Managing Directories & Files in Backtrack

Welcome back, my Dear friends !!
This is the third Post of my series on basic Linux skills that every hacker (not only ethical hacker but also all the hackers) should know. Although some hacking tools are available for Windows and Mac, every real hacker uses Linux—for good reason.
Make sure to check out Part 1 (Backtrack 5 basic for aspiring hacker) and Part 2 (creating directories files in backtrack ) of this series before continuing. That is help you tounderstand this clearly
In this Post/section or we’ll look at how to manage files and directories in Linux, namely copying, renaming, moving, and viewing. Then we’ll look a bit at networking and the ifconfig command.
Step 1 : Copying Files (Cp)
In my previous installment in this series, we created a file called newfile in the /pentest/wireless/aircrack-ng directory.

Let’s imagine that we need a copy of the file in our home directory, user root. We can do that by:

• bt > cp newfile /root

We simply tell Linux copy (cp) the newfile (in our current directory) to the directory of the root user (once again, don’t confuse this with the / directory). We don’t need to specify the directory that newfile is in, if it’s in our current working directory. The copy command makes a copy of the file specified and places it in the specified directory leaving the original untouched and unchanged, so we now have two copies of the original file.

You can see in the screenshot above that when we change directory (cd) to the root user and list the files (ls) that now a newfile copy appears in that directory.
What if we wanted to copy a file from a directory that wasn’t in our current working directory? In that case, we would need to specify a path to the directory, such as:

• bt > cp /etc/newfile /root

Also, note that we don’t need to specify the file name we’re copying it to. It simply makes a copy and gives it the same name as the original “newfile.”

Step 2 : Moving Files (Mv)
Unfortunately, Linux doesn’t have a rename command for renaming files, so most users use the move (mv) command to both move files and rename them. Let’s imagine now that we placed that newfile in the wrong directory and we really wanted it in the root (/) directory. We can use the move command to do so.

• bt > mv /root/newfile /

This command says, move the newfile from the root user directory to theroot (/) directory. The move command literally moves the file and does not leave a copy where the old one existed. Note that the newfile has moved to the root directory.
Sometimes, we want change the name of the file and not actually move it to a different location. The move command can be used for that also. We simply tell Linux to move the original file to a new file with a new name. Take for instance our newfile in the aircrack-ng directory. Let’s say that we want to rename that file to “crackedpasswords. We can simply type:

• bt > mv newfile crackedpasswords

Notice here that I did not use any directory paths because I was moving a file in my current working directory and to a file in my current working directory. If we run a directory listing now, we can see that newfile is gone andcrackedpasswords now exists in the aircrack-ng directory.
Step 3 : Viewing files(Cat,More,Less)
From the command line in the terminal, we can view the contents of files by using the cat command. cat is short for concatenate, which is a $20 word for putting together a bunch of pieces (we are putting together the words for display on the screen). Concatenate is a fancy word, but is used throughout computer science and information technology, so add it to your vocabulary.
Staying in the /pentest/wireless/aircrack-ng directory, let’s cat some files. First, let’s get a listing of files in this directory.

Notice in the screenshot above, there is a file called README. Often, software developers use this file to provide important notes to their users. This file can be critical, especially with hacking tools because most are open source and seldom have manuals. Let’s take a look at the contents of this file.

• bt > cat README

When you run this command, you’ll see lots of text running across your screen. Obviously, it goes by way too fast to read, but when its done, we could use the scroll button on the terminal to scroll up to read all the text. There is another way, though, that might be easier.
There are two commands that work similar to cat but don’t simply run the text across the screen until it hits the end of file. These are more and less. They are very similar, each only displaying one page of information on your screen until you prompt it to scroll down. Let’s try more first.

• bt > more README

As you can see, when I use more and the filename, it displays the file until the screen fills and waits for further instructions from me. If I hit enter, it will scroll down one line at a time, while if I hit the spacebar, it will scroll one page at a time.
Now let’s try the more powerful less (in some Linux circles, there is a saying “less is more”, meaning that less is more powerful than more).

