Untitled - IT-DOCS

396 Pages·2006·19.1 MB·English

WARNING: This book is not to be used for hacking into government computers, defacing websites, cracking
software, phone phreaking, spreading viruses, phishing scams, or any other illegal activity.
NatioNal Bestseller WitH over 175,000 copies sold!
NoW completely revised aNd updated
If you thought hacking was just about mischief-makers hunched over computers in the basement, think
again. As seasoned author Wallace Wang explains, hacking can also mean questioning the status quo,
looking for your own truths, and never accepting at face value anything authorities say or do.
The completely revised fourth edition of this offbeat, non-technical book examines what hackers
do, how they do it, and how you can protect yourself. Written in the same informative, irreverent, and
entertaining style that made the first three editions hugely successful, Steal This® Computer Book 4.0 ®
will expand your mind and raise your eyebrows. New chapters discuss the hacker mentality, social
engineering and lock picking, exploiting P2P filesharing networks, and how people manipulate search
engines and pop-up ads to obtain and use personal information. Wang also takes issue with the media
for “hacking” the news and presenting the public with self-serving stories of questionable accuracy.
Inside, you’ll discover:
:: How to manage and fight spam and spyware
:: How Trojan horse programs and rootkits work and how to defend against them
:: How hackers steal software and defeat copy-protection mechanisms
:: How to tell if your machine is being attacked and what you can do to protect it
:: Where the hackers are, how they probe a target and sneak into a computer, and what they do once
they get inside
:: How corporations use hacker techniques to infect your computer and invade your privacy
:: How you can lock down your computer to protect your data and your personal information using free
programs included on the book’s CD
If you’ve ever logged onto a website, conducted an online transaction, sent or received email, used a
networked computer or even watched the evening news, you may have already been tricked, tracked,
hacked, and manipulated. As the saying goes, just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t
after you. And, as Wallace Wang reveals, they probably are.
The companion CD contains hundreds of megabytes of 100% FREE
hacking and security-related programs, like keyloggers, spyware stoppers,
port blockers, virus writers, IP scanners, Trojan horse detectors, and
much, much more. CD compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux.
ISBN: 1-59327-105-0 $29.95 ($38.95 CDN)
52995 SHELVE IN:
INTERNET SECURITY/COMPUTERS
THE FINEST IN GEEK ENTERTAINMENT™
www.nostarch.com
9 781593 271053 6 89145 71050 2

STEAL THIS COMPUTER BOOK 4.0
What They Won’t Tell You About the Internet
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What They Won’t Tell You About the Internet
WALLACE WANG
®
San Francisco
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STEAL THIS COMPUTER BOOK 4.0
Copyright © 2006 by Wallace Wang.
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechani-
cal, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of
the copyright owner and the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10—09 08 07 06
No Starch Press and the No Starch Press logo are registered trademarks of No Starch Press, Inc. Other product and company
names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than use a trademark symbol with every
occurrence of a trademarked name, we are using the names only in an editorial fashion and to the benefit of the trademark
owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark.
Publisher: William Pollock
Managing Editor: Elizabeth Campbell
Developmental Editor: Patricia Witkin
Cover and Interior Design: Octopod Studios
Technical Reviewer: Raven Alder
Copyeditors: Jo Gates, Neil Ching
Compositor: Riley Hoffman
Proofreaders: Megan Dunchak, Jerome Colburn, Stephanie Provines
For information on book distributors or translations, please contact No Starch Press, Inc. directly:
No Starch Press, Inc.
555 De Haro Street, Suite 250, San Francisco, CA 94107
phone: [phone]; fax: [phone]; [email protected]; http://www.nostarch.com
The information in this book is distributed on an “As Is” basis, without warranty. While every precaution has been taken in the
preparation of this work, neither the author nor No Starch Press, Inc. shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect
to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in it.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wang, Wally.
Steal this computer book 4.0 : what they won't tell you about the Internet / Wallace Wang.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 1-59327-105-0
1. Internet. I. Title.
TK5105.875.I57W3727 2006
005.8--dc22
2005037435
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This book is dedicated to
everyone who believes
in the true principles of
democracy—which pretty
much eliminates 90 per-
cent of the people running
the government.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Wallace Wang is the author of several best-selling computer books, including Steal This
Computer Book, Steal This File Sharing Book, The Book of Nero 6, and Visual Basic
2005 Express: Now Playing (all No Starch Press). He is also a successful stand-up comic
who has appeared on A&E’s Evening at the Improv and appears regularly at the Riviera
Comedy Club in Las Vegas.
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