suspicious of the content. When a tech book is small like this one is, there usually is no "there" there. And when I see that a book this short is cover priced at almost $(Amamzon edited out the cover price, so look for it elsewhere) USD, all kinds of red warning lights begin to flash in my head. Glad I didn't waste the money! In a word this book is "cursory." I was looking for solutions for a good cross-platform security solution for my wireless LAN. All this book gave me were other places to go for information. For instance, there is a section on IPSec VPN that is a grand total of seven pages long, which has good plans for how to use FreeBSD or Linux servers, but then also refers you to a website for more information. There are a bunch of website references scattered throughout the whole of the book in a "look here for more information" way. If I wanted to reference the web for information, I'd use Google for FREE and not spend almost (cover price) to have someone else tell me where to look. The author states in the beginning of the book that if you are familiar with FreeBSD and Linux and want to use these for wireless security it's a good book to read. Well, speaking from an admin's standpoint, and having compiled several FreeBSD kernels and setup several Linux boxes, this book is FAR below my experience level. If you are an admin of WinTel boxes, this book is not for you. If you are a Macintosh admin (which I also am), don't bother with this book either. The author also seems to assume that you know nothing, even though the book states that it's a good idea to have an admin's or engineer's background, and to have a good knowledge of the OSI model. THEN, the author goes on to state (page viii, paragraph 1, line 4) "We provide links and references to resources to help with these issues [configuring Linux and FreeBSD solutions] but do not address then directly. This book concentrates on the issues germane to wireless security and leaves the operating-system-specific installation procedures as an exercise to the user." Just to be concise here: yeah, that's the way it's printed: "then" not "them" and wow, "germane"--use of this word must be to make up for the then/them mistake, I guess. So, basically the author warns the reader in the beginning of the book that he will provide you with references to resources and cursory information that can be obtained via other means of simple research without his help, and will leave the actual configuration tasks up to the reader. Why would anyone PAY for this? Heck, if O'Reilly is publishing books like these, I have a few transcripts and drafts that I'd like to send them NOW! Anything in this book can be found on the web for FREE. Did I mention "for FREE?" To be fair, this book would make a good text for teaching a beginner's class, but it still needs MORE MEAT. Please look elsewhere for solutions. Don't buy this one.
Rating:
Summary: No worth the money---DON'T WASTE IT on this book.
Review: I did the smart thing and got this book on inter-library loan BEFORE making a decision whether to purchase it. I noted that the book was only 176 pages long. Word to the wise: If a book on tech stuff is that short, be suspicious of the content. When a tech book is small like this one is, there usually is no "there" there. And when I see that a book this short is cover priced at almost $(Amamzon edited out the cover price, so look for it elsewhere) USD, all kinds of red warning lights begin to flash in my head. Glad I didn't waste the money! In a word this book is "cursory." I was looking for solutions for a good cross-platform security solution for my wireless LAN. All this book gave me were other places to go for information. For instance, there is a section on IPSec VPN that is a grand total of seven pages long, which has good plans for how to use FreeBSD or Linux servers, but then also refers you to a website for more information. There are a bunch of website references scattered throughout the whole of the book in a "look here for more information" way. If I wanted to reference the web for information, I'd use Google for FREE and not spend almost (cover price) to have someone else tell me where to look. The author states in the beginning of the book that if you are familiar with FreeBSD and Linux and want to use these for wireless security it's a good book to read. Well, speaking from an admin's standpoint, and having compiled several FreeBSD kernels and setup several Linux boxes, this book is FAR below my experience level. If you are an admin of WinTel boxes, this book is not for you. If you are a Macintosh admin (which I also am), don't bother with this book either. The author also seems to assume that you know nothing, even though the book states that it's a good idea to have an admin's or engineer's background, and to have a good knowledge of the OSI model. THEN, the author goes on to state (page viii, paragraph 1, line 4) "We provide links and references to resources to help with these issues [configuring Linux and FreeBSD solutions] but do not address then directly. This book concentrates on the issues germane to wireless security and leaves the operating-system-specific installation procedures as an exercise to the user." Just to be concise here: yeah, that's the way it's printed: "then" not "them" and wow, "germane"--use of this word must be to make up for the then/them mistake, I guess. So, basically the author warns the reader in the beginning of the book that he will provide you with references to resources and cursory information that can be obtained via other means of simple research without his help, and will leave the actual configuration tasks up to the reader. Why would anyone PAY for this? Heck, if O'Reilly is publishing books like these, I have a few transcripts and drafts that I'd like to send them NOW! Anything in this book can be found on the web for FREE. Did I mention "for FREE?" To be fair, this book would make a good text for teaching a beginner's class, but it still needs MORE MEAT. Please look elsewhere for solutions. Don't buy this one.
