REVIEW: "l337 h4x0r h4ndb00k" (Elite hacker handbook), tapeworm

["Rob, grandpa of Ryan, Trevor, Devon & Hannah" <rMslade () shaw ca>]

BKL3H4H4.RVW   20051113

"l337 h4x0r h4ndb00k", tapeworm, 2006, 0-672-32727-9,
U$14.99/C$19.99/UK#10.99
%A   tapeworm worm () icodeviruses com www.icodeviruses.com
%C   800 East 96th Street, Indianapolis, IN   46240
%D   2006
%G   0-672-32727-9
%I   Macmillan Computer Publishing (MCP)
%O   U$14.99/C$19.99/UK#10.99 800-858-7674 info () mcp com
%O  http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0672327279/robsladesinterne
  http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0672327279/robsladesinte-21
%O   http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0672327279/robsladesin03-20
%O   Audience n+ Tech 1 Writing 1 (see revfaq.htm for explanation)
%P   253 p.
%T   "l337 h4x0r h4ndb00k"

Reading between the lines, the preface seems tongue-in-cheek, but
states that it is showing the reader how to play pranks, or make
trouble, using Windows XP computers.  There is very little "leet
speke," but the fact that no capitals are used makes it harder to read
than necessary.  The introduction inveighs against stereotypes, and
equates hacking with curiosity.

Chapter one outlines geek culture, society, and the jargon laden
written (and deliberately, but not consistently, myspelt) dialect
known as leet speek.  The explanations for the origins of some items
appear to be idiosyncratic, mythical, or both.  A few pranks, which
might actually teach users something about computer internals and use,
are in chapter two.  Customizations and some computer maintenance
items are described in chapter three.  Various Internet topics are
listed in chapter four, although a number are inconsistent with the
level provided in prior material.  Chapter five does an odd job of
introducing the Visual Basic programming language.  Various forms of
real-time chat, as well as some forms of netiquette, are explored in
chapter six.  (By the way, tapeworm, a ping-of-death is a single,
specially crafted, message datagram, not a flood.  And Linux *is*
user-friendly.  It's just choosy about its friends.)  Chapter seven
takes another run at Visual Basic, and also provides some
misinformation about malware.  The advice on security, in chapter
eight, will keep the reader safer than the guy next door who does
nothing, but the protection is not really reliable.  A few net tools
and utilities are mentioned in chapter nine.  Chapter ten is a grab
bag of random "hacking" related topics.  The book concludes with an
"isn't technology cool!" blurb in chapter eleven.

Ultimately, this is a thinly veiled computer literacy book, a somewhat
oddly worded guide to using a Windows XP computer.  A user's guide in
leet's clothing.

copyright Robert M. Slade, 2005   BKL3H4H4.RVW   20051113


======================  (quote inserted randomly by Pegasus Mailer)
rslade () vcn bc ca      slade () victoria tc ca      rslade () sun soci niu edu
My parents went to Middle Earth and all I got was a lousy ring.
                                                    - Marty Helgesen
http://victoria.tc.ca/techrev    or    http://sun.soci.niu.edu/~rslade
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