Bestselling “Steal This Computer Book” Back In A New Edition

If you thought hacking was just about mischief-makers hunched over computers in the basement, think again. Wallace Wang steps back into the fray with Steal This Computer Book 4.0: What They Won’t Tell You About the Internet (No Starch Press, May 2006), wherein he explains that hacking can also mean questioning the status quo, looking for your own truths and never accepting at face value anything authorities say or do. Wang’s unique take on the seamy underbelly of the Internet has made the Steal This Computer Book series one of the strongest titles for No Starch Press, with more than 175,000 copies sold. It’s captivating reading for all of us living in the digital age.

Praise for “Steal This Computer Book 3″:

“If this book had a soundtrack, it’d be Lou Reed’s ‘Walk on the Wild Side’.” - InfoWorld

The completely revised fourth edition of this offbeat, non-technical book examines what hackers do, how they do it, and how users can protect themselves. Written in the same informative, irreverent, and entertaining style that made the first three editions hugely successful, “Steal This Computer Book 4.0″ will expand readers’ minds and raise their eyebrows. Newly added chapters discuss the hacker mentality, social engineering and lock picking, exploiting P2P file-sharing networks, and how people manipulate search engines and pop-up ads to obtain and use personal information. Wang also takes issue with the media for “hacking” the news and presenting the public with self-serving stories of questionable accuracy.

In addition to revealing the hows and whys behind hacker activities, Wang provides tips for avoiding becoming a victim. The book’s companion CD is literally filled with hundreds of megabytes of hacking and security-related programs, like keyloggers, spyware stoppers, spam filters, IP scanners, Trojan horse creators, and more.

“The hacker world is a complicated and fascinating one. Since the last edition of ‘Steal This Computer Book’ came out, we’ve seen the arrival of spyware, malware, new viruses and Trojans, and so much more scary, funny and outrageous stuff that just cried out for the distinctive Wally Wang treatment,” said Bill Pollock, founder of No Starch Press. “We’ve added back a CD too, which, for many wannabe hackers, is worth the price of the book alone.”

Anyone who’s ever logged onto a website, conducted an online transaction, sent or received email, used a networked computer or even watched the evening news, may have already been tricked, tracked, or manipulated. Steal This Computer Book 4.0 will make readers smarter and safer in their online activities, but it will also make them more curious and questioning of the world offline too.