Jun 25, 2018 Posted in blog, Featured, Information Security, Linux, pen testing, Tools

Automating NMAP Scans

Why do I need automation ?

Security analysts just don’t have the time to always run manual tests. Let’s say I wanted to monitor my ports and services open on my external lab IP address. It is not feasible for me to run a scan at 3am every day for the rest of my life. Therefore, if I had a tool that could automatically run a scan, check to see if anything suspicious is found and can alert me if that is the case would be hugely beneficial. In my case, I have created a method to do this and it is a very simple and straight forward method that virtually any one can use!

How can I create a NMAP scanning server ?

Servers are pretty easy to put up whether it’s a Virtual Image that’s spun up on a bare box, desktop, or in the cloud. In my case a Linux Ubuntu Server was used. It has a firewall and is assigned an external public IP address. It then has the ability to scan my lab network public IP address to be able to identify any open ports/services. It’s a great way to gain some visibility into knowing if any new ports were opened that shouldn’t have been or were missed.

*WARNING* please be sure that the network you are scanning is your own, or that you have WRITTEN PERMISSION to scan the network you desire. Scanning networks where you have no written permission can lead to legal issues, so please be sure you have permission or ownership of a network before doing so.

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Mar 5, 2018 Posted in Information Security, Tutorial, Windows

Bypassing Windows Logon Passwords

Introduction

So I had a friend who had an old laptop sitting around collecting dust at home. He knew I was into computers and asked me if I wanted it. And you know a techie…. when someone throws out free hardware you just can’t complain or say no!!

However, he realized he did not remember his password, and wanted to see what files still were on the machine before he let me have it. He was sure he backed all files up awhile back when he got his new laptop. But, he wanted to be sure, and knowing I am a Security Analyst wondered if I could help him out. So, I went ahead and was able to obtain his password so he could login to delete or save any data he still wanted.

After I completed the task to recover the password, I decided it would make a great blog article to write about.

So here it is…… (more…)