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

Chapter 3. Windows Passwords on the Network

There are few technologies that have molded modern information security quite like the Windows password. The sheer popularity of the Windows operating system has resulted in intense scrutiny of the methods and their security; when more eyes are examining the security of an authentication system, there are more lessons to inform growth and improvement. On the other hand, a major goal of Windows implementations is backwards compatibility. What this means in practice is that older and weaker methods are often found in today's environments, even when a more secure version is available – and even when that more secure version is enabled in the same environment. In this chapter, we'll be discussing some technology that's literally more than two decades old, and you might wonder, do we really need to be looking for this anymore? The answer is, sadly, yes. Your clients will have their reasons for configuring their systems to support security methods that...