Analysis of Freeware Hacking Toolkit
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Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science 2012 Vol I WCECS 2012, October 24-26, 2012, San Francisco, USA Analysis of Freeware Hacking Toolkit Albert K. Ansah Member, IAENG, Janus Kyei-Nimakoh, Millicent Kontoh Abstract—Computer networks are constantly under threats http://neworder.box.sk for example, has lists of computer from intruders affectionately called hackers. This paper looks system exploits including detailed information on how to at assessing the extent to which the Internet abounds in easily identify vulnerable computer systems and the code to launch accessible freeware computer security tools and online a computer intrusion attack. This website publishes large resources which can facilitate unauthorised computer network host of articles on hacking techniques, computer exploits intrusions. The current position of open source computer network security tools, computer operating systems’ tools, discussions on latest software vulnerabilities, user vulnerabilities and vendors’ responsibility towards their message boards discussing computer intrusion techniques, customers would be covered in this paper. The paper also looks questions and answers linked to computer security and at a couple of freeware computer security tools and a handful networking. The ambition of the website is supposedly to of computer system vulnerability websites as well. A virtual educate and advice administrators of computer network computer network environment was setup to demonstrate how systems. It is intriguing to notice that open source and some computer security tools can be exploited for malicious freeware hacking toolkit are always freely accessible from purposes. A survey to solicit opinions on freeware computer the Internet. Some computer security professionals belong to security toolkit was commissioned to ascertain the extent to the school of thought: that security by obscurity principle which respondents use computer security freeware. The concept of some companies trading in computer system exploits (Preetham, 2002) is the best option to implement secure would be explored by this paper. An appraisal of a few groups computer network security. In a preliminary research, it was behind the development of some of these freeware computer discovered that, there exist some software tools categorized security tools i.e. hacking tools and why the need for these tools as vulnerability scanners or vulnerability assessment tools. would be also explored. Suggestions of possible defensive There are some computer enthusiasts who trawl the Internet countermeasures against malicious use of hacking freeware looking for vulnerable computer networks very frequently. computer tools would be touched upon. The paper is to inform Indecorously configured networks may be exploited by and educate ICT professionals to be very heedful and pay malicious computer network resources into their concourse. mindfulness to suggested defensive countermeasures. A distinctive example of a vulnerability scanner program Index Terms— Computer Security, Freeware Hacking that supports Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, Mac OS X and Toolkit, Intrusion Detection Systems, Malicious Codes, Open Windows platforms is Nessus which may be freely Source Software, Operating System Vulnerabilities. downloaded from http://www.nessus.org/download. Adopting security by obscurity principle alone may not be I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND enough unless used with other network security policies (Preetham, 2002). SIMPLE Internet queries on Google for Freeware classifies software that is ready and available “open source remote network administration tool” returns for use for an unlimited time at no cost at Free Software several results with details of other tools including the Back Foundation website http://www.fsf.org/. The program Orifice tool. The dual purpose of some these computer source codes are not available. However, open source network tools makes it imperative for network software license backed by Open Source Initiative (OSI) administrators to be more vigilant of the list of software goes further to make software available for users with installed on their network. This paper is not vying for a source codes included; http://www.opensource.org/. This restriction to open source or freeware network security tools. gives the user the free will to make modifications and It rather seeks to raise awareness vis-à-vis the threats they enhancements as well as redistribution of the software. It is (freeware network security tools) may pose and suggesting now common for freeware and open source software users appropriate countermeasures. This paper is to inform and to simply access websites or queries search engines and educate ICT professionals to be heedful and pay download source codes and software from bonus compact mindfulness to suggested defensive countermeasures. disc added to books for distribution. A good number of computer network security tools have been developed with II. FREEWARE COMPUTER SECURITY TOOLS either of the above mentioned characteristics, belonging to freeware, open source software genre, or commercial A Software tool may be a piece of software utility that variety. Several malicious intentions culminate in the exploit can be used to carry out a particular task or computer system of some freeware computer security tools. It is much easy to maintenance task. A computer network packet sniffer is a download and install full versions of computer network software tool used for network packet sniffing purposes. hacking tools off the Internet to cause mayhem. Information technology tools could be either offensive or defensive; some are used for both purposes. It is therefore Manuscript received May 04, 2012; revised June 19, 2012. necessary that network security inclined tool be a required A. K. Ansah is with the Computer Science and Engineering Department utility which may be occasionally needed for network of University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, P. O. Box 237 Ghana (phone: +233 264 518866; fax: +233 3123 20306; email; maintenance. In Information Security, software tools may be [email protected]) used for network penetration testing exercises, network J. Kyei-Nimakoh is with Information Technology Department of Central vulnerability reviews, Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) Bank of Ghana, Accra (email: [email protected]) monitoring, network troubleshooting or network monitoring M. Kontoh is with the Computer Science and Engineering Department of University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, P. O. Box 237 Ghana tasks. Penetration test (sometimes referred to as ethical (email: [email protected]) hacking) is a technique of evaluating the level of security of ISBN: 978-988-19251-6-9 WCECS 2012 ISSN: 2078-0958 (Print); ISSN: 2078-0966 (Online) Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science 2012 Vol I WCECS 2012, October 24-26, 2012, San Francisco, USA a computer network by simulating a network intrusion by a by the OS in question (Singh, 2006). System flaws can be malicious user. This exercise is conducted (with consent of taken advantage of by malicious gurus to launch security system owner) by authorised computer security intrusions (Singh, 2006). Vulnerabilities could be launched professionals (Clure et al., 2005) and very often involves the locally or remotely across a computer network. Security use of some freeware or open source network security tools. patches have become part of purveyor responsibility towards The process involves an active analysis of the system for end users. Patch Tuesday, thus regular security patching any potential vulnerability that may result from poor system cycle is the second Tuesday of each month. This is the day configuration, hardware or software flaws and is carried out Microsoft releases vital security patches, fixes and updates from the position of a potential attacker, and very often (Barber et al., 2005). End users rely on this security updates involves the effective exploitation of network security to secure their computer systems. Certain software vulnerabilities. The primary reason why a penetration test is vulnerabilities are publicly known to information security carried out is to chiefly discover vulnerabilities in the target professionals. A malicious guru could abuse a computer computer system and fix them before an attacker does. program by taking advantage of the discovered Nmap may also be used for penetration testing and has vulnerabilities, by simply executing some commands. a dual purpose of attacking or defending a computer Sensitive data on the target system can be stolen, modified network setup. Nmap and Nessus security tools have or even deleted by the intruder (Singh, 2006). legitimate uses in the administration of networks and are Many open source or freeware tools discovery and freely available over the internet. Penetration testing is the identifying OS vulnerabilities exist. A typical example is process of attempting to gain access to network resources Nessus vulnerability scanning software tool; freely without knowledge of usernames, passwords and other accessible at http://www.nessus.org/download/. The regular normal means of access. Penetration testing aims to find application of software patches, use of firewalls and vulnerabilities and fix them before a malicious guru or implementation of sound computer network security policies can reduce the prevalence of a vulnerability being exploited. hacker does. In an article (Anderson, 2007); it was revealed