Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: THE book on virus/worm research - period
Comment: Peter has written an _excellent_ book. Bought it to kill some time while waiting on SJC airport. Got to Chapter 9 in three hours - couldn't put it down :)
Only caveat: some example dissasemblies are (intentionally?) not very clear - and the constant references to previous editions of Virus Bulletin get a little tiresome.
Customer Rating:
Summary: This is THE Computer Virus Book.
Comment: 'The Art of Computer Virus Research and Defense' by Peter Szor is THE book i have been waiting for years.
It's very well written, very technical and full of history references allowing the reader to do further research. Unlike many books i have seen , this one can be read even if you have like me, analysed many computer viruses in the past.
The book is made up of two parts:
'STRATEGIES OF THE ATTACKER' and 'STRATEGIES OF THE DEFENDER'.
They cover everything you have ever wanted to read about virus, from Boot Sector to Polymorphic and Metamorphic viruses, Entry Point Obscuring techniques, Generic detections, CPU Emulation and Sandboxing, Kernel Mode Memory Scanning, Exploitation Techniques of Computer Worms and MUCH more!(the list is way too long!).
16 Chapters and almost 700 pages to discover the state of the art of computer virus research. This book is a must read as there is simply NO book that can compete with it.
I highly recommend it!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Maybe the best that is out there on the subject
Comment: However, I wish for more. I was very hopeful but nevertheless was disappointed by the failure to include example code. This book could best be described as a taxonomy of various characteristics of computer viruses. This book is not intended to inspire the reader to appreciate computer viruses. However, the book did introduce me to a computer game called corewars that has attracted a following of very interesting computer users that appreciate computer viruses .
Customer Rating:
Summary: A must-read for techies interested in computer viruses...
Comment: For anyone interested in how computer viruses work from a technical perspective, as well as how anti-virus programs defend against them, you have to get a copy of The Art of Computer Virus Research and Defense by Peter Szor. There is no book out there that approaches it.
Chapter List:
Part 1 - Strategies of the Attacker: Introduction to the Games of Nature; The Fascination of Malicious Code Analysis; Malicious Code Environments; Classification of Infection Strategies; Classification of In-Memory Strategies; Basic Self-Protection Strategies; Advanced Code Evolution Techniques and Computer Virus Generator Kits; Classification According to Payload; Strategies of Computer Worms; Exploits, Vulnerabilities, and Buffer Overflow Attacks
Part 2 - Strategies of the Defender: Antivirus Defense Techniques; Memory Scanning and Disinfection; Worm-Blocking Techniques and Host-Based Intrusion Prevention; Network-Level Defense Strategies; Malicious Code Analysis Techniques; Conclusion; Index
Szor is a chief researcher with Symantec, and he's been involved in the field of virus research for over 15 years. This is what he lives and breathes. In this book, you'll get a history lesson of how viruses have evolved from their early days as DOS programs up through the latest attacks plaguing us today. But instead of just a narrative of how viruses work, he goes in depth with technical details involving interrupts and intercepts, how viruses hide in files, and so much more. Once you have the entire picture of how virus code works, he switches to the topic of defense. You quickly realize that the people who write code to fight viruses are quite incredible. There are so many obstacles they are up against, it's amazing that they can do such a great job at the task.
When you're done with this book, you'll have all the tools you need in order to start fighting the virus battle yourself. Even if you're not interested in the technical details, you'll still come away with a much greater appreciation of what it takes to fight the ongoing war to keep your computer up and running without infection. This is a must-read book for anyone interested in the topic matter...
Customer Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended for anyone interested in computer viruses
Comment: I work at a viruslab and handle viruses every day. I can genuinely recommend this book for anybody working with data security. This is a very good and very thorough book: the complete reference guide to all aspects of computer virus research.
Peter's book is well written, entertaining, very technical and even controversial at places. It is the best book on viruses I've seen.
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