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EH-Net and Syngress publishing are working together to make the final book in the amazing Stealing the Network Series (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?link_code=ur2&camp=1789&tag=thedigitalcon-20&creative=9325&path=external-search%3Fsearch-type=ss%26keyword=stealing%20the%20network%26index=blended) the best yet. Answer the questions below and don't be shy, because...

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Dear Stealing the Network Reader:

We are currently writing the final book in the “Stealing” series, “Stealing the Network: How to Own a Shadow” by Johnny Long, Tim Mullen, and Ryan Russell. As a reader of one or more previous books in the series, we value your opinion and would greatly appreciate you providing our authors and editors with constructive criticism and commentary on the series as we develop the climactic finale.

1. How many books in the series have you read?

2. Which book is your favorite and why?

3. Are there books in the series you do not like (please explain)?

4. Do you prefer completely unrelated stories (How to Own the Box) or stories that are connected to the same plot (Hot to Own a Continent and How to Own an Identity)? Please explain why.

5. Do you think the level of technical detail is too low, too high, or just right for:

How to Own the Box?

How to Own a Continent?

How to Own an Identity?

6. After reading any book in the series, did you find yourself looking forward to another book? Why or why not?

7. Which chapter of all the books was your favorite and why?

8. Which chapter of all the books was your least favorite and why?

9. Are you more drawn to the characters, the plot, or are you just along for the tech?

10. What tech would you like to see covered?

11. Would you be interested in other tech fiction books or short stories?

12. Feel free to provide any other comment, suggestions, criticisms, etc.



Good luck,
EH-Net Editor-In-Chief

I'm quite surprised that this has not generated a single response. I would think at least 5 members would have responded considering, at this point, no one will get free copies of the book before it is released. If only 5 respond, then those 5 automatically are chosen as the best.

Are you one of those 5?

I know some of you have read at least one of these books. And don't tell me that 5 minutes of your time isn't worth a $40 book.

Thanks,
Don

I tried to reply once and my logon timed out...silly me.  Here are my answers again:

1. How many books in the series have you read?

I have read Own the Box and Own a Continent.

2. Which book is your favorite and why?
I prefer Own a Continent a little bit more.  Slightly better content in some chapters and more integrated story line.

3. Are there books in the series you do not like (please explain)?
No.  I haven't had a chance to read Own an Identity.

4. Do you prefer completely unrelated stories (How to Own the Box) or stories that are connected to the same plot (Hot to Own a Continent and How to Own an Identity)? Please explain why.
I liked the way the characters were developed in Own a Continent.  It made it easier to continue reading instead of starting over each chapter.  That being said, individual short stories/chapters can also be interesting.  So, the difference in preference is slight.

5. Do you think the level of technical detail is too low, too high, or just right for:

How to Own the Box? just right -- I enjoyed reading the story and relating to the technology without getting lost in the details.

How to Own a Continent?  similar comments -- seemed to be more detailed in some chapters; overall, I like the level of techicals details.

How to Own an Identity?

6. After reading any book in the series, did you find yourself looking forward to another book? Why or why not?
Definately, it can read these and enjoy the story while also learning more about security.

7. Which chapter of all the books was your favorite and why?
I liked chapter 3 of Own a Continent.  I liked the walk-through of the wireless exploitation.  I enjoy wireless security books/stories.

8. Which chapter of all the books was your least favorite and why?
No chapters stands out as being horrible.

9. Are you more drawn to the characters, the plot, or are you just along for the tech?
The plot seems to make the difference.  There needs to be a stong plot built for the tech to  fit into the story.  Overall, I was impressed with the plot in both books.

10. What tech would you like to see covered?
More wireless.  The content sofar has been good.  I like it.

11. Would you be interested in other tech fiction books or short stories?
Yes, I think these tech fiction works break up the normal geek-tech reading that I do.  Makes for an interesting read.

12. Feel free to provide any other comment, suggestions, criticisms, etc.
Continue the great work.  I look forward to seeing how the new book turns out.

1. How many books in the series have you read?

Own the Box

2. Which book is your favorite and why?

Only read Own the Box

3. Are there books in the series you do not like (please explain)?

I liked the one book that i have read.

