The Airsoft Question and Answer Book is intended for anyone who wants some basic information about airsoft and airsoft game playing. Simply put, airsoft is a shooting sport that makes use of guns that fire 6mm plastic BBs and are replicas of real pistols and rifles. Airsoft guns can be powered by a spring, by gas, or by batteries and shoot BBs at speeds from 100 fps (feet per second) up to 500 fps or more. Why are airsoft guns becoming so popular? Some people collect them because they're almost exact replicas of real firearms while others buy them because airsoft guns provide a safe, inexpensive way to practice shooting skills at home with a weapon that's virtually identical to an actual firearm. However, more and more people of all ages are buying airsoft guns and equipment in order to take part in airsoft game playing. Airsoft games are generally military simulations played by two or more teams and take place either indoors (referred to as CQB or Close Quarter Battle games) or outdoors (referred to as "woodland" games). Who exactly plays airsoft games and why do they do it? Many law enforcement agencies and military units carry out airsoft exercises as an economical and effective training option, but the vast majority of games are played by people like you and me. If you go to a typical airsoft match you're liable to see players ranging in age from 14 or 15 to 50 or older, both men and women. Accountants, sales people, students, construction workers, soldiers and ex-soldiers -- players come from all walks of life. They play because of the camaraderie, the chance to practice military skills, the opportunity to get some exercise and have fun at the same time, and for the challenge of working out tactics to defeat their opponents. So, whether you're interested in collecting airsoft guns, using them to sharpen your shooting skills or thinking about joining a team, here's a chance to learn some of the basics of airsoft.

Take a proactive approach to enterprise network security by implementing preventive measures against attacks before they occur. Written by a team of IT security specialists, this hands-on resource provides concrete steps you can take immediately as well as ongoing actions to ensure long-term security. Whether you're working on a Windows, UNIX, wireless, or mixed network, you'll get complete details on how to systematically harden your network from the ground up, as well as strategies for getting company-wide support for your security plan. With coverage of all major platforms and applications, this book is an essential security tool for on-the-job IT professionals. Features a four-part hardening methodology:

Do This Now!--Checklist of immediate steps to take to lockdown your system from further attack Take It From The Top--Systematic approach to hardening your enterprise from the top down, focusing on network, data, and software access, storage, and communications Once Is Never Enough!--Ongoing monitoring and assessment plan to keep your network secure, including patch management and auditing How to Succeed at Hardening Network Security--Strategies for getting budget approval, management buy-in, and employee cooperation for your security program

John Mallery is a Managing Consultant at BKD, LLP, and a veteran security specialist.

Jason Zann, CISSP, is an Information Security Consultant for DST Systems.

Patrick Kelly, CISSP, CCSE, MCSE, MCP+I, is an Information Assurance Engineer for ComGlobal Systems, Inc.

Paul Love, MS Network Security, CISSP, CISM, CISA, is a Security Manager with a large financial institution.

Wesley Noonan, MCSE, CCNA, CCDA, NNCSS, Security+, is aSenior Network Consultant for Collective Technologies, LLC.

Eric S. Seagren, CISSP, ISSAP, SCNP, CCNA, CNE, MCP+I, MCSE, is an IT architect, designing secure, scalable, and redundant networks.

Rob Kraft is the director of software development for KCX, Inc. Mark O'Neil is the CTO of Vordel and principal author of "Web Services Security."

Series Editor and author Roberta Bragg, CISSP, MCSE: Security, Security+, writes a column for Redmond Magazine and writes the weekly Security Watch newsletter. She is the author of "Hardening Windows Systems" and several other information security books.

"The proactive attitude towards implementing security, combined with the authors' time-tested methods, are sure to produce dramatic results!" --Dave Wreski, CEO, Guardian Digital & co-author of Linux Security HOWTO

Take a proactive approach to Enterprise Linux security by implementing preventive measures against attacks--before they occur. Written by a team of Linux security experts, this hands-on resource provides concrete steps you can take immediately as well as ongoing actions to ensure long-term security. Features include examples using Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 3.0, and Novell's SUSE Linux versions SLES8 and SLES9. Get complete details on how to systematically harden your network from the ground up, as well as strategies for getting company-wide support for your security plan.

Features a four-part hardening methodology: Do This Now!--Important steps to lockdown your system from further attack Take It From The Top--Systematic approach to hardening your enterprise from the top down, focusing on network access, software accessibility, data access, storage, and communications Once Is Never Enough!--Ongoing monitoring and assessment plan to keep your network secure, including patch management, auditing, and log file scanning How to Succeed at Hardening Your Linux Systems--Strategies for getting budget approval, management buy-in, and employee cooperation for your security program

John H. Terpstra is co-founder of the Samba Team and serves on the Linux Standards Base. He previously worked as VP of Technology for Caldera, and VP of Development for Turbolinux. Paul Love, CISSP, CISA, CISM, Security+, is technical editor for more than 10 best selling Linux and Unix books. Hemanages security at a large utilities service provider, and holds an MS in Network Security. Ronald P. Reck's experience blends linguistics, NLP, and XML with UNIX systems. As a civilian contractor, he tackles large computational problems for distinguished clientele. Tim Scanlon recently worked on computer security for the 2004 Olympic Games. He has been a Common Criteria instructor, and has worked at MCI, TRW, Signal Corporation, and Inter.Net Global. He has worked in the public sector and with Mitre and Mitretek. Series Editor Roberta Bragg, CISSP, Security+, writes a column for the Security Watch newsletter, and is the author of Hardening Windows Systems and several other information security books.