How to Install Oracle VirtualBox 4.3.28 on Ubuntu 15.04, 14.04, 12.04 and Debian 7/6 Linux 

Oracle VirtualBox 4.3.28 has been released on May 13th, 2015. Oracle VirtualBox 4.3.28 is a maintenance release of VirtualBox 4.3 which improves stability and fixes regression. See the ChangeLog for more details.
This article will help you to install Oracle VirtualBox on your Ubuntu 15.04, 14.10, 14.04 LTS, 13.10, 13.04, 12.10, 12.04 LTS and 10.04 LTS and Debian 7/6 systems.

Step 1: Setup Apt Repository

Firstly edit /etc/apt/sources.list file and add one of following line according to your distribution to your system.

For Ubuntu 15.04 ("Vivid")
deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian vivid contrib

For Ubuntu 14.10 ("Utopic Unicorn")
deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian utopic contrib

For Ubuntu 14.04 LTS ("Trusty Tahr")
deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian trusty contrib

For Ubuntu 12.04 LTS ("Precise Pangolin")
deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian precise contrib

For Debian 7.0 ("Wheezy")
deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian wheezy contrib

For Debian 6.0 ("Squeeze") 
deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian squeeze contrib non-free

Step 2: Setup Oracle public key

After adding required apt repository in your system, download and import the Oracle public key for apt-secure using following commands.

$ wget http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian/oracle_vbox.asc
$ sudo apt-key add oracle_vbox.asc

Step 3: Install Oracle VirtualBox

After completing above steps, lets install VirtualBox using following commands. If you have already installed any older version of VirtualBox, Below command will update it automatically.

$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install virtualbox-4.3

Step 4: Start VirtualBox

We can use dashboard shortcuts to start VirtualBox or simply run following command from terminal.

$ virtualbo

 

Introduction to the Lifecycle Penetration

Most people assume that all a penetration tester, or hacker, needs to do is sit down in front of a computer and begin typing an obscure string of code and voila any computer in the world is instantly opened. This stereotype based in Hollywood legend is far from the truth. Professionals in this field are very meticulous in the approach used when to uncovering and exploiting vulnerabilities in computer systems. O ver time a proven framework has emerged that is used by professional ethical hackers. The four phases of
this framework guide the penetration tester through the process of empirically exploiting
information systems in a way that results in a well-documented report that can be used if needed to repeat portions of the testing engagement. This process not only provides a structure for the tester but also is used to develop high-level plans for penetration testing activities. Each phase builds on the previous step and provides detail to the step that follows. While the process is sequential, many testers return to earlier phases to clarify
discoveries and validate findings.

The first four steps in the process have been clearly defined by Patrick Engebretson in his book The Basics of H acking and Penetration Testing . These steps are Reconnaissance, Scanning, Exploitation, and Maintaining A ccess. 

This book uses these same steps but expands Patrick’s work with an additional step Reporting. A dditionally, when compared to the five phase process defined by EC-Council in its popular Certified Ethical Hacking
(C|EH) course, many may notice the final phase of that process, Covering Tracks, is missing. This was done intentionally to focus on the earlier phases and include a chapter on reporting, a topic that is omi ed from many books on this topic. This book also differentiates from the earlier book by removing the cyclic illustration of the lifecycle and replacing it with a more linear visualization illustration that matches what an ethical hacker would normally encounter in a normal engagement. This would begin with reconnaissance of the target information system and end with the penetration tester or
test team lead briefing the information systems leadership and presenting the report ofFIGURE 5.1

 

 The penetration testing life-cycle.

 

A basic view of each of the phases will be drawn out in this chapter and a more extensive description will be made in the chapters devoted to each phase. I n addition to the description common tools for each phase will be introduced in the coming chapters.
I n this way the reader will not only understand the phases of the lifecycle but also have a view under the hood of what tools are most likely to be used first by engineers in this field of security. These chapters will introduce the reader to the tools but will not be exhaustive and really only scratch the surface of whet each tool or technique can do to assist in conducting these types of tests. Many of the tools or techniques have entire books—sometimes many books—devoted to their correct use and application.

