Null Byte How-Tos

How To: Write Your Own Bash Script to Automate Recon

Automation has been a buzz word for quite some time now, but the principles behind it are as strong as ever. For a hacker or pentester, Bash scripting is one form of automation that cannot be ignored. Virtually any command that can be run from the terminal can be scripted — and should be, in many cases — to save valuable time and effort. And a Bash script just happens to be great for recon.

How To: Lock Down Your DNS with a Pi-Hole to Avoid Trackers, Phishing Sites & More

The Pi-hole project is a popular DNS-level ad blocker, but it can be much more than that. Its DNS-level filtering can also be used as a firewall of sorts to prevent malicious websites from resolving, as well as to keep privacy-killing trackers such as Google Analytics from ever loading in the browser. Let's take a look at setting a Pi-hole up and customizing a blacklist to suit your needs.

How To: Prep for a Lucrative Project Management Career with These Courses

More and more tech-savvy leaders are flocking to the lucrative and exciting world of project management thanks to the high-pay, analytical environment, and nearly unparalleled flexibility. But this means that competition for the best positions in this dynamic field is fierce. If you want to stand out from the crowd, you're going to need to have more than a few base-level certifications on your résumé.

How To: Python 2 vs. Python 3 — Important Differences Every Hacker Should Know

Python is commonly touted as one of the best programming languages for beginners to learn, and its straightforward syntax and functionality makes that hard to argue with. But a lot of tutorials still use Python 2, which is outdated now. Python 3 introduces many new features, and it's important to be aware of them going forward, as well as the key differences between Python 3 and its predecessor.

How To: Climb to the Top Spot on Google's Search Results with This SEO Tool

Few things are more important than search engine optimization when it comes to increasing a brand's visibility online. Regardless of whether you're launching a new business from scratch or working as a marketing professional at a major corporation, you need to ensure that you're drawing the most people to your website and affiliate links by utilizing the latest and most powerful SEO tools and methods.

How To: Find OSINT Data on License Plate Numbers with Skiptracer

While conducting an OSINT investigation, it's important to be able to pull in information based on any clue you uncover. In particular, license plate information can turn up everywhere, from photos to live data to on your own street. You could use that data to find the VIN, see if a Tinder date has hit anyone, find out who's blocking your driveway, and so on. Skiptracer can help get the ball rolling.

How To: Audit Web Applications & Servers with Tishna

Penetration-testing frameworks can be incredibly useful since they often streamline certain processes and save time by having a lot of tools available in one place. Of course, the most popular pentesting framework is undoubtedly Metasploit, but there are many others out there that cater to particular needs. For auditing web applications and servers, Tishna comes in handy.

How To: Learn How to Play the Market with This Data-Driven Trading Bundle

If you're reading this, you're likely a tech-savvy coding pro whose analytical talents are mostly applied to designing apps, cracking passwords, and infiltrating networks — all of which are admirable activities for both aspiring and seasoned white hat hackers. But there are other profitable ways that you can put these types of skills to use, namely in the world of investment and trading.

How To: Get Started with Kali Linux in 2020

Kali Linux has come a long way since its BackTrack days, and it's still widely considered the ultimate Linux distribution for penetration testing. The system has undergone quite the transformation since its old days and includes an updated look, improved performance, and some significant changes to how it's used.

How To: Gather Information on PostgreSQL Databases with Metasploit

Attacks against databases have become one of the most popular and lucrative activities for hackers recently. New data breaches seem to be popping up every week, but even with all of that attention, databases continue to be a prime target. All of these attacks have to start somewhere, and we'll be exploring a variety of methods to gather information on PostgreSQL databases with Metasploit.

How To: Expand Your Analytical & Payload-Building Skill Set with This In-Depth Excel Training

It's nearly impossible not to be at least somewhat familiar with Microsoft Excel. While it's needed for many office jobs and data analysis fields, hackers could also benefit from improving their spreadsheet skills. Many white hats already know some of the essential Excel hacks, such as cracking password-protected spreadsheets, but there's so much more to know from an attack standpoint.

How To: Find & Exploit SUID Binaries with SUID3NUM

File permissions can get tricky on Linux and can be a valuable avenue of attack during privilege escalation if things aren't configured correctly. SUID binaries can often be an easy path to root, but sifting through all of the defaults can be a massive waste of time. Luckily, there's a simple script that can sort things out for us.

How To: Learn to Code Your Own Games with This Hands-on Bundle

We've shared a capture-the-flag game for grabbing handshakes and cracking passwords for Wi-Fi, and there are some upcoming CTF games we plan on sharing for other Wi-Fi hacks and even a dead-drop game. While security-minded activities and war games are excellent ways to improve your hacking skills, coding a real video game is also an excellent exercise for improving your programming abilities.

How To: Change a Phone's Coordinates by Spoofing Wi-Fi Geolocation Hotspots

In many urban areas, GPS doesn't work well. Buildings reflect GPS signals on themselves to create a confusing mess for phones to sort out. As a result, most modern devices determine their location using a blend of techniques, including nearby Wi-Fi networks. By using SkyLift to create fake networks known to be in other areas, we can manipulate where a device thinks it is with an ESP8266 microcontroller.

How To: Fix Bidirectional Copy/Paste Issues for Kali Linux Running in VirtualBox

Last week, I updated VirtualBox on my computer since I had skipped a few versions, then I could no longer copy text or paste text from my Kali virtual machine to my host OS and vice versa. Installing the Guest Additions didn't seem to do anything, and the bidirectional shared clipboard was enabled, but there was one thing that did work for me that may help you out too if you experience the issue.