Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2020 January 24

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January 24

Computer and Internet Security

I am at a stage of my life when I decided to create an iron clad security system for my computers. I do program in C#, C++ and I have some experience in applications. Now I am looking for a book that might help me to cover all the topics I still do not understand. I found this on Amazon: "Computer & Internet Security: A Hands-on Approach 2nd Edition." The author is Wenliand Du. [1] There are no user comments of any kind on the book.

I wonder if anybody held this book in their hands and could make a comment? Perhaps there are other books on the subject people are familiar with?

Thanks AboutFace 22 (talk) 14:18, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

You need to ensure the book is aligned to your OS, preferably to the distro/version you use. A Win7 book would be poor for Win10 and useless for Linux. Conversely an Linux guide would be meaningless mumbo-jumbo to Windows users. Martin of Sheffield (talk) 14:36, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

I do both Windows 10 and Linux Ubuntu. My understanding is that Linux has a much higher security because fewer consumers use it, so the potential malware developers express little interest in Linux. AboutFace 22 (talk) 17:09, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

I don't want to start a flame war, but within the industry *nix generally is assumed to be more secure than WinX if both are configured correctly. It's not a numbers game, structurally *nix has developed from a mainframe environment whereas Win has evolved from a PC. Martin of Sheffield (talk) 17:19, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

That is why Macs are considered secure. Few people use them, so there is no point in attacking them. For Linux, it is secure because it is open source. Many eyeballs make errors easier to find. Both of those arguments are fallacies. 135.84.167.41 (talk) 17:20, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

Martin of Sheffield, 135.84.167.41 (talk · contribs · WHOIS): Both you and the IP editor are correct. Linux has things like the SELinux patches to make a properly configured linux system much more secure than a windows system, but simple things like being open source are not the key. Did you know the MacOS kernel, Darwin, is also open source? Surely the "open source == security" thing would apply to Darwin, then. moonythedwarf (Braden N.) 17:24, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

Since Darwin is a BSD derivative, it falls firmly in the *nix camp. It's not just open source (though that can be a big help) but the underlying structures. As for "worth attacking", serious attackers are more likely to be interested in a server than a desktop - always depending upon what the server is used for and whose desktop. Martin of Sheffield (talk) 19:31, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

I recommend Security Engineering by Ross J. Anderson. You can download it as pdf's from his website if you don't want to buy a dead tree copy. It is not so much about "how to secure a PC" as how to develop a security mindset, but it is great bedtime reading. 2601:648:8202:96B0:0:0:0:4FFF (talk) 06:40, 25 January 2020 (UTC)

Hello, could you please provide the exact web link not to Security Engineering but to the pdf for downloading it? Thanks AboutFace 22 (talk) 20:58, 26 January 2020 (UTC)

I found d it [2]. AboutFace 22 (talk) 23:52, 26 January 2020 (UTC)

There is a missing definition on the "List of computing and IT abbreviations" under the "B" section!

Under the "B" section there is missing a really old abbreviation or term. It is B.L.O.N.D. which stands for "Binary/ Local/ Online/ Network/ Device". I have been working with computers for 40+ year so when I checked for it it wasn't there. I just thought it should be added!!! Have a great day!!! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Murphy's Law Canada (talk • contribs) 19:55, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

@Murphy's Law Canada: I don't get a single Google hit on "Binary Local Online Network Device". If this abbreviation has been used then it isn't common enough for List of computing and IT abbreviations. PrimeHunter (talk) 12:46, 25 January 2020 (UTC)