Null Byte Features
How To: Play Wi-Fi Hacking Games Using Microcontrollers to Practice Wi-Fi Attacks Legally
ESP8266-based microcontrollers can be used to create exciting and legal Wi-Fi hacking games to test your or your friends' Wi-Fi hacking skills.
How To: Use Cerberus to Take Control of Anyone's Android Phone
If you need to hack an Android device, try a remote administration tool. Known more familiarly as a RAT, there are open-source RATs that are barebones and exorbitantly priced RATs that are more polished. There are also low-cost and polished RATs that aren't intended to be RATs at all, such as Cerberus, an anti-theft solution available right on Google Play.
How To: Make a Fake Identity
Inspiration for tutorial: Foxtrot's "How to Trap a Tracker"
How To: Use Metasploit's Timestomp to Modify File Attributes & Avoid Detection
It is said that the best way to avoid detection when hacking is to leave no trace, and often that means not touching the filesystem at all. But realistically, in most cases, it's impossible not to interact with the filesystem in one way or another. The next best thing to do to throw off any investigators is to change the file attributes to hide activity. We can do this with Metasploit's Timestomp.
Rainbow Tables: How to Create & Use Them to Crack Passwords
More password cracking action from Null Byte! Today we aren't going to be cracking passwords per se, rather, we are going to learn the basics of generating rainbow tables and how to use them. First, let's go over how passwords are stored and recovered.
How To: Identify Web Application Firewalls with Wafw00f & Nmap
Web application firewalls are one of the strongest defenses a web app has, but they can be vulnerable if the firewall version used is known to an attacker. Understanding which firewall a target is using can be the first step to a hacker discovering how to get past it — and what defenses are in place on a target. And the tools Wafw00f and Nmap make fingerprinting firewalls easy.
Mac for Hackers: How to Install Kali Linux as a Virtual Machine
We're nearly done getting our Mac set up for hacking. If you haven't checked out previous tutorials, I'd recommend you do so first before diving right into this one.
News: Hack Your Computer's BIOS to Unlock Hidden Settings, Overclocking & More
Your BIOS, or Basic Input Output System, is the firmware on your motherboard responsible for initializing your computer's hardware when it is first powered on. It probes for video adapters, RAM, the whole works. The BIOS provides a small library of basic input/output functions used to operate and control the peripherals such as the keyboard, text display functions and so forth, and these software library functions are callable by external software such as the OS and system software within sai...
Hack Like a Pro: How to Extract Email Addresses from an SMTP Server
Welcome back, my budding hackers!
How To: GPU Accelerate Cracking Passwords with Hashcat
How to Crack Passwords Faster by Putting Your GPU to Work with HashcatSecurity on the internet is always changing. Not too long ago, having a 10 character password meant that you were safe from all forms of hash cracking. Hash cracking is when you take a string of characters that have been passed through a cryptographic hash and try to reverse them. The normal processors that are housed inside of our computer cases are general purpose. The processors are not meant for handling complex math an...
Hack Like a Pro: How to Embed a Backdoor Connection in an Innocent-Looking PDF
Welcome back , my fledgling hackers! Lately, I've been focusing more on client-side hacks. While web servers, database servers, and file servers have garnered increased protection, the client-side remains extremely vulnerable, and there is much to teach. This time, we'll look at inserting a listener (rootkit) inside a PDF file, exploiting a vulnerability in Adobe's Reader.
How To: Map Wardriving Data with Jupyter Notebook
With the Wigle WiFi app running on an Android phone, a hacker can discover and map any nearby network, including those created by printers and other insecure devices. The default tools to analyze the resulting data can fall short of what a hacker needs, but by importing wardriving data into Jupyter Notebook, we can map all Wi-Fi devices we encounter and slice through the data with ease.
How To: Exploit Routers on an Unrooted Android Phone
RouterSploit is a powerful exploit framework similar to Metasploit, working to quickly identify and exploit common vulnerabilities in routers. And guess what. It can be run on most Android devices.
How To: Discover & Attack Services on Web Apps or Networks with Sparta
Automating port scanners, directory crawlers, and reconnaissance tools can be complicated for beginners just getting started with Kali Linux. Sparta solves this problem with an easy-to-use graphical interface designed to simplify a penetration tester's tasks.
