BOOK REVIEWS
January 2006
Edited by Andrzej Jajszczyk
Home Networking Simplified
by Jim Doherty And Neil Anderson, Cisco Press, Indianapolis, 2005, Paperback, 416 pages, ISBN: 1-58720-136-4
Reviewer: Robert Ciszek
Home Networking Simplified, written by Jim Doherty and Neil Anderson, teaches us how to make our own network, and how to make it wireless. It covers an important subject, since more and more people feel the need to make their own home network. It is very easy to follow the book; even people who practically know nothing about networks should be able to understand what is going on very quickly. This is mostly because there are pictures of everything one will see when installing the hardware and programs needed for the network. All installations are shown for Windows 98 and Windows XP, which might be a drawback for those using different operating systems, but truth be told most home computers have Windows XP installed. Personally, I really liked the tips, and the simple and amusing additions of the Geek Squad.
Home Networking Simplified is aimed at people who know nothing or very little about computers, with the first chapter being about how the computer is built and the next couple of chapters explaining how the Internet works and how to connect to it. Chapter 4 handles some tips from the Geek Squad. They answer the million dollar question with suggestions of what to do with those AOL CDs you get every other day in the mail. Chapter 5 talks about building your own network: all the items you may need, the costs of different types of devices, and whether you actually need the best ones. After making the home network, Chapter 6 gets on to sharing files between your home computers and keeping them off the Web.
Part III (Chapters 9–13) tells us how to make the home network wireless and how to keep it safe. The statistics show that most people do not even know the first step in making their wireless network safe, so Chapter 11 should be read by almost 60 percent of people who have networks, since that is about the amount of people who have their networks wide open. Part III also covers the case of connecting to public wireless networks and hotspots.
Part IV (Chapters 14–18) handles everything about safety in the Internet: viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware/adware, popups — all you need to know about the enemy is here; all that, and how and why to protect yourself. There is also quite a bit of information on parental control, from keeping all the bad things on the Internet away from your children to checking on what your kids are doing when they are on the Internet. At the end of this part there is a nice checklist that helps you to remember what you still need to do regarding safety.
Part V (Chapters 19–24) gives advice on what one can do with the Internet and home network once it is made. Wireless printers, video surveillance, Internet phone service, online gaming; that is what the reader will find here.
Through all the chapters you can find lots of interesting information, but it also makes the reading longer. This is not a book for someone who just wants a network quickly done, but for those who want to understand everything that happens in every step they take through the book in building and protecting a home network. However, for those who want the network done quickly, all the pictures should be sufficient.