Network Security Tools: Writing, Hacking, and Modifying Security Tools

Book Description

If you're an advanced security professional, then you know that the battle to protect online privacy continues to rage on. Security chat rooms, especially, are resounding with calls for vendors to take more responsibility to release products that are more secure. In fact, with all the information and code that is passed on a daily basis, it's a fight that may never end. Fortunately, there are a number of open source security tools that give you a leg up in the battle. Often a security tool does exactly what you want, right out of the box. More frequently, you need to customize the tool to fit the needs of your network structure. Network Security Tools shows experienced administrators how to modify, customize, and extend popular open source security tools such as Nikto, Ettercap, and Nessus. This concise, high-end guide discusses the common customizations and extensions for these tools, then shows you how to write even more specialized attack and penetration reviews that are suited to your unique network environment. It also explains how tools like port scanners, packet injectors, network sniffers, and web assessment tools function. Some of the topics covered include:

Writing your own network sniffers and packet injection tools
Writing plugins for Nessus, Ettercap, and Nikto
Developing exploits for Metasploit
Code analysis for web applications
Writing kernel modules for security applications, and understanding rootkits

While many books on security are either tediously academic or overly sensational, Network Security Tools takes an even-handed and accessible approach that will let you quickly review the problem and implement new, practical solutions--without reinventing the wheel. In an age when security is critical, Network Security Tools is the resource you want at your side when locking down your network.

Customer Reviews:

Learn the internals and how to customize popular tools.......2005-11-28

In recent years the proliferation of open source network security tools has been a boon to all aspects of the IT industry. This era was given more significance with the release of the tool SATAN, which easily enabled administrators to scan their networks for vulnerabilities. Since then, many of the most favored tools in the infosec industry are open source. This means that users can extend them as they see fit, but often this is a difficult task. Dhanjani and Clarke's book Network Security Tools is there to assist you in modifying existing tools and even writing your own.

The book is divided into two main sections, modifying several popular tools like Nessus and Metasploit, and writing new tools for the Linux kernel and the network using libpcap and libnet. Written for the intermediate-level user, NST gets right to it in Chapter 1, diving right into writing plug-ins for Nessus. Because vulnerabilities appear every day and may differ on the network you're examining, you may have to write your own plug-in that someone else hasn't. Or you may want the fame and notoriety of writing these plug-ins quickly and accurately. Whatever your motivation, you'll learn how to use NASL to write your extension. While the license has recently changed for Nessus, the version that this book targets, 2.x, will always be GPL and available for you to use.

The existing tools covered in the book - Nessus, Ethereal, Ettercap, Metasploit, Nikto, Hydra. and PMD - are designed to be extended. They have a framework and often a rich API (or, in the case of Nessus, their own language) to allow you to write those extensions. Each of the chapters on these frameworks covers some of the same basic format, namely an overview of the tools, the framework, and then an example plug-in or extension. The quality of the chapters varies, presumably due to the natural differences in the authors' experiences. However, you'll learn something in each of them.

The second half of the book covers writing your own tools against four or five different landscapes. These are Linux kernel modules and kernel-level rootkits, web assessment tools (in Perl), an automated exploit tool, and sniffers and packet injection tools (using libpcap and libnet). The authors wisely show how to take a small tool, a recon scanner from Chapter 8, and extend it in Chapter 9 to make it an automated exploit tool. Pretty cool, and you wind up with a neat web-testing tool out of it. With some more work, you can make it a framework for any sort of web-based attack methodology. The authors use clear examples and a decent presentation style to deliver a quality set of chapters.

The same can be said for the two chapters on network tools, the sniffer and the packet injector. You'll build a simple ARP sniffer with pcap and libnet, and then move on to a simple SYN scanner and then a tool called 'Airjack', which i designed for a Linux environment. Again, clear code, and the authors do an effective tour of the process by which they build some simple, but representative, tools.

