The Best Books About TCP/IP And Networking

10 of the finest books to help you understand TCP/IP and Networking better!

For those in the IT industry, it is a must to have a sharp and in depth understanding especially for IT admins and managers. Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol is the suite of communications protocols used to connect hosts on the Internet. TCP/IP is the de facto standard for transmitting data over networks. As such, programmers must know all there is to know about it. We are there to help, as always!

1.Internet Core Protocols: The Definitive Guide: Help for Network Administrators

Internet Core Protocols: The Definitive Guide contains all the information you need for low-level network debugging. It provides thorough coverage of the fundamental protocols in the TCP/IP suite: IP, TCP, UDP, ICMP, ARP (in its many variations), and IGMP.

2.Effective TCP/IP Programming: 44 Tips to Improve Your Network Programs

In forty-four concise, self-contained lessons, this book offers experience-based tips, practices, and rules of thumb for learning high-performance TCP/IP programming techniques. Moreover, it shows you how to avoid many of TCP/IP's most common trouble spots. Numerous examples demonstrate essential ideas and concepts. Skeleton code and a library of common functions allow you to write applications without having to worry about routine chores.

3.TCP/IP Explained

TCP/IP Explained concentrates on how each protocol works within the Internet Protocol Suite and discusses the addressing, delivery, transport and routing protocols. Many books on this subject concentrate on why protocols are designed in a particular way. This book concentrates on how they actually work. The approach is practical, and the reader can see how network changes affect overall operation.

4.High-Speed Networks TCP/IP and ATM Design Principles

Bestselling author William Stallings presents comprehensive, up-to-date coverage of TCP performance design issues. A high-level overview of cutting-edge network and Intranet design, this book focuses on high-speed technologies like routing for multimedia, how to manage traffic flow, and compression techniques for maximising throughout.

5.TCP/IP: Architecture, Protocols, and Implementation with IPv6 and IP Security

When it comes to teaching computer professionals how to plan for, use, operate, and maintain a TCP/IP network and associated services, Dr Sidnie Feit literally "wrote the Book". Now, fully updated, this book covers the most significant changes in the field including Next Generation Internet Protocol, better known as IPng or IPv6.

6.SNMP, SNMPv2, SNMPv3, and RMON 1 and 2

This book is the definitive guide to SNMP-based network and internetwork management for network administrators, managers, and designers. Concise, focusing on practical issues, and completely up to date, it covers SNMPv1, SNMPv2, and the most recent SNMPv3, as well as RMON 1 and RMON 2. 

7.SNMP: A Guide to Network Management

Written for those who plan, administer and manage networks and for software developers who work in a networked envoironment, this reference presents the ideas behind SNMP and explains the protocols and mechanisms.

8.TCP/IP Network Administration

TCP/IP Network Administration, 2nd Edition is a complete guide to setting up and running a TCP/IP network for administrators of networks of systems or users of home systems that access the Internet. It starts with the fundamentals: what the protocols do and how they work, how addresses and routing are used to move data through the network, and how to set up your network connection.

9.Teach Yourself Tcp/Ip in 14 Days

This helpful guide teaches TCP/IP through the use of a 14-day tutorial. Handy references with short examples are provided in shaded syntax boxes. Daily lessons, clear examples, and review sections are also included.

10.UNIX Network Programming

This guide focuses on the design, development and coding of network software under the UNIX operating system. Provides over 15,000 lines of C code with descriptions of how and why a given solution is achieved. For programmers seeking an indepth tutorial on sockets, transport level interface (TLI), interprocess communications (IPC) facilities under System V and BSD UNIX. 

Upcoming Version of Bitcoin Software Will Use Tor Network

Bitcoin developer Mike Hearn says that an upcoming version of bitcoinj will route all connections via the Tor anonymity network.

Bitcoinj is the software behind some of the most popular bitcoin apps and wallets, while Tor is the biggest and most popular anonymity network on the planet.

A pseudo-anonymous digital currency and an anonymous network which routes data through several servers sound like a match made in heaven, at least for some users.

Hearn claims transactions made using the new version of bitcoinj will be sent through Tor’s system of three encrypted hops, bouncing encrypted communication through a network of relays around the world. The end result is clear – a completely anonymous transaction.

Security over anonymity

Hearn’s plan is bound to get a lot of flak from bitcoin critics, as it could be used for all sorts of questionable practices. However, the idea behind routing bitcoinj through Tor has more to do with security than anonymity.

Hearn told Forbes that the integration will be ready for public use in roughly one month. He also revealed that he developed the prototype in January and is working alongside another famed, but anonymous bitcoin developer – devrandom. Hearn said:

“The fact I use Bitcoin isn’t a secret, but I don’t want all my transactions in an NSA database. When I use Bitcoin in a bar, I don’t want someone on the local network to learn my balance. The way Bitcoin is used today, both those things are possible.”

