Information Security

sbd : Backtrack 5: Maintaining Access: OS Backdoors: sbd

SecurityLeave a comment

The sbd command is a netcat clone that offers decent encryption, allows for command execution, and will install on Linux or Windows. You are likely aware of netcat and all of the different ways you can use it including reverse shells, port scanning, etc. The sbd command is a great tool for opening up protected listeners or as noted in the Backtrack Linux menu for maintaining access to servers on compromised networks. Since it is likely you are familiar with nc or netcat below I go into setting up a reverse shell using a secret key between the listener and the connecting client.

Information Security

bulk_extractor : Backtrack 5: Forensics: Forensics Analysis Tools: bulk-extractor

SecurityLeave a comment

The bulk_extractor tool is one of the tools on Backtrack that a single article is not going to do it a lot of justice but hopefully after reading the below you will be able to see the benefits and understand basic usage of this amazing tool. The bulk_extractor actually reminds me of various tools such as Power Grep for Windows that can be used in penetration tests to locate private data worth being called out in a deliverable. By no means will the below be a complete howto for the bulk_extractor but again it will attempt to shed some light on its purpose and some easy ways it can be used.

Information Security

ss : Backtrack 5: Non Menu Items: CLI Commands: ss

SecurityLeave a comment

The ss command is not necessarily specific to Backtrack but is typically included in most Linux or UNIX distributions. This is definitely a core utility though that should be in any pen testers arsenal as it provides great information about any type of socket socket including DCCP sockets, RAW sockets, TCP sockets, UDP sockets and UNIX sockets. There are various switches that are useful based on the task and below I go into multiple examples of using switches for different scenarios.

Technology Insights

Google Docs Spreadsheet: Have One Row Always Display At The Top Of The Spreadsheet

Insights3 Comments

Earlier tonight I was working on a spreadsheet with thousands of rows and over a dozen columns so I kept forgetting which column was which when working down inside the spreadsheet. I knew there was a way to have a a single row or multiple rows always display at the top of the spreadsheet but was not sure exactly how and I was unable to find the option in the Google Docs Spreadsheet drop downs. I finally figured out how to have a set number of rows always display at the top of a Google Spreadsheet and have shared the information below.