Rating: 
Summary: A Must For All Computer Users
Review: After reading this book, you most likely will have a healthy sense of paranoia regarding what you have to (or at least should) do with regards to averting any kind of "computer disaster." Even then, as I've found out two or three times over the last few months it still may not be enough as I personally have fallen victim to viruses and hard drive crashes. While I didn't take all the steps listed here at that time, the next time they happen I'll be much better prepared thanks to Mr. Luber.Among the topics Luber talks about here are the "must" applications you should have including an anti-virus program (Luber recommends Norton Anti-Virus), a firewall (Zone Alarm is the one Luber recommends), and also some kind of data scrubber (a program designed to erase beyond recovery any old date), along with several other optional recommendations. I learned quite a lot reading this book about what I should and/or shouldn't do with regards to protecting my computer from another potential disaster. And Luber points out that a disaster is always not very far away with computer systems that have at best an "unstable equilibrium." Luber also describes the steps to take when buying a new PC, two chapters are devoted to that. While I'm very happy with the system I have and the support I get from the merchants I bought it from, the tips Luber offers are quite helpful. Luber also describes how to do data backups, pointing out that if you have all your important files backed up, you can recover from a hard drive failure quickly. Luber also points out not all "disasters" really are disasters if you know how to fix a problem quickly. Not only is the book helpful, Luber has a companion web site to go along with the book. I found this to be an excellent and informative book about a topic that leaves most computer users like me fearful and ready to call my techie friend when I run into computer problems. Thanks Alan!
Rating:
Summary: Very Helpful Indeed!
Review: Apparently, a "reader" from Fort Lauderdale, Florida is yet another bitter and out-of-work IT person. This book was excellent and is a crucial reference for the average home pc user like myself. Thirteen 5-star reviews are RIGHT-ON!!!
Rating:
Summary: Very Helpful Indeed!
Review: Apparently, a "reader" from Fort Lauderdale, Florida is yet another bitter and out-of-work IT person. This book was excellent and is a crucial reference for the average home pc user like myself. Thirteen 5-star reviews are RIGHT-ON!!!
Rating:
Summary: the way to cure diasters
Review: As a novice in using Windows XP Professional the book entitled PC Fear Factor has explained in terms that a novice could understand. It is a prevention guide that you are unable to put down. Also, I have reread the book a number of times and found more information every time I read it. I have recommend the book to friends and employees since I will not lend out my copy. Alan Luber has done a great job and plaudits to him.
Rating:
Summary: Delivers everything it promised and a lot more
Review: As a previous reviewer mentioned, I really love the emphasis this book provides on disaster prevention. It taught me what disaster prevention products (hardware and software) to purchase, and how to install and configure them for maximum protection against hackers, spyware, and viruses. I've learned so much from this book that I would have to write a much longer review to truly do it justice. Best of all, the author has a companion web site that provides additional valuable information, and the author is accessible through his web site. The author also writes a monthly column, Defensive Computing, in Smart Computing magazine that ads new insights to the subject of defensive computing, which, by the way would have been a better title for this book.
Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: Delivers everything it promised and a lot more
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding. Alan Luber is THE defensive computing guru.
Review: I am an Information Technology student at Georgia State University and I have found this to be an extremely valuable book. It has become my bible for disaster prevention and recovery. How rare to find a book this thorough and yet this easy to understand. Clearly, the author was a writer before he ever became a PC expert. Most technical books are written by technicians who don't know how to write. The author devotes 350 pages to a subject glossed over even in the largest, heaviest book on Windows you can find. The absolute best, most useful computer book I have ever purchased, it tells you what to do and how to do it. Equally as important, it tells you what NOT to do.
