Spyware

Spyware :- Spyware utilities are the malicious programs that spy on the activities of victim, and covertly pass on the recorded information to the attacker without the victim's consent. Most spyware utilities monitor and record the victim's internet-surfing habits. Typically, a spyware tool is built into a host .exe file or utility. If a victim downloads and executes an infected .exe file, then the spyware becomes active on the victim's system.
Spyware tools can be hidden both in .exe files an even ordinary cookie files.
Most spyware tools are created and released on the internet with the aim of collecting useful information about a large number of Internet users for marketing and advertising purposes. On many occasions, attacker also use spyware tools for corporate espionage and spying purposes.

Keylogger

Keylogger :- Keyloggers are the tools which enable attacker to record all the keystrokes made by victim and send it's logs secretly to the attacker's e-mail address which is previously set by him.

Almost all the Trojans have keylogging function.

Use of latest updated antirus-firewall, detect the presence of trojan and remove it permanently.

Sniffer

Sniffer :- Sniffers were originally developed as a tool for debugging/troubleshooting network problems.
The Ethernet based sniffer works with network interface card (NIC) to capture interprete and save the data packets sent across the network.
Sniffer can turn out to be quite dangerous. If an attacker manages to install a sniffer on your system or the router of your network, then all data including passwords, private messages, company secrets, etc. get captured.

Recommended  Tools
Snort	http://www.snort.org
Ethereal	http://www.ethereal.com

Telnet

Telnet :- Telnet is a program which runs on TCP/IP. Using it we can connect to the remote computer on particular port. When connected it grabs the daemon running on that port.
The basic syntax of Telnet is (at command prompt)--

c:/>telnet hostname.com

By default telnet connects to port 23 of remote computer.
So, the complete syntax is-

c:/>telnet www.hostname.com port

example:- c:/>telnet www.yahoo.com 21 or c:/>telnet 192.168.0.5 21

Netstat

Netstat :- It displays protocol statistics and current TCP/IP network connections. i.e. local address, remote address, port number, etc.
It's syntax is (at command prompt)--

c:/>netstat -n

Tracert

Tracert :- It is used to trace out the route taken by the certain information i.e. data packets from source to destination.
It's syntax is (at command prompt)--

c:/>tracert www.hostname.com

example:- c:/>tracert www.insecure.in

Here "*    *    *    Request timed out." indicates that firewall installed on that system block the request and hence we can't obtain it's IP address.

various attributes used with tracert command and their usage can be viewed by just typing c:/>tracert at the command prompt.

The information obtained by using tracert command can be further used to find out exact operating system running on target system.

Phishing

Phishing :- This is the most effective and easily executable password cracking technique which is generally used to crack the passwords of e-mail accounts, and all those accounts where secret information or sensitive personal information is stored by user such as social networking websites, matrimonial websites, etc.
Phishing is a technique in which the attacker creates the fake login screen and send it to the victim, hoping that the victim gets fooled into entering the account username and password. As soon as victim click on "enter" or "login" login button this information reaches to the attacker using scripts or online form processors while the user(victim) is redirected to home page of e-mail service provider.

Never give reply to the messages which are demanding for your username-password, urging to be e-mail service provider.

It is possible to try to obtain the passwords through other different methods, such as social engineering, wiretapping, keystroke logging, login spoofing, dumpster diving, phishing, shoulder surfing, timing attack, acoustic cryptanalysis, using a Trojan Horse or virus, identity management system attacks (such as abuse of Self-service password reset) and compromising host security.
However, cracking usually designates a guessing attack.

Brute Force

Brute Force :- If all other techniques failed, then attackers uses brute force password cracking technique. Here an automatic tool is used which tries all possible combinations of available keys on the keyboard. As soon as correct password is reached it displays on the screen.This techniques takes extremely long time to complete, but password will surely cracked.

Long is the password, large is the time taken to brute force it.