• bt > less README

You can see that less followed by the filename, once again displays theREADME file until it fills up my terminal just like more. Though, note that lessdisplays the name of the file that I’m viewing in the lower left-hand corner. Probably more importantly, less has powerful text searching capabilities that are missing from more. I can search for text within this file by typing theforward slash followed by what I’m searching for and less will find it and highlight it for me.
That’s one of the primary reasons I prefer less.
Step 4 : Networking (ifconfig)
Before I finish this tutorial, I want to show you one last simple networking command, ifconfig. Those of you comfortable with Windows networking, know that you can use the ipconfig command in Windows to display key information on your networking configuration. ifconfig in Linux is very similar, with only one letter different. Let’s run ifconfig see what it tells us.

• bt >ifconfig

 

 As you can see, it displays much of the key info I need to know about the network configuration of my system including IP address, netmask, broadcast address, interfaces, MAC address of my interface, etc. We’ll spend some more time with networking in future Linux Posts.

Finding Files in Backtrack

Welcome back, my dear friends 
I began this series on Linux( Specialy backtrack) basics because several of you have expressed befuddlement at working with BackTrack on Linux. As a hacker, there is no substitute for Linux skills. not only a hacker but also a programmer Linux is the best 
Linux beginners are often faced with the issue of how to find files and programs, especially considering the radically different directory structure as compared to Windows  Mac OS. Beginners sometimes get frustrated trying to find the necessary files or binaries, so I’m dedicating this tutorial to finding stuff in Linux.
But Before we dive in, make sure to check out my previous guides on Linux basics

1. Basic of Backtrack
2. Creating Directories and files in Backtrack 
3. Managing Directories and files in Backtrack

to get current on our lessons. :) 

Step 1 : Finding Files in a Directory (Find)

The first command I want to show you is find. As you probably guessed, find is able to find stuff/ files  by looking in a directory for the file you’re hunting for. By default, it’s recursive, which means it will look in all sub-directories and display a list of everywhere it finds the file. For instance, if we are looking for aircrack-ng, we could type:

• bt> find -name aircrack-ng

 Note that we need to tell Linux that we want to search by name (-name) and then the name of the file we’re searching for.
It then returns the full path of every place where it finds aircrack-ng. We can be more specific and ask Linux to only tell us where it finds aircrack-ng in the /pentest directory. We can do this by typing:

• bt> find/pentest -name aircrack-ng

The command says the Backtrack that search the file in the name of aircrack-ng in the directory of pentest only ( that means it include all the sub-directories if pentest).
Now, backtrack/linux only returns those paths to files that are in the directory /pentest or its sub-directories, such as  /pentest /wireless /aircrack-ng and the others.

Step 2 : Finding Binaries in path Variables (Which) 

The next searching command we want to look at is which. This command allows us to search for binaries that are in our path variable. Hmm…even I think that’s a lot of techo-googlygoop. Let’s try to make some sense of it.
Binaries are the files that are the equivalent of executables in Windows. These are files that do something like echo, ls, cd, mv, etc. Our path variable is the variable that keeps the directory path to our binaries. Usually, our binaries are in the /bin (bin is short for binaries) or /sbin directory and that’s reflected in our path variable. Our path variable setting can be checked by asking Linux to echo the value in the variable. We do this by typing:

• bt> echo $PATH

Linux responds with the value in our path variable. These are the places that which will search for binaries. So when we type:

• bt> Which Is

It returns the path to that binary. If we use which to search for aircrack-ng:

• bt> Which aircrack-ng

Then we can see that Backtrack/Linux returns /usr/local/bin/aircrack-ng. If aircrack-ng were not in a directory that was in our path, it would not be able to help us.

Step 3 : Finding Any Files in Any Directory (Whereis)

Unlike which, whereis is not limited to finding binaries in our path. It can locate files in any directory, and in addition, it also locates the files manual or man pages. So, when we type:

• bt> whereis aircrack-ng

We can see that whereis returns the path to multiple locations of aircrack-ng including the man pages.