Overall I'm quite pleased with NST, I think the authors have delivered a concise, practical and valuable book on the subject. While there are several frameworks available for security tools, this the first single book on the subject of writing plug-ins and extensions for most of the main tools out there. While the authors are a bit skimpish at times on the material, due to space constraints or matters of expertise, they do a good job of showing clear examples that anyone can use. If you've been curious about extending existing security tools with your own code, this is probably the best single place to start.

for active programming.......2005-04-29

Under the covers of one book, the authors present a coherent view of the various network security packages freely available. The bias is in favour of open source tools, if only because these are free. The book goes deeper than just explaining how to run Nessus or Ettercap or... [etc] Most chapters involve the writing of plug-ins or extensions to those tools. Actually, another criterion for a tool to be covered in this book seems to be if it has precisely this ability to be extended by any competent person (like you).

Thus, the book is directed slightly more towards the network programmer than the network sysadmin. Though this is by no means a sharp demarcation, I hasten to add. In fact, you might be a sysadmin dissatisfied with running your current Intrusion Detection System package simply just out of the box. If so, try actively programming plug-ins using this book, to adapt the IDS to your actual network situation.

Network Security Tools : Writing, Hacking, and Modifying Security Tools

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Network Security Tools : Writing, Hacking, and Modifying Security Tools
Nitesh Dhanjani
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Network Security | Networking | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000MUF80U

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Blueprints : A Problem Notebook (Fundamentals of Financial Management 7th Edition)

Manufacturer: Harcourt Brace College Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000B9MVJI

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Fundamentals of Financial Management Fifth Edition: (Blueprints: A Problem Notebook)

Manufacturer: Dryden Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0030294525

Product Description

Blueprints was designed (1) to aid you in note-taking if your instructor uses the integrative problems for lectures or (2) as a self-test vehicle for you to use on your own. Each problem corresponds to one of the integrative problems in Fundamentals of Financial Management, 5th edition. (from introduction)

Fundamentals of Financial Management: Blueprints: A Problem Notebook

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Fundamentals of Financial Management: Blueprints: A Problem Notebook
Eugene F. Brigham , and Joel F. Houston
Manufacturer: Dryden Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Corporate Finance | Finance | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Fundamentals of Financial Management 7th Edition (Blueprints : A Problem Notebook)

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Fundamentals of Financial Management 7th Edition (Blueprints : A Problem Notebook)

Manufacturer: Harcourt Brace College Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000B9L2JS

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Fundamentals of Financial Management: Blueprints A Problem Notebook
Eugene F.; Houston, Joel F. Brigham
Manufacturer: Dryden Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O8Z84Q

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Fundamentals of Financial Management: Blueprints A Problem Notebook
Eugene F. Brigham
Manufacturer: Dryden Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O96C54

Book Description

Grotius, Hugo. De Iure Belli Ac Pacis Libri Tres, In Quibus Ius Naturae Et Gentium, Item Juris Publici Praecipua Explicantur. Cum Annotatis Auctoris. Edited by P.C. Molhuysen. Preface by C. Van Vollenhoven. Leiden: A.W. Sijthoff. 1919. xv, 752 pp. Reprinted 2005 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. ISBN 1-58477-539-4. Cloth.

* Reprint of the standard critical Latin edition of Grotius's magnum opus of 1625, which established the framework of modern international law. Grotius describes the situations in which war is a valid tool of law enforcement and outlines the principles of armed combat. Though based on Christian natural law, Grotius advanced the novel argument that his system would still be valid if it lacked a divine basis. In this regard he pointed to the future by moving international law in a secular direction. A work of painstaking philological research, this edition is based on the final version edited by the author, which issued posthumously in 1646. Differences between this edition and those of 1632 and 1642 are noted and the author of each text quotation is identified with reference to modern editions. A list of Grotius's citations is also included.

Book Description

Biology is in the midst of a era yielding many significant discoveries and promising many more. Unique to this era is the exponential growth in the size of information-packed databases. Inspired by a pressing need to analyze that data, Introduction to Computational Biology explores a new area of expertise that emerged from this fertile field- the combination of biological and information sciences. This introduction describes the mathematical structure of biological data, especially from sequences and chromosomes. After a brief survey of molecular biology, it studies restriction maps of DNA, rough landmark maps of the underlying sequences, and clones and clone maps. It examines problems associated with reading DNA sequences and comparing sequences to finding common patterns. The author then considers that statistics of pattern counts in sequences, RNA secondary structure, and the inference of evolutionary history of related sequences. Introduction to Computational Biology exposes the reader to the fascinating structure of biological data and explains how to treat related combinatorial and statistical problems. Written to describe mathematical formulation and development, this book helps set the stage for even more, truly interdisciplinary work in biology.