Rating:
Summary: Saves Time!
Review: I disagree with the other reviewer. While it's true that this book has a large collection of URL's that *could* be found using a search engine, the fact that the authors took the time to find the resources mentioned, cull through them, and published them, saves a beginner a significant amount of time weeding out the good hits from the zillion or so mediocre ones.
The book is well worth the money for anyone contemplating running a wireless network with some flavor of *nix, or even, (God forbid) Windoze. Sample configurations for both servers and clients are given, and aside from a few typos between the text and the diagrams, is quite complete for anyone with a modicum of system administration knowledge.
Rating:
Summary: Good introduction, not a detailed reference (as promised)
Review: I don't agree with the negative reviews above. The book doesn't pretend to be a reference of 802.11 protocols at all. It claims to cover fundamentals of wireless security and practical solutions for many operating systems. And it does hold that promise. The introduction to wireless security is to the point and accurate.
I can't judge all the OS specific chapters, but those that cover OpenBSD are well done and a good introduction to all tools relevant to 802.11 on that platform. If you have to think twice before spending [the money], you can find the same information in man pages. That doesn't mean that the book isn't worth its price, though. Anyone using wireless networks without being aware of the security implications will profit from this short book, and those running one of the covered operating systems will find the examples a good starting point.
It's only 176 pages, and about 80% are OS specific (covering Linux/netfilter, FreeBSD/ipfw, OpenBSD/pf, Mac OSX and Windows), which means you can either skip over most of the OS specific parts or use it as an summary of the similarities and differences among those OSs.
Rating: 
Summary: Completely misses the mark
Review: This book is a general network security book that masquerades as a reference on wireless LANs. Much of the book is general information that applies to any network, and is not specific to wireless. 802.1x only comes in for a half a chapter at the end for a shallow treatment, and LEAP is never mentioned. It is also almost exclusively about Linux and BSD, with very little information on Windows and OS X.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: This book simply does not live up to the O'Reilly name. I was hoping for more security theory as applied to WiFi and discussion of different related technologies and third-party real-world options. Instead, the author glosses over the good stuff & spends a lot of time on actual scripts for specific OSs (here's what to type in FreeBSD, here's what to type in Linux) and line-by-line commands. Which means you can skip half the book, if you're not running all those OSs or not looking to copy/paste. I can find command line instructions online, I don't need them spoonfed without proper documentation. For the price & from O'Reilly's reputation, I expected a lot more. This could just have easily been a ... pamphlet. If you're an advanced user, you won't need the [nonsense] in this book. If you're a beginner, parts will totally confuse you & be useless, while other parts will leave you scratching your head & thirsting for more. Better off waiting for someone to publish a more detailed & useful book than spending money on this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Can't believe the bad rap...
Review: Wow, I can't believe this book has any less than 4.5 stars. The 1-star reviews really do seem to miss the mark. This book is short and to the point because it doesn't waste time talking about concepts and standards that the average person shouldn't care about. This book teaches you how to deploy 802.11 as it is today as securely as possible, and informs you well about the issues you cannot circumvent. It even considers that you might not be running a homogenous network. Even though the server-side stuff is UNIX specific, they talk about client configuration even across Windows. And they do cover the Mac. Highly recommended.
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