4. Do you prefer completely unrelated stories (How to Own the Box) or stories that are connected to the same plot (Hot to Own a Continent and How to Own an Identity)? Please explain why.

I liked the layout of Own a Box.  It didn't seem long and drawn out and kept me interested in each different story.

5. Do you think the level of technical detail is too low, too high, or just right for:

Own the Box.  I felt it was at my level but definitely not designed for a beginner.  That said most people with at least 6 months experience will feel right at home.

How to Own a Box:

6. After reading any book in the series, did you find yourself looking forward to another book? Why or why not?

I guess so.  I like it but not enough to shell out the money again.  I would prefer getting one from a library as my funds are tight.

7. Which chapter of all the books was your favorite and why?

Chapter 6, Flying the Friendly Skies - Joe Grand.  Like the previous poster, I too am intrigued by wireless security. 

8. Which chapter of all the books was your least favorite and why?

Chapter 9, BabelNet.  I found the content very boring.  SMB is not my cup of tea.

10. What tech would you like to see covered?

This book seemed to cover all avenues.

11. Would you be interested in other tech fiction books or short stories?

Absolutely, as long as they hold some truths to them on the technical side.  Complete fiction would be bogus!

12. Feel free to provide any other comment, suggestions, criticisms, etc.

From the one book I have read I liked.  I would/have recommended this book to my peers and would welcome reading more.



 

Would this get more of a response if your answers were not available for the world to see? We could create an email account specifically for entries, so no one but EH-Net staff and Syngress Reps see your responses.

Thoughts?

Don

Maybe this will help get some more responses to the questionnaire...

I put up sample chapters from each of the first 3 books:

• Stealing The Network: How To Own The Box (http://www.ethicalhacker.net/content/view/45/2/)
• Stealing The Network: How To Own A Continent (http://www.ethicalhacker.net/content/view/46/2/)
• Stealing The Network: How To Own An Identity (1 of 3) (http://www.ethicalhacker.net/content/view/47/2/)
• Stealing The Network: How To Own An Identity (2 of 3) (http://www.ethicalhacker.net/content/view/48/2/)
• Stealing The Network: How To Own An Identity (3 of 3) (http://www.ethicalhacker.net/content/view/49/2/)

Don

Come on people, a free book!  A good one a that too I am sure.  Just take the time and reap the benefits.   ;D

1. How many books in the series have you read?
I haven't read any of the whole books. Only the provided samples of Identity.

2. Which book is your favorite and why?
Identity. It's the only one I have read any of, so I don't have much choice, but what I have read I really enjoyed.

3. Are there books in the series you do not like (please explain)?
n/a

4. Do you prefer completely unrelated stories (How to Own the Box) or stories that are connected to the same plot (Hot to Own a Continent and How to Own an Identity)? Please explain why.
I would prefer the connected story. I much enjoyed reading the adventures of Blaine and Flir in the samples. I liked getting to know each character and watching him/her progress. It would seem kind of tedious to have to start all over each chapter.

5. Do you think the level of technical detail is too low, too high, or just right for:

How to Own the Box?
n/a

How to Own a Continent?
n/a

How to Own an Identity?
From what I read, it seemed perfect.

6. After reading any book in the series, did you find yourself looking forward to another book? Why or why not?
Well, sort of. I haven't heard of this series previously, but after reading the samples, I became very interested in the final book.

7. Which chapter of all the books was your favorite and why?
I very much liked all of the chapters involving Blaine and Flir. The college setting was believable and interesting to read. I find myself wanting to read more about them.

8. Which chapter of all the books was your least favorite and why?
I can't really think of any. At first I didn't like the idea of Identity switching back and forth between 2 seperate stories, but then I found out they were connected. :)

9. Are you more drawn to the characters, the plot, or are you just along for the tech?
Mostly the tech followed closely by the characters.

10. What tech would you like to see covered?
Something considered modern day would be interesting. Something like blogging or podcasting. Although I don't think they would fit very well into the story, so I'll leave that to the writer. :P

11. Would you be interested in other tech fiction books or short stories?
Oh yes. Very much so.

12. Feel free to provide any other comment, suggestions, criticisms, etc.
I haven't had the chance to read enough to provide a thorough examination, but from what was provided, I really enjoyed reading this book [Identity].