Customer Reviews:

A modern classic.......2003-10-15

The first name people learn in bioinformatics is the Smith-Waterman algorithm. Some people never learn anything else. This is by that Waterman. Although written in 1995, it still has some of the best discussion I've seen on the topics it addresses.

The first few chapters deal with the "digest problem," reconstructing a DNA or protein sequence from the fragment sizes of enzyme digests. The technique is not used as much now as it was then, but it's always good to know the background of modern techniques.

The digest problem doesn't stand alone, though. It introduces concepts - islands, anchors, etc. - that still matter. The problems in reconstructing molecules from digests yield the same kinds of intermediate results and the same ambiguities that arise in modern sequencing. As Waterman advances the discussion, shotgun sequencing appears as a logical extension, at least mathematically, of digest assembly.

Sequence assembly involve end matching, perhaps in the presence of sequencing errors. That introduces the topic for which Waterman's name is famous, approximate string matching. The next few chapter progress through dynamic programming and multiple alignments. The logical connections between the techniques shown are so tight that chapter boundaries are almost artificial. It was a real pleasure to see the computational and practical relationships laid out.

The final topics, RNA structure and phylogenetic trees, lack the continuity that characterized the first dozen chapters. The RNA structure may be the weakest chapter in the book, but still a very competent introduction.

Throughout, Waterman emphasizes mathematical rigor without insisting on uninformative theorems. Every topic is presented in rich detail, with special attention to scoring and background models. Perhaps there are newer discussions of some topics. I don't know of any clearer discussions, though. Best, I think, is how Waterman prepares the reader to ask all the right questions in any future discussion: what are the elements of the computation, how can elements be recombined, how good is a result, and how does the result stand out from the statistical background.

The final chapter is what a bibliography should be. It doesn't just list authors, titles, and dates of publication. It actually discusses the contribution that each source made to this book. Rather than leave the reader to wander aimlessly among obscure titles, Waterman shows which sources are most informative on which topics. I wish more authors took the time for such commentary.

This is a book worth having. It covers topics that I haven't seen elsewhere, and shows how many different topics relate to each other. It is rigorous without giving distracting detail. Most of all, it keeps the biology in sight of all calculations. Some authors seem to forget that anything exists but the arithmetic; Waterman puts the math clearly in the service of its subject. I enjoyed it immensely, and look forward to applying its content in my own research.

Packed full of good information.......2000-08-13

This book gives a good survey of the different techniques employed by computational biologists. After a brief review of molecular biology in Chapter 1, the author treats the mathematical modeling of restriction maps in Chapter 2 using graph theory. His presentation is somewhat hurried, but he does give references and gives the reader three exercises at the end of the chapter. Multiple maps are treated in Chapter 3, wherein the author first makes use of probability theory, via the Kingman subadditive ergodic theorem. The proof is omitted but the author does a good job of explaining its use in studying the double digest problem (DDP). The best part of this chapter is the author's explanation of the difficulties of using Kingman's results for solving the DDP, and goes on to discuss multiple solutions of the DDP. Graph theory is again used in the discussion. This sets up the discussion in Chapter 4, which outlines algorithms for the DDP. The author gives a very compact introduction to P- and NP-complete problems in the theory of computation, then proves that DDP is NP-complete. The author does a good job of discussing subsequent approximate methods used for the DDP, such as simulated annealing. Markov chains are introduced in the book here for the first time, but due to the shortness of the presentation, the reader should do outside reading as a back-up. The author does a great job of explaining the difficulties if measurement error is introduced in the DDP at the end of the chapter. Cloning is discussed in Chapter 5, with tools from probability theory used to deal with partial digest libraries. The chapter is really short though, and the working the problems at the end of the chapter is essential for the understanding the results of this chapter. The author switches gears in the next chapter, wherein physical maps are discussed. The discussion is fairly detailed and interesting. Sequencing is discussed in the next two chapters, and the treatment is very good. Hashing is introduced here, and psedocode is given throughout. The very important method of dynamic programming is outlined in Chapter 9, which is beautifully written, and again pseudocode abounds throughout. Genetic mapping is left out though, but the this, the longest chapter of the book, is a detailed introduction to this area. The results in this chapter are used to study multiple sequence alignment in Chapter 10, wherein hidden Markov models are introduced for the first time. The discussion of these models is very curt, but there are other books and notes available if the reader needs further guidance. The best chapter of the book follows, which discusses probability and statistics for sequence alignment. The theory of large deviations is brought in, and the author does an excellent job of discussing this important, and powerful theory. The reader's level of mathematical sophistication is assumed to be a lot greater than the rest of the book in this chapter. Knowledge of measure theory and martingales are assumed here. The author uses the very powerful tool of relative entropy, so indispensable in other applications of probability. The problem set at the end of the chapter is challenging but working them through is definitely worth the time involved. The next chapter also uses some heavy guns from probability theory to study sequence patterns. The author returns to matter of a more empirical nature in Chapter 13, which deals with RNA secondary structures. The reader with a background in simple combinatorial theory should find the reading straightforward and informative. Continuous-time Markov chains are introduced in the next chapter to study trees and sequences. The treatment here is rather hurried, so again the reader should work the exercises at the end of the chapter. The book ends with a discussion of the literature and references. All in all a very nice book, worth the price, and worth spending time reading. The only minus might be the total omission of actual source code, but that really was not the intent of the book. Readers with a strong mathematical background will like the book, as well as anyone interested in going into the area of computational biology.

