If you use a web browser that is Java enabled (versions greater than Netscape Navigator 2.0 and Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0) ,and are concerned about Java security, this book is required reading.
At under 160 pages of text (not counting the appendices), Java Security provides a superb overview of security issues involved with using Java. The authors are security veterans. Felton heads up the Princeton University Safe Internet Programming Team and is famous for discovering quite a few holes in the Java security model.
One might think that two security experts who know the depths and implications of Java security may come out with a reference with suggestions that are overly restrictive and perhaps paranoid. That is not the case here. The recommendations that the book suggests are rational and reasonable. Java Security provides commendable guidelines on how to use Java more safely and what the future holds for Java security features.
The 6 chapters of the book provide an excellent and comprehensive analysis to all aspects of Java security. Chapter 2 provides a significant amount of detail about the Java Security Model, with in-depth coverage of the 3 prongs (as they call it) of the security model, namely: the Byte Code Verifier, the Applet Class Loader and the Security Manager.
Chapter 3 follows with a discussion detailing serious holes in the security model. The authors consider a flaw to be serious when the breach has the potential to corrupt data, reveal private information, or infecting the workstation with a virus. They fittingly note that all of the flaws detailed in the chapter have been fixed by Netscape and Microsoft. The function of the chapter is to show what sort of things can go wrong. Chapter 3 concludes with a summary of 8 significant security problems that were discovered last year in implementations of Java.
The book also goes into great detail on what developers and end-users can do to make Java much more secure. Their six guidelines for Safer Java use are:
1. Know what web sites you are visiting 2. Know your Java environment 3. Use up-to-date browsers with the latest security updates 4. Keep a lookout for security alerts 5. Apply drastic measures if your information is truly critical 6. Access your risks
Fenton has his doctorate in computer science, nonetheless, the book is written in a very clear and coherent manner. Add this to your bookshelf.
