Getting Started in Network Security?

pixelgeek asks: "Security has not only become an important topic but also a critical issue for admins and even the average user in their home. To someone new to the topic the wealth of material can be a bit daunting and, you can imagine, a little confusing. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to start getting a handle on the concept of network/computer security and what are the most important and useful applications (CLI primarily) that a person should examine and learn?" We've touched on these issues before, but it was a while ago. Taking a network security class, could help, but which classes are really worth the money and might there be enough information on the web to make such a choice, unnecessary?

Comments

Re:When working with Cisco ....

[GC]

Denise Richards on the PIX Firewall, she explains why the PIX is not a router.

Re:Majors?

[orcaaa]

Steps to foolproof security 1) Get a PhD in Number Theory/Theoretical CS from Harvard/MIT. 2) Write the newest encryption technology which is NP Hard to decrypt, takes O(1) time for encryption. - PROVE it. 3) Make all network applications use this technology (Don't worry, this will be possible once you get the fields medal for proving the Reimann Hypothesis and people know/trust you and your work) 4) Now lay back and enjoy

Re:Majors?

[The Cydonian]

You forgot the 5)???, 6)Profit! steps.

After all this is Slashdot; we have traditions to maintain, or the trolls would already have won. :-)

Re:Need solid networking background first

[comet_11]

If you don't know how to check your POP3 e-mail and retrieve a web page with nothing more than a telnet client

That's nothing! Back in my day we had to use SSH with nothing but a phone line and a toothpick, and we were lucky! Some people didn't get the toothpick.