Default Passwords

Default Passwords :- A moderately high number of local and online applications have inbuilt default passwords that have been configured by programmers during development stages of software. There are lots of applications running on the internet on which default passwords are enabled. So, it is quite easy for an attacker to enter default password and gain access to sensitive information. A list containing default passwords of some of the most popular applications is available on the internet.

Always disable or change the applications' (both online and offline) default username-password pairs.

Guessing

Guessing :- Many passwords can be guessed either by humans or by sophisticated cracking programs armed with dictionaries (dictionary based) and the user's personal information.
Not surprisingly, many users choose weak passwords, usually one related to themselves in some way. Repeated research over some 40 years has demonstrated that around 40% of user-chosen passwords are readily guessable by programs. Examples of insecure choices include:
* blank (none)
* the word "password", "passcode", "admin" and their derivatives
* the user's name or login name
* the name of their significant other or another person (loved one)
* their birthplace or date of birth
* a pet's name
* a dictionary word in any language
* automobile licence plate number
* a row of letters from a standard keyboard layout (eg, the qwerty keyboard -- qwerty itself, asdf, or qwertyuiop)
* a simple modification of one of the preceding, such as suffixing a digit or reversing the order of the letters.
and so on....
In one survery of MySpace passwords which had been phished, 3.8 percent of passwords were a single word found in a dictionary, and another 12 percent were a word plus a final digit; two-thirds of the time that digit was.

A password containing both uppercase &  lowercase characters, numbers and special characters too; is a strong password and can never be guessed.

Check Your Password Strength

Hashing

Hashing :- Here we will refer to the one way function (which may be either an encryption function or cryptographic hash) employed as a hash and its output as a hashed password.
If a system uses a reversible function to obscure stored passwords, exploiting that weakness can recover even 'well-chosen' passwords.
One example is the LM hash that Microsoft Windows uses by default to store user passwords that are less than 15 characters in length.
LM hash breaks the password into two 7-character fields which are then hashed separately, allowing each half to be attacked separately.

Hash functions like SHA-512, SHA-1, and MD5 are considered impossible to invert when used correctly.

OS Fingerprinting

OS Fingerprinting :- OS Fingerprinting refers to detection of target computer's operating system.
Since, different operating system responds differently to the same kind of ICMP message, it is very important for an attacker to determine the exact operating system running on target system.
Also attacker can carry out attacks by taking over the vulnerabilities/bugs found in that particular operating system.
There are four areas that we will look at to determine the operating system (however there are other signatures that can be used). These signatures are:

1) TTL - What the operating system sets the Time To Live on the outbound packet.
2) Window Size - What the operating system sets the Window Size at.
3) DF - Does the operating system set the Don't Fragment bit.
4) TOS - Does the operating system set the Type of Service, and if so, at what.

There are two different types of OS Fingerprinting technique -

1) Active OS Fingerprinting :- Remote active operating system fingerprinting is the process of actively determining a targeted network node’s underlying operating system by probing the
targeted system with several packets and examining the response(s), or lack thereof, received? The traditional approach is to examine the TCP/IP stack behavior (IP, TCP, UDP, and ICMP protocols) of a targeted network element when probed with several legitimate and/or malformed packets.


2) Passive OS Fingerprinting :-Passive fingerprinting is based on sniffer traces from the remote system. Instead of actively querying the remote system, all you need to do is capture packets sent from the remote system. Based on the sniffer traces of these packets, you can determine the operating system of the remote host. Just like in active fingerprinting, passive fingerprinting is
based on the principle that every operating system's IP stack has its own idiosyncrasies. By analyzing sniffer traces and identifying these differences, you may be able determine the operating system of the remote host.

Port Scanning

Port Scanning :- Port scanning is carried out to determine a list of open ports on the remote host that have certain services or daemons running. In port scanning, the attacker connects to various TCP and UDP ports and tries to determine which ports are in listening mode.

