A statement of the Internet security problem and some solutions to it, Firewalls: A Complete Guide, attempts to gauge the vulnerability of a typical Internet-connected network, then proceeds to show how various kinds of firewalls can reduce the threat from outside. The result is informative, and precisely the kind of resource you want to have on hand when your organisation has tasked you with figuring out what kind of firewall will do an adequate job for the smallest investments of time and money. Marcus Goncalves is known for the depth of his research and his detail-rich writing style--traits he exhibits here. You will likely find support for a good network security plan in his book.

If you have never worked much with network security before, you'll be happy with (and probably terrified by) the security holes the author highlights, as well as his background information on cryptography and other security technologies. Experienced hands will be more impressed by Goncalves' roundup of commercial firewall products (including Check Point Firewall-1, Sum Microsystems SunScreen, and more than a dozen others). The product profiles are more of a features comparison than a series of how-to guides and you are left wishing for pricing information, but the profiles ought to help you decide which products to investigate more closely. --David Wall, amazon.com

Topics covered: Internet connectivity, and the security risks posed by making Internet services available to users of a secure network (including specific security risks in Java, ActiveX, and other programming architectures). There is coverage of how a firewall fits into a comprehensive security strategy, and how to select a commercial firewall package.