SANS GIAC Certification: Security Essentials Toolkit (GSEC)

I have had Amazon Prime for 2 years, buy tons of items - first review ever. The info in this book is no longer relevant - skip it. It has all exercises - like if you've ever taken technical training in a classroom where you do one exercise after another.Chapter 13 Network Design - Many tools are available to draw networks, we will use Cisco Config Maker. Dead link - Google Cisco Config Maker - looks like they dropped it ten years ago. Nothing on network design, the rest of the chapter is screen shots of the install, click this, make a server, click yes, click next...etc.The chapter on locking down Microsoft IIS is for version 4 - version 7 is current now in 2012. It is all screen shots and exercises from 2002 era software. I am a current CISSP, and buy tons of books with prime, in engineering grad school - this is the only non-recommendation ever. Can't believe it is still being sold, nice book in 2002 - not 2012.

Having studied 5 other texts in preparation for the set of exams that are based on security I can honestly say that the having current information is very important. This text was published in 2002. Much has changed in technology in the last 10 years. Although some of the software described inside are still in use, it is necessary to consider this something other than a genuine guide for passing the exam. This publication can be used to point you in the right direction but it will not prepare you for the exam because of the ubiquitous nature of the contents. I found this fact to be a deal breaker for me. I am using other texts to study from and the fact is I gained very little from reading this book. That being said It was well written and was probably awesome 10 years ago.

Agree with most of the reviews, Wish we would have read them prior to purchase. This material is completely deprecated and is no longer of real value. It stated it was new but in actuality this product was produced in 2001 and was on its way out then. So yes save your money and pass.Amazon will be receiving this product back in the mail.

Lesson learned, look at publishing date. This book is very outdated for the cost. Spend your money on Eric Cole's Network Security Bible.

This book is very useful as it describes a certain number of processes we must be able to master. But it is based on Windows 2000 which nobody continues using in today's 2017, therefore an appropriate update should be made.

Save your money and look for a newer guide! This book references windows technology no longer on the market and old versions of linux/unix.

This book is basically a lab/excersize book - which is great considering the GSEC tests things you should learn hands-on. However, I found that NONE of the URLs work anymore (6/2009). The book also caters to Windows 2000 and Red Hat 7.2. What about XP and other flavors of Linux such as Fedora?It would be nice if the publisher included a CD with the book with all the malware & tools - so you can just simply load them onto your test machine.

Hi,I love Sans courses and books,I liked how this book started but I really got stuck right on the first exercise. L I'm a MCSE and I'm starting to learn the Linux world, and on the first exercise where he was showing how to create a user account thru RLogin on Linux, I believe he missed a step.I followed his instructions installing Linux (it really has to be the version 7.2 Red Hat) if you try 7.1 the screens will be different from the one in the book. The instructions were good, I created a User account (Linux gave me an opportunity to create a normal user account during installation). I logged in as this new user to start the exercise where he is explaining about trust relationship. And using the Rlogin command, I create the new user account ++ jmm and then on the next step he asks to log in with the new user account?? That is when I got lost. Is there a way the log off in the Shell Prompt (that is where the exercise was done) as "user A" and log in as the new user (user B) that I just created or do I have to totally get out and log off and then connect as jmm (I tried the second option but then it asks for a password in which I did not create for jmm since the exercise did not mentioned to do so. I could not log back in.) Trying to research to see if there are any good books on Windows admins learning Linux (red hat).I understand that this issue might be too basic, sorry guys, I always been a MS kind of guy. But now I'm trying to test new waters. It would have been great if the author might suggested some previous reading that would give further details on the type of exercise that he is trying to show and just in case you are totally newbie with the Linux O.S.Thanks

Woefully out of date - all but useless. This would not get you through the modern GSEC examination.

Good!