Hardening Apache - A Chat with The Author

[sukishan]

A Chat with The Author
Tony Mobily, who previously authored Professional Apache Security for the now defunct Wrox Press, knows his Apache. This resident of Western Australia started out to become a programmer, describing his early work as that of a 'wanna-be' hack.

"At the beginning, I guess I was a bit of a 'script kiddie' (I was young and I used pre-made exploits!); but then, thanks to my programming skills, I managed to dig in deeper into this amazing field, and I became more aware of the underlying techniques and problems. Maybe, it was then that I became a real 'hacker' -- if I can say I am one," Mobily told SitePoint.

However, he soon came to realize his strengths were in systems administration, and cut his teeth on IBM's AIX and Linux. As the Internet emerged, he jumped on for the ride and decided that 'Net security was his game.

When asked what inspired him to pen Hardening Apache, Mobily's answer reveals his passions about the subject.

"Somebody had to do it, but nobody seemed to be doing it right, nor did it look like they would in the near future. For example, if you look at PHP, you can probably find around 35 books. 15 of them are complete rubbish. 10 of them are quire readable. 8 of them are very well done. 2 of them are true gems -- well thought, written, edited, and published," he said.

"For Apache security, this wasn't going to happen, and my goal was to write -- well, a 'very well written book'. The first attempt, with [Wrox], wasn't a great success. I was only part of a team, and many people said that the book didn't work because it was too fragmented. With Hardening Apache, I wanted to get it right. And I believe I did."