Book Image

Hands-On Penetration Testing on Windows

By : Phil Bramwell
Book Image

Hands-On Penetration Testing on Windows

By: Phil Bramwell

Overview of this book

Windows has always been the go-to platform for users around the globe to perform administration and ad hoc tasks, in settings that range from small offices to global enterprises, and this massive footprint makes securing Windows a unique challenge. This book will enable you to distinguish yourself to your clients. In this book, you'll learn advanced techniques to attack Windows environments from the indispensable toolkit that is Kali Linux. We'll work through core network hacking concepts and advanced Windows exploitation techniques, such as stack and heap overflows, precision heap spraying, and kernel exploitation, using coding principles that allow you to leverage powerful Python scripts and shellcode. We'll wrap up with post-exploitation strategies that enable you to go deeper and keep your access. Finally, we'll introduce kernel hacking fundamentals and fuzzing testing, so you can discover vulnerabilities and write custom exploits. By the end of this book, you'll be well-versed in identifying vulnerabilities within the Windows OS and developing the desired solutions for them.
Table of Contents (25 chapters)
Title Page
Dedication
Packt Upsell
Contributors
Preface
Index

Building your attack lab


For consistency, we'll stick with VMware Workstation Pro for our lab environment.

When you start up Workstation, the standard layout is your VM library in the panel on the left and your VMs on the right:

Finding Windows machines for your lab

Okay, you have Kali ready to roll. Now the tricky part: we want to test on Windows machines, but Windows is a proprietary system. Don't even consider downloading anything related to cracking activation keys, either. The legal problem aside, that's a good way for the hacker to become the hacked. Thankfully, Microsoft has our backs in a couple of ways.

Downloading Edge tester VMs for developers

It's easy to get caught up in the stigma of hacking. You might think, no one is going to consider this legitimate testing. Well, there's really no difference between us and the developers who need test environments to make sure their software and sites function properly. Microsoft actually lets you download full Windows VMs for free. What's the...