Ethical Hacking & Network Penetration Testing

Learn to use Nmap for network discovery, reconnaissance, and security auditing, identifying live hosts, open services, operating systems, software versions, and network assets, plus tcp and udp basics.

Activate the solid state machine on hack the box via openvpn, note its ip, and prepare to explore nmap tools and options.

Identify live hosts with nmap using host discovery and -sn, then use tcp connect scans (-sT) to enumerate ports and services, saving results in text or xml formats (-oN, -oX).

Explore four file transfer methods between systems: PowerShell web client downloads, batch PowerShell, git transfers, and wget with a local http server for Windows and Linux targets.

Netcat writes and reads data over tcp and udp, enabling a reverse shell between Kali and a target, port scanning, and banner grabbing as a cross-platform tool.

Identify the Apache James version and search for exploits to test remote code execution on the solid state machine, using exploit tools and related sources.

Gain SSH access using Mindy's credentials from 1.1.1.51, update the exploit payload to a reverse shell with netcat, and trigger remote shell access via a Kali listener.

Explore dirb, a command-line tool that brute-forces directory paths using wordlists and HTTP requests to reveal hidden pages, with a default around 4000 words and technology-specific targets like WordPress.

Learn how Burp Suite, a Java-based proxy, intercepts and analyzes browser traffic to modify requests, test inputs, and support automated or manual web application penetration testing with repeater and intruder.

Identify sql injection vulnerabilities with union-based techniques, test data entry points using Burp Suite, analyze http 500/302, determine column counts, data types, and craft payloads with order by and comments.

Explore common file upload restrictions—content type, extension, and content verification—and bypass techniques using Burp Suite to understand how attackers deploy reverse shells.