Phase 1: Reconnaissance

I n a small room with dim lights, analysts and officers scan and inspect maps of hostile territory. A cross the room others watch television channels across the globe frantically taking notes. The final group in this room prepares a detailed assessment of everything about the target being investigated. While this scenario details what would normally be done in a military reconnaissance of a possible target, however, it is analogous to what
the penetration tester will do during the reconnaissance phase of the penetration testing lifecycle.
This illustrates the type of work done during the reconnaissance phase of the pentesting lifecycle. This phase focuses on learning anything and everything about the network and organization that is the target of the engagement. This is done by searching he I nternet and conducting passive scans of the available connections to the targets network. I n this phase, the tester does not actually penetrate the network defenses but rather identifies and documents as much information bout the target as possible.
 

Phase 2: Scanning

I magine a hilltop deep behind enemy lines, a single soldier crouches hidden among a thicket of bushes and trees. The report being sent back informs others about the location of the camp being observed, the mission of the camp, and types of work that is being done in each building. The report also notes the routes in and out of the camp and types of security that can be seen. The soldier in this example had a mission defined by the analysis conducted during the reconnaissance phase. This is true of the second phase of the penetration testing lifecycle. The tester will use information gained in phase 1 to start actually scanning the targets network and information system. Using tools in this phase, a be er definition of
the network and system infrastructure of the information system will be targeted for exploitation. The information gained in this phase will be used in the exploitation phase.

Phase 3: Exploitation

 Four soldiers rush through an open field, the moon is only a sliver and obscured by clouds, however, the soldiers see everything is an eerie green glow. They rush the building slipping through a gap in the fence and then through an open back door. After just moments on the target they are on the way back out with vital information about future troop movements and plans for the coming months. Again this matches what the ethical hacker will do in the exploitation phase. The intent of this phase is to get into the target system and back out with information without being noticed, using system vulnerabilities and proven techniques.

Phase 4: Maintaining Access

 Based on drawings provided by the raid team, a group of skilled engineers excavate earth from deep in the tree line under the room that held the vital information taken earlier. The purpose of this tunnel is to provide easy access to the room for continued exploitation of the enemy. This is the same for the tester, once the system is exploited backdoors and rootkits are left on the systems to allow access in the future.

Phase 5: Reporting

The raid team commander stands in front of a group of generals and admirals explaining the details of the raid. Each step is explained in great detail expanding on each detail that allowed the exploitation to take place. The penetration tester too must develop detailed reports to explain each step in the hacking process, vulnerabilities exploited, and systems that were actually compromised. A dditionally in many cases one member of the team,
and sometimes more, may be required to provide a detailed briefing to senior leadership and technical staff of the target information system.

Summary

The coming chapters will explain each of these phases in greater detail. Each chapter willprovide information on the basics of the common tools used for each phase. Using the process detailed in the reader will understand the purpose and advantages of  phase being explained and the most common tools used in that phase.

A Practical Guide to Installing Nessus

 

Tenable, a highly respected name in the security community, has produced an amazing application for vulnerability scanning called N essus. There are two versions of the application that offer differing levels of functionality and support these are the Nessus Professional and Home versions. The professional version offers a lot more plug-ins for compliancy checking, S CA D A , and configuration checking and is incredibly powerful for team usage. For this book, the installation of the N essus Vulnerability S canner with the
home feed will be used. N essus is discussed further in the chapter on scanning but installing Nessus now will help to cement the knowledge from this chapter. 

