Networks are the "nervous system" of any business and, as such, it is critical to protect them from outside attacks. Hacking generates a lot of interest and can provide useful information, but most security administrators do not have the skills to perform penetration tests. In most cases, it is better to hire a professional pen tester -- they are much more capable of finding problems There is, however, some value in a system administrator performing rudimentary pen tests. Knowledge is power: Know thy enemy. You need to know how hackers take advantage of your mistakes in order to prevent future attacks.

Learn all about how to protect your network from hackers in Chapter 2, 'Anatomy of a Hack -- The Rise and Fall of Your Network,' from Protect Your Windows Network: From Perimeter to Data with this series of book excerpts, courtesy of Addison-Wesley Professional. (Published May 20, 2005. Copyright 2005.)

Chapter 2 excerpts:

1. Introduction
2. What a penetration test will not tell you
3. Target network
4. Network footprinting
5. Initial compromise
6. Elevating privileges
7. Hacking other machines
8. Taking over the domain
9. How to get an attacker out of your network
10. Summary

To download the complete chapter, click for the .pdf.

About the book

Protect Your Windows Network: From Perimeter to Data, written by Jesper Johansson and Steve Riley, is a complete "Defense in Depth" model for protecting any Windows network -- no matter how large or complex. Unlike security books that focus on individual attacks and countermeasures, this book shows how to address the problem holistically and in its entirety. Through hands on examples and practical case studies, you will learn how to integrate multiple defenses -- deterring attacks, delaying them and increasing the cost to the attacker.

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