The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing: Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing Made Easy (Syngress Basics Series) [Formato Kindle]

This is a really great book that delivers on the promise described in the title. It covers the basics of hacking and penetration test and makes no assumption of prior security or hacking knowledge. This is an excellent resource for anyone looking to jumpstart his or her knowledge in this area.

The book takes the reader on a quick step-by-step journey through a penetration test beginning with Information Gathering, moving into Scanning, then Exploitation, and concluding with Report Writing. While the book does not cover any particular methodology like OSSTM or PTES it does a nice job of laying out each step in an orderly and straightforward manner. The book covers all of the major tools, in an appropriate order so the reader gets a good sense of how to run the tools and how they relate to each other.

The book gets down to business in chapter 1 and wastes no time in bringing the reader up to speed on the latest tools and techniques. One of the greatest strengths of the book is its size. Most people will be able to read through the entire book in just a few days. Another benefit of covering only the basics is that the book should have a longer shelf life. As the author points out, a Nmap Syn scan has been the same for the past 10 years.

If you're looking for an in-depth coverage of any particular tool like Nmap, Metasploit, or the like, this is not the book for you. You're better off buying a book dedicated to the tool you're interested in.

On the flip side, if you're interested in seeing the whole picture and getting a feel for how to run and use the major tools used in a basic penetration test this is a good buy.

Finally, I enjoyed the laidback and casual writing style of the author. This made the chapters easier to digest and kept me interested while still delivering enough technical meat to satisfy my knowledge and process requirements.

Very easy to read, very fun and interesting! I'm more into databases but the way everything integrates now in the current IT world, I realized that I need to get a better understanding of how to protect my database servers (or provide additional value to my Projects), network or at least, being able to discuss about security with my network team without feeling lost. This books is about how to protect yourself from the very "nasty" and "wild" Internet world we all are living in. It will change your false sense of security at work or home, trust me! Even though this is not an in-depth volume about PEN testing tools or techniques, this book delivers what is promised on the cover and much more!

All chapters are very coherent, meticously structured and nicely integrated between each other thanks to the PEN test process it follows. There are even suggestions about how to test all the examples in a secure and practical way. Of course, a virtual lab using any of the virtualization technologies is highly advised. The author suggests VMware, I used Parallels, but there are several free tools out there including Virtual PC or VirtualBox, both are free as well.

The book uses Metasploit framework/software for its examples but makes strong emphasize on concepts rather than tools, which it is very good in my opinion because whatever is being taught can be later extrapolated using other tools. PEN test is more a process than mere scripts and tools. I also like the fact that you don't need a very strong knowledge on networking, cryptography or C++ in order to understand this book. Instead It relies on easy vocabulary with lot of examples and screen-shoots that help almost anyone who is new into this field (a basic knowledge of Linux won't hurt though, that made it easy for me to understand some commands)

-- Additional bibliography --

Once you're done with this one I recommend these two books: Metasploit: The Penetration Tester's Guide, by David Kennedy and Nmap Cookbook: The Fat-free Guide to Network Scanning. The 1st one expands a bit more on the Metasploit software and its components, which are briefly explained on the Syngress book. The Nmap cookbook, talks about nmap scanning tool and different switches you can use when working on the scanning phase; nmap cookbook is not a theory book, but visual examples of how to use the tool depending of the target or desired goal

Pros:
Some good introductions to ideas and tools of penetration testing.

Cons:
Not coherent or consistent at times.

This book starts and finishes well, but the middle is insufficient in information and lacks consistency. More than once in the penetration/exploit sections I had to check to see if I was missing a page. The biggest problem with coherence in the book has to do with the fact that the author explains that most pen tests will be done from the outside, but then out of nowhere switches from penetration testing to hacking a machine while actually sitting at it! The author would talk about what could be done from the outside, but then go on to how it is done from the inside (physically at the machine) with no explanation for the jump. I more than once had to check to see if I was missing a page, because the jumps were that drastic. Also many of the screen shots are not placed well, to the point where you have to stop reading and find the reference screenshot.

While there is a decent amount of good introductive information for those looking to get into or just learn about penetration testing, this book falls horribly short of what it could and should be. Bottom line, if you have no or little knowledge of penetration testing there is enough in this book to introduce you to some concepts and tools used in penetration testing. However this book is seriously lacking for anyone that is more than a novice.