Rating:
Summary: An Incredibly Useful and Entertaining Book
Review: I have to agree with the first two reviewers here - this is an incredibly useful book, well written and full of detailed instructions for preventing computer disasters and recovering from unavoidable disasters. Perhaps if you are a computer guru who delights in reformatting his hard disk and rebuilding it from scratch, you may not get a lot out of this book. For us mere mortals, who I suspect comprise 95% of the people who use computers, this book is a godsend. I use computers every day, and although I am an expert in the applications that I use, I am not a computer expert. Mr. Luber's formula for defensive computing has enabled me to gain total control over my computing environment. Thanks to this book, I no longer have to worry about losing valuable data, or having my hard disk trashed by a computer virus or poorly written software application. I compute with impunity, secure in the knowledge that I can recover quickly and easily from any type of computer disaster. If Mr. Luber is a bit paranoid, I say better to be too careful than too careless. If I had been as "paranoid" as I should, I could have prevented several disasters over the years. Mr. Luber talks nerdy to me in language I can understand. He explains complex technical subjects better than any author I have read, and has a writing style that is as entertaining and interesting as it is informative. Here are just a few of the dozens of useful things I have learned from this book: 1) If you restore your system from a hard disk backup, your computer is now more vulnerable to virus infections and hackers, because you are restoring your computer to the date in time the backup was taken. This means that your virus signatures and Microsoft security updates are out of date. Mr. Luber tells you how to fix the problem after restoring from a backup. 2) When you take your computer in for repair, you should backup all of your data, delete it from your computer (including your email messages and account information), and then use a disk scrubber to prevent somebody in the shop from recovering the deleted data. I never realized how easy it was for somebody to do this until I read this book. Mr. Luber provides detailed instructions on how to do this. 3) Don't use the power switch on your surge protector to turn off your equipment - the surge protector affords no protection if it is turned off. 4) Norton Antivirus automatically updates your virus definitions, but normally only does so once a week. If you really want to achieve maximum protection with Norton Antivirus, you need to run Norton's Intelligent Updater daily. Else, you may be exposed to some viruses for up to a week. Again, the author shows you how to do this. My only criticism of the book is its title and cover. I think Defensive Computing would have been a far better title than PC Fear Factor. I suspect the author was trying to appeal to the television crowd. And the cover, while eyecatching, belies the serious and useful content, in my opinion. I probably would not have picked it up based on the title and cover. Fortunately, I heard about the book purely by chance when I heard the author on a local radio show.
Rating:
Summary: Clearly Written PC Disaster Prevention
Review: I must say that I have never enjoyed reading a technical book as much as this one. I read it cover to cover, every word. I couldn't believe how well the author took a complicated technical subject and explained it so clearly in everyday terms that just about anybody could understand. I'm sure that I will refer to it over and again. The author is to be congratulated on a very fine writing job. I wish that all technical authors could write this clearly. I look forward to future publications.and articles from this author. I will recommend this book to everyone. Keep up the good work.
Rating: 
Summary: Paranoid
Review: I read the book and found it interesting, although it is meant for a beginner who is just starting out in using computers, it was not the book for me. Alan Luber's approach in teaching his readers about Security, Privacy and Backing up files is good information for everyone to use, however... He is completly paranoid in this book, convincing people to keep their security even tigher by wasting money and time on backing up information daily.
As for the harddisk crash, anyone who knows how to install and operating system from scratch can recover a clean installation in just an hour, and not weeks or never, or even paying an expert hundereds of dollars just to install an operating system.
He recommends people not to do things which you would tell a child not to do. I formated my harddrive several times in the last 7 years. I recover in an hour by installing a new operating system on an empty drive, and a few more hours restoring my backups, not a year, however, to take things to the extreme like luber. I've never had a disc crash in my life, and I've been using computers for 10 years. An excellent book for someone who has never used a computer.
If your looking to get into IT, you won't have a chance with this book, even for a start. You'll only find road blocks to the possibilities.
As for the Lines of defenses, there are 3, not 2.
1st-Hardware Firewall
2nd-Software Firewall
3rd-Updated Anti-Virus Software.
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