Step 4 : Finding Files Using the Database (Locate)

The locate command can also be used to find files and usually is much faster than either which or whereis. The difference is that locate uses a database of all the files in the file system and searches therefore take place much faster.
The drawback to locate is that new files will NOT be found by locate as the database is typically only updated daily, usually scheduled in the middle of the night when activity on the system is light as updating this database can be CPU intensive.

• locate aircrack-ng

You can see in the screenshot above that locate returns a path every time it encounters any file with aircrack-ng in it, binary or not.
Hope this helps you in finding what you need in BackTrack Linux, therefore making you a better hacker. Make sure to check out the first three parts of this series, and if you have any questions, ask away in the comments below.
Come back for my next backtrack/Linux tutorial, and we’ll look at how to install new software!

Backtrack 5 Basics for the aspiring hacker

Welcome back, my dear friends!

For those of you who've never used Linux (specially backtrack), I dedicate the next few posts (tutorials) on the basics of Linux with an emphasis on the skills you need for hacking. So, let's open up Backtrack. (To know the way of installing backtrack 5 click here )

Open a terminal  

To become proficient in Linux, you MUST master the terminal. Many things can be done now in the various Linux distributions by simply pointing and clicking, similar to Windows or Mac OS, but the expert hacker must know how to use the terminal to run most of the hacking tools.

So, let's open a terminal by clicking on the terminal icon on the bottom bar.

If you've ever used the command prompt in Windows, the Linux terminal is similar, but far more powerful. Unlike the Windows command prompt, you can do EVERYTHING in Linux from the terminal and control it more precisely than in Windows.

It's important to keep in mind that unlike Windows, Linux is case-sensitive. This means that "Sivarathan" is different from "sivarathan" which is different from "SIVARATHAN". Those who are new to Linux often find this challenging, so try to keep this in mind.

Examine the directory structure

Let's start with some basic Linux. Many beginners get tripped up by the structure of the file system in Linux. Unlike Windows, Linux's file system is not linked to a physical drive like in Windows, so we don't have a c:\ at the beginning of our Linux file system, but rather a /.

The forward slash (/) represents the "root" of the file system or the very top of the file system. All other directories (folders) are beneath this directory just like folders and sub-folders are beneath the c:\ drive.

To visualize the file system, let's take a look at this diagram below.

It's important to have a basic understanding of this file structure because often we need to navigate through it from the terminal without the use of a graphical tool like Windows Explorer.

A couple key things to note in this graphical representation:

• The /bin directory is where binaries are stored. These are the programs that make Linux run.
• /etc is generally where the configuration files are stored. In Linux, nearly everything is configured with a text file that is stored under /etc.
• /dev directory holds device files, similar to Windows device drivers.
• /var is generally where log files, among other files, are stored.

Using pwd

When we open a terminal in BackTrack, the default directory we're in is our "home" directory. As you can see from the graphic above, it's to the right of the "root" directory or one level "below" root. We can confirm what directory we are in by typing:

• bt > pwd

pwd stands for "present working directory" and as you can see, it returns "/root" meaning we're in the root users directory (don't confuse this with the top of the directory tree "root." This is the root users directory).

pwd is a handy command to remember as we can use it any time to tell us where we are in the directory tree.

Using cd command

We can change the directory we're working in by using the cd (change directory) command. In this case, let's navigate "up" to the top of the directory structure by typing:

• bt > cd ..

The cd command followed by the double dots (..) says, "move me up one level in the directory tree." Notice that our command prompt has changed and when we type pwd we see that Linux responds by telling us we are in the "/" or the top of the directory tree (or the root directory).

Using whoami Command 

In our last lesson of this tutorial, we'll use the whoami command. This command will return the name of the user we're logged in as. Since we're the root user, we can log in to any user account and that user's name would be displayed here.