Computing Examples Supplement to Models in Biology: Mathematics, Statistics and Computing, Computing Supplement

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Computing Examples Supplement to Models in Biology: Mathematics, Statistics and Computing, Computing Supplement
D. Brown , and P. Rothery
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons Ltd (Import)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Software

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Natural History | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

Computing Supplement to Models in Biology, Mathematics, Statistics and Computing (Book With Disc)

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Computing Supplement to Models in Biology, Mathematics, Statistics and Computing (Book With Disc)
D. Brown
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Software

Mathematical Modeling in the Life Sciences (Ellis Horwood Series in Mathematics and Its Applications)

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Good source of Mathematical Models in Biology

Mathematical Modeling in the Life Sciences (Ellis Horwood Series in Mathematics and Its Applications)
Paul Doucet , and Peter B. Sloep
Manufacturer: Ellis Horwood Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Mathematics | Science | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

Good source of Mathematical Models in Biology.......2001-03-01

The book is very well organized, covering thopics for beginers in Biological Modeling, to advance thopics. It does have a chapter explaining parameter estimation and statistical inference as well. The Stochastic model analysis was very helpful to.

Book Description

Our understanding of the subsurface system of the earth is becoming increasingly more sophisticated both at the level of the behaviour of its components (solid, liquid and gas) as well as their variations in space and time. The implementation of coupled models is essential for the understanding of an increasing number of natural phenomena and in predicting human impact on these.

The growing interest in the relation between fluid flow and deformation in subsurface rock systems that characterise the upper crust has led to increasingly specialized knowledge in many branches of earth sciences and engineering. A multidisciplinary subject dealing with deformation and fluid flow in the subsurface system is emerging.

While research in the subject area of faulting, fracturing and fluid flow has led to significant progress in many different areas, the approach has tended to be "reductionist", i.e. involving the isolation and simplification of phenomena so that they may be treated as single physical processes. The reality is that many processes operate together within subsurface systems, and this is particularly true for fluid flow and deformation of fractured rock masses. The aim of this book is to begin to explore how advances in numerical modelling can be applied to understanding the complex phenomena observed in such systems.

Although mainly based on original research, the book also includes the fundamental principles and practical methods of numerical modelling, in particular distinct element methods. This volume explores the principles of numerical modelling and the methodologies for some of the most important problems, in addition to providing practical models with detailed discussions on various topics.

Book Description

A modern spin on the classic film Arsenic and Old Lace

The women of a small town's bird watching society secretly plan to “eliminate” the husband of one of their members in this new novel written by the beloved author of Sophie and the Rising Sun.