He also points out that bitcoin is not as anonymous as many people assume. The public ledger is out there for all to see, hence it is possible to trace transactions and even reveal the identities of those behind them.

By monitoring internet traffic it is possible to trace the transaction back to the IP address where it originated. Therefore, some organisations can learn the true identity of bitcoin users. Hearn says it is possible that the NSA and GCHQ have already ‘de-anonymised’ most of the block chain.

Could Tor fend off criminals?

Since Tor bounces traffic through a number of proxies around the world, this would not be easy to do with bitcoinj on the Tor network. At the moment, attackers can use untrusted WiFi networks to stage attacks by spoofing the bitcoin network and tricking the user into accepting bitcoins that don’t even exist.

However, Hearn cautions that there is no silver bullet and that the Tor network is just part of the solution. Both Hearn and Mastercoin’s Peter Todd point to Bloom Filtersas another attack vector.

Bloom Filters were designed to make bitcoin wallets more efficient and seek out transactions relevant to the user, but in the process they also bleed a lot of information that could be used by attackers.

Hearn argues that Bloom Filters will be updated in future Bitcoin implementations to reveal less information. He maintains that the filters can be sorted out and views Tor as a more important step in protecting privacy.

11 Do's And Don'ts Of Tor Network!

These tips and tricks will bring out the best of Tor for you!

There is nothing better than The Onion Router aka TOR for those genuinly concerned about the privacy of their digital communications. The free software secretly routes your system’s Internet traffic over several places on the Internet, thereby hiding the actual source of communication improving your privacy and security on the Internet.

We bring you a list of tips and tricks for using Tor to protect you better when online:

1. Do Use Tor

Tor is widely known for providing online anonymity, having gained quite a lot of reputation at what it does. It can be used for:

-sensitive browsing

-reporting abuse or corruption

-serious business activities

-inter-state or inter-country communications

-publishing anonymous posts

-sharing personal secrets with family and friends

and more.

2. Don’t Use Windows

Refrain from browsing websites through Tor on Windows systems if you're looking to improve your Internet privacy. On Windows systems, security bugs and vulnerabilities present in the system may 

compromise your privacy rendering Tor quite literally worthless. It's best to run Tor-configured Linux systems such as Tails and Whonix, Further, you can also set up Tor on any of your favorite Linux distro.

3. Do Update Your System

Remember, Tor is only as safe and secure as the system running the Tor client. Therefore, it is highly advisable to regularly update the Tor client, Tor-secured applications (browsers, instant messaging clients, email clients, etc.), and the operating system of your computer. 

4. Don’t Use HTTP Websites

Tor is a traffic router and not a tool to encrypt the network traffic throughout the Internet, therefore, its exit nodes can read your Internet traffic when in the form of plain unencrypted data. 

It's only obvious you use end-to-end encryption such as SSL or TLS when doing sensitive online communications that requires HTTPS websites. Further, add-ons like 'HTTPS Everywhere' automatically switch to HTTPS-mode browsing for supported websites. It's preferred you use these.

5. Do Encrypt Your Data Storage

Tor cannot secure the digital data on your computer. Complete security can only be achieved through encryption of data using strong cryptographic algorithms. LUKS or TrueCrypt can be used for the same.

6. Don’t Use Tor Browser Bundle

Tor Browser Bundle contains critical vulnerabilities and therefore should not be used for browsing websites anonymously through Tor.

7. Do Disable JavaScript, Flash And Java

Binary applications like JavaScript, Adobe Flash, Java, QuickTime, ActiveX controls, VBScripts etc run with user account's privileges. These might access and share your data leaving Tor rendered useless. Websites can use to track you using JavaScript. Meanwhile, Java and Adobe Flash run in virtual machines. These might ignore your system’s configured proxy settings, and share your data directly with the websites. 

8. Don’t Use P2P

Tor network is not built for peer-to-peer file sharing. If you're into downloading torrents, remember you're simply busing Tor. Another downside is, it slows down other user's browsing on the network.

9. Do Delete Cookies And Site’s Local Data

Tor uses network packets to hide your real identity from the websites. However, it can't stop websites from using workarounds such as cookies and local data storage to detect your real identity.

10. Don’t Use Your Real Email

Tor protects online privacy and hides real identity. However if you’re giving out your real email on the websites, how is Tor to secure you? Ideally, you must consider a virtual identity while using Tor.

11. Don’t Use Google

Warning: Google periodically collects information on users’ browsing and search data to facilitate the growth of its revenue. Rather, go for alternatives such as Startpage and DuckDuckGo. These anonymity-compliant services offer search results without logging your IP address and storing cookies on your computer.