• bt > whoami

I thing this is enough for today in our following posts I will continue to give you the basics of backtrack that you'll need to be a pro hacker, so keep coming back! Bye from SoftQQ

If you have any doubt feel free to ask in the comment section :) :) :) :) :)

Creating Directories & Files in backtrack

In my previous post about the basics of backtrack we 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.

Change Directory (Cd)

We can change directories in multiple ways with cd. As I showed you in my previous article, we can use cd .. to move up one level in the directory tree. We can also move directly to the root directory by typing cd / or move to our home directory by cd ~.

More often, we will use cd to move to a directory by using the absolute path of the directory. This mean that we write out the entire path of the directory we want to move to after cd. We can also move to the directory by using the relative path of the directory. This means that we don’t need to write the entire path, but simply use the path that we’re currently in and append to it. Let’s look at some examples.

Let’s say we’re in our root user directory in BackTrack and we want to move to the aircrack-ng directory . We can simply type:

• bt > cd /pentest/wireless/aircrack-ng

This will take us directly to the aircrack-ng directory.

Now let’s say we want to go to the scripts sub-directory within aircrack-ng. We could type out the full path to the sub-directory, but it’s much simpler to type the relative path from where we are. We know we are/pentest/wireless/aircrack-ng, so type:

• bt > cd scripts

And that takes us to the scripts sub-directory within aircrack-ng or/pentest/wireless/aircrack-ng/scripts.

Once again, it’s critical to emphasize that Linux is case sensitive, so typing the directory without the proper case will result in the error message, “no such file or directory”.

Listing Command (Ls)

Once of most used and important commands in Linux is ls or list. This command is used to list the contents of a directory or sub-directory so that we can see the contents. It’s very similar to the dir command in Windows. So let’s use it in the aircrack-ng directory;

• bt > ls

We can see that Linux listed all the files and directories within the aircrack-ng directory. Linux allows us to modify its commands by using switches; these are usually letters preceded by the dash (-). With ls, it’s helpful to use two of theses switches, -a and -l.

The -a switch means all, so when we use it, Linux will list all files and directories, even those that are hidden. When we use the -l switch, it gives us a long listing, meaning it gives us info on the security permissions, the size, the owner, the group of the file or directory, when it was created, etc.

Let’s type:

• bt > ls -la

We’ll examine more closely the security permissions in a later tutorial, but you must know that you need execute (x) permission on any file you want to execute. So, if you download a new tool, you must make certain that you have execute permission on it.

Create a File (Touch)

The create a file in Linux, it’s a bit different from Windows. In Linux, we use the touch command. So, let’s create a new file called newfile:

• bt > touch newfile

Now we can check to see if that file exists by doing a directory listing:

• bt > ls -la

Create a Directory (Mkdir)

Similar to Windows, we can create a directory by using the make directory command (mkdir). Let’s now make a new directory.

• bt > mkdir newdirectory

Getting Help (Man)

Linux has a very useful utility called man. Man is the manual for nearly every command. If you should forget what a command does, simply typeman and the name of the command and it will display the manual with all the info you need about that command, its switches, and arguments. For instance, type:

• bt > man touch

With most commands, you can also use either the -h switch or the –helpswitch after the command to obtain “help” about a particular command. In the case of “touch“, we must use the –help to obtain help on the touchcommand.

• bt > touch –help

And that’s it for this brief tutorial on Linux for aspiring hackers. Make sure to check out the first part if you haven’t already.

I’ll be going more into depth in my next Posts , so keep coming back and Don’t be selfish !

If you have any doubt feel free to ask in the comment section

Installing BackTrack5 step by step

On my last post i wrote about the installation of Backtrack but unfortunately it is not so clear to understand. so in this Post i am describing the step by step methords of installing Backtrack with the clear screenshots. If you have any doubtin this installation. Feel free to ask me in the comment section.

