VGRC, The Zangaroa Blog - Click Here to Return to the Home Page

Whenever there is a trend, there will always be somebody to spoof it. Such has been one of the mantras of culture jamming: Use parody as a form of critique. Abbie Hoffman went to his trial dressed up in judicial robes to poke fun at the judge. Sub Pop sales rep Megan Jasper once fed eager reporters from the New York Times the scoop on "Grunge Speak," that was only revealed as hoax after the newspaper printed an entire column on the topic. Or Trent Reznor's Strobe Light, a not-so-subtle critical take on Chris Cornell's latest solo album disaster with Timbaland. Well, Steal This Computer Book is kinda like that.

Quietly slipped into the section at your bookstore where they place all the "For Dummies" computer manuals and security books, Steal This Computer Book is, on the surface, a parody of the internet security frenzy, which, if you catch the hype-driven stories of "rogue computer hackers and e-terrorism" on the mainstream news media, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Steal This Computer Book delves not only into real-world security issues, but into the hacker mentality in general. Presented in the form of a technical manual, the book is divided into chapters, each discussing a specific topic, ranging from viruses and malware to filesharing to identity theft to con artists and much more. However, rather than approach these topics with a particular point of view, Wang describes them objectively in plain english so even some of the most novice users can get an idea of how things work. For example, when talking about trojan horses, Wang explains the basics of how they operate and how they get into your system, followed up with how they are created.

Once he is done explaining the "hows," then he gets into the "whys," which is where Steal This Computer Book veers into cultural heresy. Rather than place the blame for e-woes on the usual suspects (terrorists, Nigerians and bored children, though he doesn't rule them out) Wang wastes no time in pointing out to the reader that the government, so-called "reputable" businesses and the news media are just as guilty for "hacking" the public as those they blame. In fact, an entire chapter is devoted to media manipulation and propaganda, which can be blamed on anybody ranging from merry pranksters to politicians attempting to squash dissenting viewpoints to corporations trying to sell you something. In fact, Wang's disdain for corporate advertising is far from hidden, and something he goes into great detail about when discussing topics such as adware, click-fraud and search engine spam.

Steal This Computer Book is also laden with real-world examples of just what is possible. Wang delves into a brief history of hackers, from the phone phreakers of the 70's to the rudimentary virus writers of the early 90's, while detailing notable exploits and pranks... with incredible detail. Some might say Wang is glorifying illegal behavior, and it wouldn't be a far cry to claim that delinquent boys are using the books information as a resource for petty pranks. However, how can one combat a "hacker" if they don't know how the hacker operates?

The book concludes with a section on how to protect your computer... as well as your mind. In the conclusion, Wang summarizes his view on hacking as being nothing more than thinking beyond boundaries, which is neither inherently good or bad, and he backs it up with real-world examples of who is using hacking techniques to accomplish their goals, which can be activists fighting a corrupt government or fed-up systems administrators launching attacks on spammers, or it can be racist hate groups trying to spread a message of hate or a con artist trying to sucker you for all you've got. In a world such as this where you can't trust even the evening news to give you an unbiased report of what's going on, Wang makes it clear that you need to think and make objective judgments for yourself.

The technical aspect of Steal This Computer Book, though highly useful, is simply a setting. It's the importance of thinking for yourself that is the message.

- Purchase Steal This Computer Book 4.0 at Amazon.com