Update and Clean the System Prior to Installing Nessus

In a terminal windows type the following commands:
 

apt-get update && apt-get upgrade && apt-get dist-upgrade
 

apt-get autoremove && apt-get autoclean
 

Install and Configure Nessus

Download N essus 5.0 or higher from http://www.nessus.org/download. S elect the Debian package for either 32- or 64-bit operating system as appropriate. Read the subscription agreement and if acceptable agree to the statement by clicking the A gree bu on. Nessus cannot be installed if the agreement is not accepted. N ote the location where the file is being downloaded to as it will be needed to complete the installation.
 

From a terminal window enter the following:
 

dpkg -i ~/{Download_Location}/Nessus-{version}.deb
 

To run

 

/etc/init.d/nessusd start
 

https://kali:8834/nessus6.html#/

How to Install a Network Printer on Your Home or Office Network

If you’re planning on buying a printer soon, you should consider buying an Ethernet or wireless printer. Prices have come down in recent years and now that most people have wireless networks, you can setup your network so that you can print from anywhere in the house or even the world using a service like Google Cloud Print! It’s also great for guests because they can connect to your wireless network and print easily without having to fiddle with cables and CDs, so you’ll get lots of kudos as a host!
In this article, I’ll talk only about network or Ethernet printers. Also, this article is for Windows XP users. If you’re using Windows 7 or Windows 8, the process is far easier and you can read my other post on adding a printer to Windows 8 here. Now let’s get started. Here’s what you’ll need to do in order to setup the printer on your Windows XP machine:
Step 1: First, connect the printer to your network by connecting one end of a Cat 5 or 6 cable (which should have come with your printer) to your router and the other end into the network port of your printer. Now, turn your printer on and wait for it to become ready.

Step 2: Next you’ll need to get the IP address of your printer. The IP address is what will let your computer know where to find your printer on the network. All network printers allow you to print a configuration sheet that will list basic information about the printer along with the current network configuration.
For most printers, this involves pressing the Menu button on the printer, going to the Information option and choosing Print Configuration. Sometimes if there is no display, you just press and hold the Go or Print button down for about 10 seconds and it’ll print the configuration page. You will be looking for the TCP/IP section:

The IP Address is what you’ll need for the next steps. You printer should automatically get an IP address from the DHCP server on your network. At home, the IP should be coming from the wireless router or residential gateway if you have one that acts as a cable modem plus router.
Step 3: The last step is to add the printer to your computer. Click on Start, then Printers and Faxes.

If you don’t see this in your Start Menu, you can go to Start, Control Panel and then click on Printers and Faxes there. Click Add Printer from the task pane on the left.

The Add Printer wizard will begin, so click Next to get started. On the next screen you’ll be asked whether your printer is a local printer or a network printer. These options are confusing because a network printer is actually referring either a printer connected to another computer or a printer on a print server. Our printer is a stand-alone printer and so you must select Local printer attached to this computer and make sure that you uncheck the box for automatically detecting the printer.

Click Next and you’ll be asked to select the printer port. Since our printer is a network printer with a IP address, we need to select the Create a new port option and choose Standard TCP/IP Port.

Click Next and you’ll get another wizard to add a TCP/IP printer port. On the main wizard screen click Next. In the first text box, Printer Name or IP Address, enter the IP address from the printer configuration sheet you printer earlier.

Click Next and depending on the printer you have, you may get one more dialogs before the end of the wizard. If the network card for the printer cannot be identified, the wizard will ask you to choose the card type. You can leave the default of “Generic Network Card” and click Next.

Click Next and click Finish. You will then continue on with the Add Printer wizard and you’ll need to either choose the printer from the list of manufacturers or click Have Disk and insert your printer driver cd in the computer.

Click Next and enter a name for your printer and click the Yes radio button if you would like the printer to be your default printer.

Click Next and you’ll be asked whether you want to share the printer or not. Click No because anyone else who wants to connect will be able to do so following the same steps. In later versions of Windows XP, the printer sharing dialog has been removed. Click Next and click Yes to print a test page and make sure that the computer and printer can communicate!

Click Next and then click Finish! The new printer will appear in your Printers and Faxes screen and you’re ready to print to your network printer in Windows XP!