Requirements 

1. BackTrack ISO (Click here to know how to make an Backtrack ISO)

2. VMware workstation or Vmpalyer (Install any one in your Pc)

Step 1 : Create a Virtual machine 

Step 2 : Choose installer ISO 

Step 3 : Choose Linux as your guest Operating system and Ubuntu as version  

Step 4 : Give a name and location of your backtrack VM

Step 5 : Specify virtual hard drive space (Normaly GB is enough)

Step 5 : Then click finish from ready to create virtual machine on windows

hit enter to go boot screen then choose default boot text mode and hit enter

At this time you want to hit the enter 

Step 6 : After this Like the normal OS installation  

choose keyboard type and provide location info..

if you are installing just backtrack then go normally and erase and use entire disk..

or if you installing backtrack with other OS then specify partition accordingly ..

Wait until it finish the Installation (Nearly half an hour depend on your system)

Now You are successfully install the Backtrack in your system in our next post we will dealing with the tools with Backtrack :) Keep in  touch 

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Getting started with BackTrack5

The Beginning of BackTrack

Hacking is a relatively new discipline. The Internet became commercialized in the mid-'90s, but it wasn't until the late-'90s that e-commerce sites were widely used. So, we can date hacking's birth to less than 15 years ago. Yes, hacking was happening at the very start of the Internet, but it didn't thrive until there was big money involved.

Back then, hackers developed their own tools and exploits. In the early part of the new millennium, hackers began to release their tools over the Web and share them with others. Several groups began to collect these tools and either make them available for download from one centralized repository, or began packaging them into a Linux-based CD or DVD.

Two of those groups, WHAX and The Auditor Security Group, merged and formed Offensive Security, which released BackTrack 1.0 in February 2006.

How to download and Install BackTrack 

Okay, enough history. Let's go head and download it.

Step 1 : Download BackTrack 

You can download the latest version of BackTrack in its website's downloads section. You do not need to actually register—just hit the "Download" button.

When you get to the download screen, this is what you should see:

• Choose what version you want. I suggest the latest version (5 R3).
• Choose what Linux interface you want, GNOME or KDE. This really is a matter of preference, but I'll be running KDe
• Choose what architecture you're running (32- or 64-bit).
• Choose what image type you want. If you're running VMWare, you should use that one. Otherwise, download the ISO.
• Choose how you want to download it, either directly (like FTP) or through a torrent (peer-to-peer file sharing).

I will assume you filled in all of those fields and you're now downloading. Be patient, it could take awhile.

Step 2 : Burn a DVD

 From here on out, I will assume that you've downloaded an .ISO image.

Place a blank DVD in your DVD burner, go to your downloads directory, right-click the BackTrack .ISO file, and select burn a disk with either Windows Burner or any other proprietary burning software.

If you're using Windows Disc Image Burner like me, just hit "Burn"

Step 3 : Install backTrack

Once we have a successfully burned DVD, we can install BackTrack, but there are a few options:

• Install it on a virtual machine in a virtaulization system like VMWare Workstation, VirtualBox, or Virtual PC. VMware is my favorite, but it's not free. VirtualBox comes in close second—and it is free.
• Install it as a dual boot system (this is what I chose).
• Install it as a portable OS onto an external hard drive, USB flash drive, or bootable DVD.

Place the DVD of BackTrack into your DVD tray and reboot your system. This will run BackTrack as a liveCD, which means that you can use it, but nothing is written to your hard disk. Everything runs in RAM. When you turn off your machine, everything is gone and no changes will have been made to your hard drive and system.

This might be a good way to test out BackTrack, but if you really want to become proficient with it—install it on your hard drive.

Installing straight to your hard drive lets you to create a dual-boot system. That means you can choose to boot into your regular OS system (in my case, Windows) or BackTrack. For your day-to-day work, you can boot into Windows, and then at night when you want to hack, you can boot into BackTrack.

When you're ready to install it onto your system, simply click on the BackTrack icon in the upper left-hand corner to install it on your hard drive. Then follow the wizard screens asking you for information about your system, etc.

You should then have a screen that looks like this!

Congratulations on your successful BackTrack install.

In my next article, I will take you on a brief tour of BackTrack, showing you the essentials of how to get around and find the hacking tools you need to Hack with a Style !