Since I haven't actually read any of the books, I don't know how eligable I am for this contest thingie, but I'm very interested in this book so I thought I'd give it a go anyways. :)

At least you took the time to try.  Now contribute more on this forum and you can win a kick a$$ prize!  Tel your friends too because the more the better! 

What's the deadline for this offer?  ??? I've just got hold of a copy of "How to own a Continent"  and also "How to own the Box", and I need time to read them and make a decent reply. I have read the example chapters you posted and I could reply on those like renolc did, but I'd much rather give proper feedback about entire books.

1. How many books in the series have you read?

I have read: How to Own the Box, How to Own a Continent, and How to Own an Identity.

2. Which book is your favorite and why?

How to Own a Continent is my favorite at this point - it seemed to me to be the right mix of plot and technical information.

3. Are there books in the series you do not like (please explain)?

NO!  They were all excellent books!

4. Do you prefer completely unrelated stories (How to Own the Box) or stories that are connected to the same plot (How to Own a Continent and How to Own an Identity)? Please explain why.

I enjoyed stories loosely connected by the same plot more than the totally separate stories.

5. Do you think the level of technical detail is too low, too high, or just right for:

How to Own the Box?
See below.
How to Own a Continent?
See below.
How to Own an Identity?

My take on all three is that I want tidbits that I can take and use on my network (wow - the 'find' command does THAT?), architecture tips that I can use as a lesson in general (hmm - 'ssh' from home *isn't* a good idea), and 1337 hax0r tech that makes for an entertaining plot while remaining in the realm of reality (manually hacking ssh).

6. After reading any book in the series, did you find yourself looking forward to another book? Why or why not?

Yes, after reading How to Own a Continent (the first book I read), I looked forward to How to Own an Identity and How to Own the Box, which I devoured as soon as I could get my eyes on them.

7. Which chapter of all the books was your favorite and why?

Chapter 8 of Identity was my favorite - the actions fit the character very well and the resolution was not only technical, but interpersonal as well (polluting the trust relationship between the identity collector and the identity distributor).

8. Which chapter of all the books was your least favorite and why?

All the chapters covered brilliant technical detail - loved them all (in all three books that I have read so far).  One chapter had a difficult plot moment: Chapter 9 of Continent.  In the "A Worm by Any Other Name" section, Knuth receives a call from an anonymous female voice which initiates Matthew's demise.  It was not evident why this took place - what plans of Knuth's were being interrupted.  It seems like a plug to kill off Matthew.

9. Are you more drawn to the characters, the plot, or are you just along for the tech?

I'm drawn to the tech and I am intrigued in the vehicle (a plot) to deliver this.  This seems like a step toward American Manga - I like it.

10. What tech would you like to see covered?

Phone systems (anything); system insecurities, detection, and defense; stealth and stealth tracking; DDoS attack types, remediation; general (and specific) infrastructure attacks, analysis, and defense; and always - tools.

11. Would you be interested in other tech fiction books or short stories?

Yes, I would be and am.

12. Feel free to provide any other comment, suggestions, criticisms, etc.

Please continue the genre.  Please continue to highlight, underscore, make bold the directions that Security (in general) is taking, the human aspect of this, and the implications this has for our society.

Thank you.

OK, I've finally finished my books. I hope I haven't missed a deadline or something. I was in a bit of a rush, as I never received a reply to my previous post.

1. How many books in the series have you read?
2 books; How to own the Box, and How to own a Continent.

2. Which book is your favorite and why?
They were both good books. I did however enjoy How to own a Continent a bit more as the separate stories and characters from How to own the Box seemed to come together into one big connected plot.

3. Are there books in the series you do not like (please explain)?
No, they were both very good.

4. Do you prefer completely unrelated stories (How to Own the Box) or stories that are connected to the same plot (How to Own a Continent and How to Own an Identity)? Please explain why.
I prefer stories that are connected to the same plot, as it adds continuity and gives you something to look forward to in coming chapters.

5. Do you think the level of technical detail is too low, too high, or just right for:

How to Own the Box? Just fine for me.

How to Own a Continent? Just fine for me.

How to Own an Identity? I have not read this book in total, just the 3 chapters posted here, and they too were just fine for me.

