Securing Im and P2P Applications for the Enterprise

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 650 pages
• Published by: Syngress
• Edition: 1st Edition May 1, 2005
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1597490172
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1597490177
• Book Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.8 x 1.4 inches
• Weighs: 1.5 pounds

Product Review
In summary, the book is an easy read, not overly technical but yet providing detail for the reader to get a good grounding in these communication techniques. There are some useful references sprinkled throughout that could be useful for the reader. I liked the book and felt that I learned more about instant messaging (IM) and Peer-to-Peer networks (P2P)than I ever knew before. From my point of view it was very illuminating.-Science Digest, H. Wolfe, University of Otago, Information Science Dept

Product Description
Are You Ready for the Network Equivalent of Guerrilla Warfare?

Instant Messaging (IM) and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) applications are taking over the workplace as P2P transfers now account for 70% of all Internet traffic and more than 50% of corporate workstations are running an IM application. IT professionals face the challenge of managing and securing these applications, which last year were the point of entry into corporate networks for 40% of all computer viruses and worms. This book is for system administrators and security professionals who need to bring now ubiquitous IM, P2P, and IRC applications under their control. It provides specific protection strategies for the network and application layers by identifying and blocking malicious traffic.

Grasp Instant Messaging Security Issues See how IM bypasses any gateway antivirus scanning that would normally protect a network from infection.

Bypass AIM Restrictions Learn what to do about free AIM proxies that are available throughout the Internet.

Understand the Yahoo! Messenger Architecture Find out why its ability to use any available port to authenticate and begin communication makes it so difficult to block.

Manage Skype Vulnerabilities Do you know the differences between a standard node, a super node, and a Skype server?

The Biggest P2P You've Never Heard Of Meet the network behind Kazaa, Morpheus, Grokster, and iMesh.

Explore the World of Internet Relay Chat (IRC) Find out what makes IRC so attractive to cyber-criminals and predators.

DDoS Botnets Turned Bot-Armies Bot Masters make certain each infected machine will connect silently to the IRC server at the point of infection and on startup.

Methods for Botnet Control Understanding these methods will help you locate and remove such threats before they grow and become a problem.

UPDATED TOC

Part I Instant Messaging Applications

Chapter 1 Introduction to Instant Messaging

Chapter 2 AOL Instant Messenger (AIM)

Chapter 3 Yahoo! Messenger

Chapter 4 MSN Messenger

Chapter 5 ICQ

Chapter 6 Trillian, Google Talk, and Web-based Clients

Chapter 7 Skype

Part II Peer-to-Peer Networks

Chapter 8 Introduction to P2P

Chapter 9 Gnutella Architecture

Chapter ten eDonkey and eMule

Chapter 11 BitTorrent

Chapter 12 FastTrack

Part III Internet Relay Chat Networks

Chapter 13 Internet Relay Chat-Major Players of IRC

Chapter 14 IRC Networks and Security

Chapter 15 Global IRC Security

Chapter 16 Common IRC Clients by OS

Reader Reviews
I had high hopes for Securing IM and P2P Applications for the Enterprise (SIAPAFTE), and thankfully this book delivers. SIAPAFTE is a modern, well-written, thorough guide to instant messaging (IM), peer-to-peer (P2P), and Internet Relay Chat (IRC) networks and related security issues. I recommend all network and security administrators read this book. SIAPAFTE is helpful in many respects. First, the book is up-to-date. It covers events as recent as the fall of 2005. The book also takes a historical approach to describing technologies by describing when and how they were introduced. Readers learn of the evolution of various IM and P2P clients and networks, as IM network owners seek to shut out rival clients and industry groups shut down P2P infrastructure. Second, SIAPAFTE takes a comprehensive look at IM, P2P, and IRC technologies. I believe the authors picked the right networks and clients to discuss. IM is fairly simple to understand, since the clients are closely tied to the networks. P2P is less clear, since people often refer to clients like KaZaA (or Kazaa) without understanding that FastTrack is the underlying network. I learned of many technologies for the first time reading this book. Distributed Hash Table (DHT) and Kademlia are two examples. Third, SIAPAFTE is well-written. The text is clear and the authors communicate their points in an organized and coherent manner. This does not mean the book is without flaws. Although Zeveck's one-star review (after reading just forty pages -- please) is ridiculous, he is correct about a bad figure reference on p 27. The bottom of p 235 features a similar problem, and some pages have large chunks of inexplicable white space. I also thought the large lists of IM threats was not needed, especially when some of them ran several pages. I liked the protocol analysis of various networks, particularly those for P2P. It seemed some protocols got more attention than others, however. The inclusion of IPTables and Snort rules was a nice touch. I would have liked to see that for the IM and IRC parts too. The IRC section could have used an IRC command reference. Since this is a book about IM and such in the enterprise, it would have been helpful to learn how to set up a secure internal IM system like Jabber or even a local IRC server. For those keeping track of Syngress' recent tendency to reprint chapters from other books, SIAPAFTE is no exception. The last twenty pages in Ch 7 are Ch 13 from Skype Me! Oddly, no credit is given in SIAPAFTE for that other book's material. Overall, I think anyone involved with networks or security will find SIAPAFTE a great resource. I found the book to be highly informative, and I recommend you read it. Addressing the issues in this review would merit a five star review for a second edition.