Description

Introduciton

I suppose there are several questions that may be running through your head
as you contemplate reading this book: who is the intended audience for this
book? How is this book different from book ‘x’ (insert your favorite title here)?
why should i buy it? Because these are all fair questions and i am asking you
to plunk down your hard-earned cash, it is important to provide some answers
to these questions.
for people who are interested in learning about hacking and penetration test-
ing, walking into a well-stocked bookstore can be as confusing as searching
for “hacking” books at amazon.com. initially, there appears to be an almost
endless selection to choose from. most large bookstores have several shelves
dedicated to computer security books. they include books on programming
security, web application security, rootkits and malware, penetration testing,
and, of course, hacking. However, even the hacking books seem to vary in con-
tent and subject matter. some books focus on using tools but do not discuss
how these tools fit together. other books focus on hacking a particular subject
but lack the broad picture.
this book is intended to address these issues. it is meant to be a single starting
point for anyone interested in the topics of hacking or penetration testing. the
book will certainly cover specific tools and topics but will also examine how
the tools fit together and how they rely on one another to be successful.