About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

This book provides an introductory overview to the various aspects of computer security. Valuable information for all to know in terms that most can understand.

Publisher's Site

Pros

• Handy security checklists for each section
• Written in non-techie terms to help beginners
• Good overview of all major areas of security

Cons

• Story often hard to relate to computer security

Description

• Uses a story about a family protecting their home and village as an analogy for computer security

• Covers range of topics from encryption and file permissions to web security and firewalls
• Provides decent explanation of security topics without being too "techie" for the average person
• Each chapter has a checklist to help the reader secure their computer or network
• Good glossary of acronyms and computer security terms included in Appendix

Guide Review - Book Review: Have You Locked The Castle Gate?

The more home and small office users migrate to broadband Internet connections, the more at risk they are for being hacked or exploited. It is imperative to protect and secure these systems.

The problem is that most home users and many small business users don't know the first thing about computer or network security. This book tries to provide an introduction for the security novice in terms they can understand.

Using the story analogy to introduce each topic the author presents each subject in a way that conveys the necessary information without overwhelming the reader.

All users on the Internet have an obligation to secure their computers and a book like this one is a good start.

Publisher's Site