6. After reading any book in the series, did you find yourself looking forward to another book? Why or why not?
Yes, after finishing How to own the Box, and having read the other members answers here, I was intrigued to see how all those type of stories could be combined into one big plot.

7. Which chapter of all the books was your favorite and why?
I enjoyed "The worm turns" by Ryan Russel and Tim Mullen from How to own the Box, because I was intrigued by the idea of engineering a worm that would neutralize another worm.
Another chapter I enjoyed was "The art of tracking" by Mark Burnett.

8. Which chapter of all the books was your least favorite and why?
The only part of "Babel Net" by Dan Kaminsky in How to own the Box, that I enjoyed was reading the IRC chat between 31ph_ and dw0rf. The rest of the chapter I felt was just Dan promoting his own tools, at the expense of the plot. The chapter "Return on Investment" by Fyodor in How to own a Continent, was much better and more enjoyable in this respect, and  shows how Dan could have incorporated the self-promotion and the plot together.

9. Are you more drawn to the characters, the plot, or are you just along for the tech?
I'm drawn to all 3. The books would be a total flop without 1 of those elements.

10. What tech would you like to see covered?
I would probably enjoy reading more about firewall and router exploits, and also packet manipulation and protocol exploits.

11. Would you be interested in other tech fiction books or short stories?
Yes, very much so.

12. Feel free to provide any other comment, suggestions, criticisms, etc.
Do h3X and Dizzy ever meet? Will they get married?  ;)

The new book is slightly behind schedule. Syngress is looking to have printed copies in August to coincide with the Black Hat Conference (http://www.ethicalhacker.net/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,35/action,calendar) with copies for the general public in mid to late August.

The answers by our members have been reviewed and will continue to be as the new book is being written. So there is plenty of time to add one of the Stealing Books (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?link_code=ur2&camp=1789&tag=thedigitalcon-20&creative=9325&path=external-search%3Fsearch-type=ss%26keyword=stealing%20the%20network%26index=blended) to your summer reading list and answer the questionnaire.

Don

We haven't stopped taking entries and probably won't for another couple months...

So keep 'em coming!

Don

1. How many books in the series have you read?

I have read all the books (How to own a box, How to own a continent,
How to own an Identity)

2. Which book is your favourite and why?

My favourite up to now is How to Own an Identity. This is because of the hype that the previous books have built in Knuth's elaborate scheme. This book also makes Knuth seem more human as I found out
about his son, and the loss of his wife. It helped me to tie down the events and understand the reasoning behind his behaviour. I found the stories in this book to also be creative, from the strategical and thorough approach that Knuth took to design his home to the puzzle that he left behind for his son to solve, It made money sound so much llike a tool then a destination. I just found all the chapters in this book to be juicy and full of interesting connections.

3. Are there books in the series you do not like (please explain)?

I found How to Own the Box not to be that interesting. It was a bunch of stories not linked, and I find that not to be very interesting because they are short and seem to have nothing seriously in common.

4. Do you prefer completely unrelated stories (How to Own the Box) or stories that are connected to the same plot (Hot to Own a Continent and How to Own an Identity)? Please explain why.

I enjoy stories that connect to the same plot, because as they unfold things only become more interesting, and with a plot like this it grabbed my interest immediately. I find short unrelated stories good but they would be better if they somehow got tied together in an unexpected twist. I mean I keep reading because I enjoy this plot unravelling and I cannot wait to read that last book.

5. Do you think the level of technical detail is too low, too high, or just right for:

How to Own the Box?
The technical level for this book seemed a bit high, and even though I was interested in the uncovering of the vulnerabilities, some of them I didn't care too much about.

How to Own a Continent?
This book's technical details seemed just right, it had a general plot with both low and high level of technical detail where it was needed. This one really grabbed my attention, especially where they were describing Knuth's setup.

How to Own an Identity?
This one seemed almost just right, but maybe just a little bit more technical detail would be better, like I would prefer more detail on the description of Knuth's "hive".

6. After reading any book in the series, did you find yourself looking forward to another book? Why or why not?

How to own a box, was an interesting collection of short stories that got me intrigued into looking forward to the next book, but after reading how to own a continent I was in the hype and wanted to know
what would happen, luckily I finished reading right before how to own an identity came out and I was able to prolong the leasure without too much downtime. All the books were interesting, because they well
portrayed near real examples of what could happen to anyone and why.