Hack Like a Pro: How to Build Your Own Exploits, Part 3 (Fuzzing with Spike to Find Overflows)
Welcome back, my hacker novitiates! In the previous two posts in this series, we looked at the basics of buffer overflows. In this post, we will look at one technique for finding buffer overflows. We will try to send random, oversized, and invalid data at a variable to see whether we can make it crash or overflow. This process is known as fuzzing. It is often the first step to developing an exploit, as we need to find some variable that is susceptible to overflowing.
Hack Like a Pro: Linux Basics for the Aspiring Hacker, Part 2 (Creating Directories & Files)
In my first tutorial on Linux basics, I discussed the importance of hackers using Linux and the structure of the directory system. We also looked briefly at the cd command. In this second Linux guide, I'll spend a bit more time with changing directories, listing directories, creating files and directories, and finally, getting help. Let's open up BackTrack and getting started learning more Linux for the aspiring hacker.
How To: Use Photon Scanner to Scrape Web OSINT Data
Gathering information on an online target can be a time-consuming activity, especially if you only need specific pieces of information about a target with a lot of subdomains. We can use a web crawler designed for OSINT called Photon to do the heavy lifting, sifting through URLs on our behalf to retrieve information of value to a hacker.
How To: Inject Keystrokes into Logitech Keyboards with an nRF24LU1+ Transceiver
MouseJack vulnerabilities were disclosed over three years ago. Some wireless keyboard manufacturers have since issued firmware updates, but millions (if not billions) of keyboards remain unpatched worldwide, either because they can't be updated or because the manufacturer never bothered to issue one.
How to Hack Databases: Hacking MySQL Online Databases with Sqlmap
Welcome back, my amateur hackers!
Hack Like a Pro: Metasploit for the Aspiring Hacker, Part 7 (Autopwn)
Welcome back, my novice hackers! In this continuing series on Metasploit basics, let's next look at a module that many aspiring hackers find useful—autopwn.
Exploit Development: How to Manipulate Code Execution with the Instruction Pointer
The one thing that separates a script kiddy from a legitimate hacker or security professional is the ability to program. Script kiddies use other people's tools, while hackers and security pros write their own tools. To that end, we're going to see how a stack overflow vulnerability allows us to flood a variable with enough input to overwrite the instruction pointer with our own commands.
Hack Like a Pro: How to Kill and Disable Antivirus Software on a Remote PC
Welcome back, my tenderfoot hackers! In some of my past articles, I've shown numerous ways of embedding a listener/rootkit on a remote system, including buffer overflows of the operating system, getting the victim to click on a link to our malicious website, and sending a malicious Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat file.
How To: Use a Virtual Burner Phone to Protect Your Identity & Security
Every time you make a call or send a text, you're giving the recipient your phone number. This can be quite the security vulnerability, opening yourself up to scammers, spammers, and the feds. In this how-to, we'll look at what a burner phone is, why you might want one, and how to get started using a free second phone number on your regular smartphone.
BT Recon: How to Snoop on Bluetooth Devices Using Kali Linux
While many people may use Bluetooth every day, the majority don't know how it works or that it can be hacked. Bluetooth hacking gives a clear window into the world of the target. Nearly every device has Bluetooth capabilities, and people store a great deal of personal info on their phones and tablets. Hack their Bluetooth connection, and you may be able to access all of that data.
How To: Gain SSH Access to Servers by Brute-Forcing Credentials
SSH is one of the most common protocols in use in modern IT infrastructures, and because of this, it can be a valuable attack vector for hackers. One of the most reliable ways to gain SSH access to servers is by brute-forcing credentials. There are a few methods of performing an SSH brute-force attack that will ultimately lead to the discovery of valid login credentials.
How to Hack Wi-Fi: Stealing Wi-Fi Passwords with an Evil Twin Attack
While Wi-Fi networks can be set up by smart IT people, that doesn't mean the users of the system are similarly tech-savvy. We'll demonstrate how an evil twin attack can steal Wi-Fi passwords by kicking a user off their trusted network while creating a nearly identical fake one. This forces the victim to connect to the fake network and supply the Wi-Fi password to regain internet access.
How To: Use SQL Injection to Run OS Commands & Get a Shell
One of the ultimate goals in hacking is the ability to obtain shells in order to run system commands and own a target or network. SQL injection is typically only associated with databases and their data, but it can actually be used as a vector to gain a command shell. As a lesson, we'll be exploiting a simple SQL injection flaw to execute commands and ultimately get a reverse shell on the server.
