Practical UNIX and Internet Security, 3rd Edition

Scope of This Book

This book is divided into six parts; it includes 26 chapters and 5 appendixes.

Part I, provides a basic introduction to computer security, the Unix operating system, and security policy. The chapters in this book are designed to be accessible to both users and administrators.

• Chapter 1, takes a very basic look at several basic questions: What is computer security? What is an operating system? What is a deployment environment? It also introduces basic terms we use throughout the book.

• Chapter 2, explores the history of the Unix operating system, and discusses the way that Unix history has affected Unix security.

• Chapter 3, examines the role of setting good policies to guide the protection of your systems. It also describes the trade-offs you will need to make to account for cost, risk, and corresponding benefits.

Part II, provides a basic introduction to Unix host security. The chapters in this part of the book are also designed to be accessible to both users and administrators.

• Chapter 4, is about Unix user accounts. It discusses the purpose of passwords, explains what makes good and bad passwords, and describes how the crypt( ) password encryption system works.

• Chapter 5, describes how Unix groups can be used to control access to files and devices. It discusses the Unix superuser and the role that special users play. This chapter also introduces the Pluggable Authentication Module (PAM) system.

• Chapter 6, discusses the security provisions of the Unix filesystem ...