1) TCP Ports Scanning :- Almost all port scans are based on the client sending a packet containing a particular flag to the target port of the remote system to determine whether the port is open. Following table lists the type of flags a TCP packet header can contain.

Flag	Meaning
URG (urgent)	This flag tells the receiver that the data pointed at by the urgent pointer required urgently.
ACK (acknowledgment)	This flag is turned on whenever sender wants to acknowledge the receipt of all data send by the receiving end.
PSH (push)	The data must be passed on to the application as soon as possible.
RST (reset)	There has been a problem with the connection and one wants to reset the connection with another.
SYN (synchronize)	If system X wants to establish TCP connection with system Y, then it sends it's own sequence number to Y, requesting that a connection be established. Such apacket is known as synchronize sequence numbers or SYN packet.
FIN (finish)	If system X has finished sending all data packets and wants to end the TCP/IP connection that it has established with Y, then it sends a packet with a FIN flag to system Y.

A typical TCP/IP three way handshake can be described as follows :
1) The client sends a SYN packet to the server.
2) The server replies with a SYN packet and acknowledges the client's SYN packet by sending an ACK packet.
3) The client acknowledges the SYN sent by the server.

Different techniques of TCP port scanning are :-
1) TCP connect port scanning
2) TCP SYN scanning (half open scanning)
3) SYN/ACK scanning
4) TCP FIN scanning
5) TCP NULL scanning
6) TCP Xmas tree scanning

2) UDP Ports Scanning :- In UDP port scanning, aUDP packet is sent to each port on the target host one by one.
If the remote port is closed, then the server replies with a Port Unreachable ICMP error message. If the port is open then no such error message is generated.

3) FTP Bounce Port Scanning :- The FTP bounce port scanning technique was discovered by Hobbit. He revealed a very interesting loophole in the FTP protocol that allowed users connected to the FTP service of a particular system to connect to any port of another system. This loophole allows anonymous port scanning.

Ping

Ping :- Ping is part of ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) which is used to troubleshoot TCP/IP networks. So, Ping is basically a command that allows you to check whether the host is alive or not.
To ping a particular host the syntax is (at command prompt)--

c:/>ping hostname.com

example:- c:/>ping www.google.com

Various attributes used with 'Ping' command and their usage can be viewed by just typing c:/>ping at the command prompt.

Trojan

Trojan :- Trojan is a Remote Administration Tool (RAT) which enable attacker to execute various software and hardware instructions on the target system.

Most trojans consist of two parts -
a) The Server Part :- It has to be installed on the the victim's computer.
b) The Client Part :- It is installed on attacker's system. This part gives attacker complete control over target computer.

Netbus, Girlfriend, sub7, Beast, Back Orifice are some of the popular trojans.

Increase your broadband speed

A Simple Tweak (XP Pro only) which will increase your Broadband Speed.

Make sure you Log on as Administrator, not as a user with Administrator privileges.

Follow the steps as given below-

1) Click on Start Button.

2) Select Run From Start Menu.

3) Type gpedit.msc

4) Expand the [Administrative Templates] branch.

5) Then Expand the [Network] branch.

6) Highlight(Select by Single Click) [QoS Packet Scheduler]

7) Double-click [Limit Reservable Bandwidth] (Available in Right Side Panel)

8) Check(Select By Single Click on it) [Enabled]

9) Change [Bandwidth limit %] to 0 %

10) Click [OK] Button.

11) Restart Your PC.

12) Now Check Your Broadband Speed

Reveal *****secret

Want to Reveal the Passwords Hidden Behind Asterisk (****) ?


Follow the steps given below-


1) Open the Login Page of any website. (eg. http://mail.yahoo.com) 


2) Type your 'Username' and 'Password'.


3) Copy and paste the JavaScript code given below into your browser's address bar and press 'Enter'.

javascript: alert(document.getElementById('Passwd').value);

4) As soon as you press 'Enter', A window pops up showing Password typed by you..!




Note :- This trick may not be working with firefox.