Customer Reviews
Not just a spy story... - By: S. Bentley, 12 May 2008 
So Cliff Stoll, astronomer, gets a job as a computer bod at Berkeley. He comes across a discrepancyin accounting of about 75 cents for computer time & when he investigates further he finds out that there is much more going on than meets the eye.
Written with a good sense of humour, this book cracks along, taking us through the various stages of Cliff's investigation, from what he was doing on a technical basis, to his encounters with the American Intelligence Services (yes, there's an obvious joke there), to his relationship with his girlfriend. Because he writes about his own low knowledge levels (being a novice techie at the time)this allows him to explain the concepts being dealt with, such as operating system stuff. Thus the book acts as a good primer for understanding networking & the nascent internet of the day, as well as how hackers would go about breaking into systems. (There's also a recipe for cookiesin there. Cliff is not one for forgetting the smaller thingsin life.)
I enjoyed it greatly. The information here is probably a bit outdated, but it's an intriguing story nonetheless.
Readable, but could be half the length - By: Joe 2316, 13 Dec 2006 
This is a book about an academic chasing a hackerin the days when this was a rare & for the most part, irrelevant actin the eyes of the FBI etc.
It's setin 1986, so expect references to old machines such as VAXes & BSD vs AT&T Unix etc - great for us old geeks, otherwise a bit obscure.
Cliff Stoll does a passable job at explaining hacking & the waysin which hackers exploit loopholes (amazingly, the principles apply today).
It's interesting to read about the evolution of networks & how some charactersin the book were spot onin predicting the future importance of the Internets size & social consequences.
Why only 3 stars? The book needs editing - Stoll uses the phrase "be serious" so much, it's irritating. It also manages to end each chapter with a hammy "but could I catch him?" or "as I was to find out" etc, like he was following some cheap writing course. The book could have been much briefer for a peppier story. An easy undemanding read.
Fantastic Book !!! - By: M. Rider, 04 May 2006 This is by far the best book I've ever read !!
Clifford Stoll starts out as a seemingly happless Astronomer & unfolds into a Spycatcher. It's well written, informative yet not too technical, & most importantly it's interesting.
Stoll had me hanging on to his every word...his amusing relationship with his girlfriend, the friendships made with Government agents.
This is a must read for anyone interestedin computers, hacking or anyone that just enjoys ready a good book!!
Mr Stoll...I salute you !!
Worked for me ... a real page turner! Got a lesson in the creation of the Internet to-boot! - By: J. Davies, 20 Apr 2006 This book manages to be two booksin one really: a brief history of the Internet, protocols involved, & computers of yore; & a thrilling story about one mans obsession to catch a computer hacker - Sventek.
A genuine fly-on-the-wall book as you follow Cliff through his meetings with middle-management, Police, FBI, CIA & NSA, plus a ever-growing collection of communication company techies. You are always left wanting to turn the page to see where the story will take you next.
My only gripe is that the story gets a little slow around the end third of the book & you can some-what be left thinking please just catch him!
Appropriately named - By: B. Chandler, 15 Jan 2006 A cuckoo bird will lay its eggin another birds nest letting that bird raise the offspring as her own.
I saw the TV program on this story before reading the book. Coming from a UNIX background it was fun to see a system I recognized. It could have been titled "The story of Ping" oops that title has been taken. I remember being billed for time on the computer & could only gain access at 2 AM. Many of these skills are now lost to people that do not have a shell account. I especially like how they kept the intruder on the line ling enough to track. The hunt was intriguing & it makes you wonder what is happening today. While this book deals with such things as passwords, the many new avenues created on today's Internet may afford for a newer mystery. Until then this is the classic.
A student managing the computer at Berkley notices an unusual charge to his account. He finds that someone is hacking before it was fashionable. To track down the culprit(s) he must first learn the tracking skills. This process isin its infancy so he even has to invent a few of the skills himself. The use of timing & knowledge of the speed of light allows for a good guess at the distance. The only way to go through the old timing switching stations was to hold the intruder on line ling enough. This required the creation of a dummy database with intriguing information.
Who’s is this mysterious intruder(s)?
Will they get caught?
What implications does it hold for us today?
