To get the most out of this book, readers should have a basic understanding of networking, including various network and application protocols, network devices and appliances, and a basic understanding of routing and switching concepts. Some prior knowledge of IT security is not mandatory, but help you grasp the concepts and exercises presented during the course of this book.

The only hardware required is a personal computer, such as a laptop or desktop, with an operation system capable of running Oracle VM VirtualBox or VMware Workstation 15 Pro. As for specifications, the recommended setup is as follows:

• Processor: Intel i5, i7, or better
• HDD: 200 GB hard drive
• RAM: 4 GB of RAM (8 GB is preferable)
• An internet connection
• Alfa Network AWUS036NHA wireless adapter

We also provide a PDF file that has color images of the screenshots/diagrams used in this book. You can download it here: https://static.packt-cdn.com/downloads/9781789611809_ColorImages.pdf.

There are a number of text conventions used throughout this book.

CodeInText: Indicates code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles. Here is an example: "Use the ifconfig command to verify the status of the adapter."

Any command-line input or output is written as follows:

airodump-ng --bissid <bssid value> -c <channel number> wlan0mon

Bold: Indicates a new term, an important word, or words that you see on screen. For example, words in menus or dialog boxes appear in the text like this. Here is an example: "If you're using VMware, the New Virtual Machine Wizard will prompt you to continue your setup in either a Typical (recommended) or Custom (advanced) mode."