7. Which chapter of all the books was your favourite and why?

The chapter that was my favourite from all the books is the in How to Own a Continent, where Knuth describes how his house is secured, and how his setup is laid out.

8. Which chapter of all the books was your least favourite and why?

I cannot really say that any specific chapter stroke me as very bad, but sometimes the writing was below average and some very basic thing like typing errors were a bit annoying. I'd say most of all some chapters just lack polishing on the writing side, though content is great.

9. Are you more drawn to the characters, the plot, or are you just along for the tech?

I am more drawn towards the plot, tech, and Knuth's character.

10. What tech would you like to see covered?

I'd like to read about possibility of intercepting cell phone calls and data sent/received by cell phones online via GPRS/EDGE/1X/EVDO. I recently started using my phone's data capabilities more often, but at the same time I do not really do anything to enhance the security of these communications beyond what is already done by the provider. That starts to bother me somewhat.

11. Would you be interested in other tech fiction books or short stories?

Yes, it would be good if you released more books like these with interesting plots.

12. Feel free to provide any other comment, suggestions, criticisms, etc.

Hope to see the book soon, as its release has been moved like 3 times! No more delays!

Hi,

I found this page after doing a Google search for How to Own a Shadow which lead to a page on Digg which pointed me here. Amazon had 1 August as release date and O'Reilly in November. Syngress doesn't even mention the book. Do you have a somewhat reliable date?

1. How many books in the series have you read?

I've read all three books.

2. Which book is your favorite and why?

I would have to say Stealing the Continent. I loved How to Own a Box, but when I read Continent I really liked the interconnection between the stories. I found myself wondering about Knuth during the entire book. It was great that the plot continued in the Identity book. However it was still similar to Continent whereas the jump between How to own a box and Continent was a big improvement.

3. Are there books in the series you do not like (please explain)?

No I enjoyed them all.

4. Do you prefer completely unrelated stories (How to Own the Box) or stories that are connected to the same plot (Hot to Own a Continent and How to Own an Identity)? Please explain why.

As I stated I like the connected ones better. Since the connected story is much longer than just a single short story there is much more room for things to happen. My favorite story in How to Own a box was h3X's adventures in Networkland. It was also the longest story, it had different character point of views.

If I'm reading a great book I don't want to put it down, I want to know what happens with my characters. If it's just short stories my interest is in the current story when that is read I'm not compelled to read the next one. (Though I stayed up late reading the Box one anyway).

There is however one advantage I see about having unrelated stories. If you don't have much time it's great to be able to read one chapter and be able to put the book down knowing you don't have to worry about forgetting the plot. It you picked up the book a few weeks later you can just read the next story (or which ever one you like).

Still I prefer the interconnected ones.

5. Do you think the level of technical detail is too low, too high, or just right for:

How to Own the Box?
How to Own a Continent?
How to Own an Identity?

I won't comment on each book, but I don't think it's that important. I think the books should be very technical, but they shouldn't be a tutorial / howto guide. The main points (as I see it) of the books are to be entertaining and educational. If someone doesn't understand a subject there are other ways to learn. You could set up a website where you recommend further reading for each chapter. As Jeff Moss says in the foreword to the first book; "it provides a glimpse into the creative minds of some of today's best hackers". This is the interesting part, the creative way people think and how they use that knowledge. If I want to learn about IDAPro I will buy another book. If the author of a chapter feels he / she is getting to technical you could include a little box with a note about what's being done. This doesn't slow down the pace of the story.

6. After reading any book in the series, did you find yourself looking forward to another book? Why or why not?

Yes, I loved the combination of fiction and technology. In fact it inspired me to start writing short security stories on my blog (http://ogenstad.net).

