Virtual Private Networks For Dummies
Shockingly short on implementation details,Virtual Private Networks  for Dummiestries to craft a scattershot collection of facts and references  into an introduction to virtual private networks (VPNs). That's not to say that  this book is insubstantial, because it's not; probably, you'll learn something  about networking, cryptography, authentication infrastructures, and other  aspects of VPN engineering. Also, it's done a good job of compiling references  to VPN resources on the Internet, so you'll have plenty of surfing to do. But it  never explains how to build a VPN--or even the simplest laboratory simulation of  one--and that's precisely the kind of how-to information that buyers of this  book will want.True enough: every situation that calls for a VPN is different; and, if the book  had shown how to implement a VPN with one turnkey solution, users of the others  would complain. But even the narrowest example would have been better than some  of the stuff that fills these pages. At one point, the reader is walked through  the process of encoding and decoding a plain-text message--by hand--by using a  shared private key. Spare us, please. The book gives the vital Layer 2 Transport  Protocol all of two short paragraphs. Sections on public-key encryption and  digital certificates do a good job of unraveling perennially misunderstood  processes, but they don't offset the lack of details on VPN.--David  WallTopics covered:Aspects of virtual private networks (VPNs), organized to  get potential VPN implementers thinking about security and other design issues.  Specifically, Public-Key Infrastructure (PKI); digital certificates; turnkey VPN  packages; and a lot of general stuff about what VPNs are good for, and how to  design a good one.