How To: Brute-Force Nearly Any Website Login with Hatch
The tactic of brute-forcing a login, i.e., trying many passwords very quickly until the correct one is discovered, can be easy for services like SSH or Telnet. For something like a website login page, we must identify different elements of the page first. Thanks to a Python tool for brute-forcing websites called Hatch, this process has been simplified to the point that even a beginner can try it.
Tutorial: Create Wordlists with Crunch
Greetings all. Before I get into the tutorial, I would like to mention that I am fairly new to Null Byte (been lurking for some time though), and what really appeals to me about this place is its tight, family-like community where everyone is always willing to help each other and the constant search for knowledge that inhabits this subdomain is a driving motivator for me to join in. I'm glad I arrived at the right time. Anyway, wipes tears (not really)...
How To: Use Ettercap to Intercept Passwords with ARP Spoofing
ARP spoofing is an attack against an Ethernet or Wi-Fi network to get between the router and the target user. In an ARP-spoofing attack, messages meant for the target are sent to the attacker instead, allowing the attacker to spy on, deny service to, or man-in-the-middle a target. One of the most popular tools for performing this attack is Ettercap, which comes preinstalled on Kali Linux.
How To: Find Passwords in Exposed Log Files with Google Dorks
You may not have thought of dorks as powerful, but with the right dorks, you can hack devices just by Googling the password to log in. Because Google is fantastic at indexing everything connected to the internet, it's possible to find files that are exposed accidentally and contain critical information for anyone to see.
How To: Create Custom Wordlists for Password Cracking Using the Mentalist
Beginners learning brute-forcing attacks against WPA handshakes are often let down by the limitations of default wordlists like RockYou based on stolen passwords. The science of brute-forcing goes beyond using these default lists, allowing us to be more efficient by making customized wordlists. Using the Mentalist, we can generate millions of likely passwords based on details about the target.
How To: Write an XSS Cookie Stealer in JavaScript to Steal Passwords
JavaScript is one of the most common languages used on the web. It can automate and animate website components, manage website content, and carry out many other useful functions from within a webpage. The scripting language also has many functions which can be used for malicious purposes, including stealing a user's cookies containing passwords and other information.
How to Hack Wi-Fi: Get Anyone's Wi-Fi Password Without Cracking Using Wifiphisher
While password cracking and WPS setup PIN attacks get a lot of attention, social engineering attacks are by far the fastest way of obtaining a Wi-Fi password. One of the most potent Wi-Fi social engineering attacks is Wifiphisher, a tool that blocks the internet until desperate users enter the Wi-Fi password to enable a fake router firmware update.
How To: Run Kali Linux as a Windows Subsystem
Kali Linux is known as being the de facto penetration-testing Linux distribution but can be a pain to use as an everyday OS — even more of a pain if that means carrying around a second laptop or the constant frustration of using the finicky Wi-Fi on virtual machines. But there's another option: installing a Kali subsystem on your Windows computer as a convenient compromise.
How To: Hack Apache Tomcat via Malicious WAR File Upload
Web applications are a prime target for hackers, but sometimes it's not just the web apps themselves that are vulnerable. Web management interfaces should be scrutinized just as hard as the apps they manage, especially when they contain some sort of upload functionality. By exploiting a vulnerability in Apache Tomcat, a hacker can upload a backdoor and get a shell.
How To: Hack Android Using Kali (Remotely)
Hello Hackers! Welcome to my 2nd Post: This is a tutorial explaining how to hack android phones with Kali.
How To: Hack 5 GHz Wi-Fi Networks with an Alfa Wi-Fi Adapter
Wi-Fi networks come in two flavors: the more common 2.4 GHz used by most routers and IoT devices, and the 5 GHz one offered as an alternative by newer routers. While it can be frustrating to attack a device that moves out of reach to a 5 GHz Wi-Fi network, we can use an Alfa dual-band adapter to hack Wi-Fi devices on either type of network.
How To: Use Kismet to Watch Wi-Fi User Activity Through Walls
Your home has walls for privacy, but Wi-Fi signals passing through them and can be detected up to a mile away with a directional Wi-Fi antenna and a direct line of sight. An amazing amount of information can be learned from this data, including when residents come and go, the manufacturer of all nearby wireless devices, and what on the network is in use at any given time.
Hacking Windows 10: How to Dump NTLM Hashes & Crack Windows Passwords
Windows 10 passwords stored as NTLM hashes can be dumped and exfiltrated to an attacker's system in seconds. The hashes can be very easily brute-forced and cracked to reveal the passwords in plaintext using a combination of tools, including Mimikatz, ProcDump, John the Ripper, and Hashcat.