7. Which chapter of all the books was your favorite and why?

Perhaps not a single one but the ones I liked the most:
h3X's adventures in Networkland, book 1
Control Yourself, book 2

The beginning, book 3

8. Which chapter of all the books was your least favorite and why?

I don't really want to name one since I enjoyed the books so much. But if I have to it would be Flying the Friendly Skies. The reason is that I want more action, the character is bored in an airport and connects to a wireless network and then flies away. Not much of a plot in that one…

9. Are you more drawn to the characters, the plot, or are you just along for the tech?

It has to be a combination of all three. I'm more drawn to the reoccurring characters than the ones just appearing in one chapter. Knuth is the most interesting one. I probably wouldn't read the books if it wasn't for the tech, but for the future all three are important.

10. What tech would you like to see covered?

Can't think of anything specific, but as I said (or meant to say) I don't read these books to learn about technology. I would however prefer new technology things compared to older stuff, still The beginning was one of my favorite chapters.


11. Would you be interested in other tech fiction books or short stories?

Yes, as I said I started writing my own stories too. I don't know how big the market is but I really enjoy the genre and I tend to get angry at what Hollywood throws out where there are so many errors when they use technology. Are there more books planned?

12. Feel free to provide any other comment, suggestions, criticisms, etc.

Not related to the contents of the books. First of all when I go to Syngress.com it would be nice to find something when I search for How to Own a Shadow.

Secondly I love the format (size) of the books. With many computer books I think they are to heavy, I want to be able to bring books in my laptop bag and there are just so many books that doesn't fit. I'd rather have to small ones than one big brick. Besides if I fall asleep reading the book I don't want it to fall on my head and kill me.

I think the price of the book is a bit expensive, compared to other fictional books. However I will still keep buying them with the current price tag.

What would be nice to see is more interconnection of characters and plots. In How to Own a Continent, there is some connecting dots, the Don meeting Sendai, Saul and Mathew. However mostly the stories 2-9 are connected with chapter 1 and 10 not with each other.

I can imagine having a group of hackers working together, each chapter with a different point of view. If the other characters also appear in a chapter which isn't "their's" we get to know them better.

I laughed out loud at the end of the second book when I read "And sir, can you tell me your name"

Thanks for the reply to the questionnaire. Hope the search results that led you here, keep you here. BTW - I posted your site in the Mass Media Board (http://www.ethicalhacker.net/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,49/board,17.0/).

As for your question, my last contact with Syngress gave no specific dates as to the release of the book. But they did say that they were running behind. They also told me that they were still willing to stand by their offer on this site.

Thanks again and we look forward to your continued participation,
Don

Thanks, I'll try take a look around, I've added the feed to my bloglines account. So I guess you'll be posting some news about the book when you have something to share?  :)

Any updates?

So.....?  What happened?  Did someone win or is it still open?

Thanks!

Well, I guess I may have to accept the fact that this will not get resolved by Syngress. The book was much later than expected, but according to Amazon has been released. I've called and emailed my contacts at Syngress numerous times with no response.

Sorry to those who participated. I will still try my best to make this happen, but it doesn't look promising.

Don

Hello Don,

Is there any chance that, instead of a prerelease copy, the top five could receive a post-release, author-signed copy of the book?

Thanks!

I would have thought that would be the course of action after they missed sending the books before it was released. But since they are choosing not ot return my calls, I think all bets are off. >:(

Again, I apologize. One would think that a forum post that has just under 12,000 page views would warrant a little attention. ???

I'll keep trying,
Don

they are so fired

Do I hear a boycot coming on...

Brian

Well I finally bought the book and read it, as the other books I enjoyed it but I think I liked Continent and Identity better. Has anyone else read it or do you all hate Syngress now? :)

 I am not a fan of Syngress and it doesn't have to do with this thread. I question the value of a lot of their books. Often they are slapped together without any structure and don't provide much of a guide. Whats really bad is when they take chapters from their other books just to add volume to their publication and of course add to the price.  Their books on snort and nessus are good examples of how poor some of their publications can be in my opinion.  I have seen numerous posts on forums making the same criticisms so I know I am not alone. 

I have to say that the Syngress books I've read have all been from good to excellent. I have a reasonable pile of them at home.

I think I know of the book Kev's refering to (I'm guess they are the tools/open source compilation ones) but haven't read them. I'm a bit curious now if they are a poor production. Do you have one the stands out in your mind?

As an aside, I tend to use Richard Bejtlich's reviews on Amazon as a good starting point if the book worth reading or listen out for a postive review for a couple of trusted sources.