Designed for someone who's getting into network firewalling--and computer security generally--for the first time, Check Point Firewall-1 Administration and CCSA Study Guide does a good job of getting novices up to speed on the state of the art in blocking unauthorised access. Steven Dangerfield's approach to his potentially confusing topic is measured and apparently thought out with care, which means his readers should be able to pick up what they need to know about CheckPoint FireWall-1 in order to pass the Check Point Certified Security Administrator (CCSA) exam and do well on the job as a firewall administrator. He steers clear of obscure problems and unusual requirements, but then so does the CCSA exam, and there's something to be said about having a simple, easily understood security policy anyway.

After a brief (and generally common-sensical) introduction to security concepts and strategies, Dangerfield takes on FireWall-1 one module at a time. He begins with the user interface, which he documents with lines and labels in a manner reminiscent of books about office productivity applications. Screen shots are numerous. The later and more important sections--on configuring objects and establishing rules--are more conceptual in style, but equally clear. The author continues to use screen shots where he can, and makes great use of annotated network diagrams to clarify "what can access what" rules. The certification material seems as if it was added as an afterthought--it takes the form of some exercises and practice questions at the back of the book--but it serves the purpose. An annotated answer key would make the questions far more useful, though. --David Wall

Topics covered: After discussion of installation under Windows NT, Solaris, and (minimally) the Nokia IP Network Access Point (NAP), the author explains how to use the various Objects Managers, the Rulebase, and the Network Address Translation (NAT) facility of FireWall-1 to compartmentalise and protect a network. Versions 4.0 and 4.1 are covered.