In a story replete with coconut cake, grits, and poisoned turtle stew, the founding members of the Tea-Olive Bird Watching Society in tiny Tea-Olive, Georgia, are conspiring to murder retired judge L. Hyson Breed, a newcomer to Tea-Olive. It all begins when the judge tricks one of them into marriage, steals her land for a development project, and sweet talks his way right onto the town council. By the time they discover his evil plans the judge is already a permanent fixture in town. Or is he? BACKCOVER: Praise for Augusta Trobaugh's previous books:
“With innocent, heartfelt humor, River Jordan provides gentle escape for Southern readers of all generations.”
—Southern Living

“Trobaugh streamlines her rich Southern style and creates a narrative as delicate as a line drawn.”
—USA Today

Customer Reviews:

the Right Thing?.......2007-02-19

You will love these women doing what they think is the right thing to do.

Loved it!.......2006-09-27

THE TEA-OLIVE BIRD WATCHING SOCIETY by Augusta Trobaugh
September 26, 2006

Rating: 4 Stars

THE TEA-OLIVE BIRD WATCHING SOCIETY by Augusta Trobaugh was a charming tale about a group of women who find that one of their closest friends has gotten herself into a bad relationship, and so two of them decide to help her out. The story takes place in a small town in Georgia, Tea-Olive, and the town has a local bird watching society. One member had jusrt recently passed away, and had bequeathed to the town a large sum of money and property. The money that had gone to the Library would be a yearly fund, but in the event the Library was shut down, the money would then be diverted to the town.

It's a strange coincidence that a retired judge decides to move to their quaint little town, and befriends all who are important in Tea-Olive, including those who are prominent in either the town council or the Library. Beulah, one of the members of the bird watching group, notices his actions, and immediatey becomes suspicious. With the help of another member, Zion, the two of them plot to get rid of the esteemed judge, especially after they see signs that he's been beating their dear friend Sweet, who is now his wife.

THE TEA-OLIVE BIRD WATCHING SOCIETY is a very light hearted, yet at the same time dark comedy that has two sweet ladies conspiring to commit murder. It's a comedy that will have the reader chuckling. I enjoyed this book a lot, and would welcome a sequel.

The breezy story line is fast-paced .......2006-08-25

In Tea-Olive, Georgia, the four friends (Beulah, Zion, Wildwood and Sweet) attend church together and enjoy bird watching and their late buddy Love-Divine bequests to the Tea-Olive Bird Watching Society a patch of land, the King's Woods Birds Sanctuary. If the club breaks up the town obtains the parcel to do what they want with it.

Retired New York Judge Hyson Breed moves to the town where he courts Sweet; they marry and he gains control of her family estate, which he plans to develop. Hyson isolates Sweet from her bird watching pals and becomes a favorite of the town merchants and leaders. Beulah and Zion worry about their friend who never sees anyone and when they visit her they see the bruises of abuse. Learning more about Hyson's plan to exploit their town like he has their friend, the ladies decide only his death can stop the evil he has brought with him.

Though the cast is stereotyped with the ladies being sweet, caring and pious and the villain malevolent sinister and devious, readers will laugh at the antics of steel magnolia vigilante justice as the tea-toting, bible-quoting ladies fumble and bumble in their endeavor to protect their cohort and town. The breezy story line is fast-paced as the classic good rural vs. evil urban premise makes for a fine polite (sort of like a southern contemporary Arsenic and Old Lace) regional character driven tale.

Harriet Klausner

A NATURAL STORY TELLER.......2006-06-23

This author, which I had never read before, is certainly a natural story teller. I enjoyed this one from cover to cover! The author gives us some well developed and delightful characters and indeed, her character developement is as strong as her story telling abilities, along with an amusing story that keeps the pages turning. This is a light read for sure but is just the ticket for a rainy weekend. The author has hit the region spot on. The ladies of the story could have been living just down the street from me as I grew up (actually, they still exist). The entire book has a rather humerous and dark overtone that is great. Recommend this one highly.

Don't eat the turtle soup!.......2005-11-03

Tea Olive is a sleepy little southern town where progress is frowned upon and the old fashioned ways of life are embraced. A group of female bird watchers, all except one named after Bible hymns (Zion, Beulah, Wildwood, Sweet and Memphis), are saddened when a member of their group dies but somewhat placated to learn that Love Devine (yes, that is her name) has left the sale of her home to the public library and a parcel of her farmland to be used as a bird sanctuary. Trouble enters the picture when a retired judge (one of those damn Yankees!) buys the house, woes the townspeople, gets on both the city council and the library board and then turns into Mr. Hyde when his true colors come shining through. When he marries Sweet, one of the bird watching members, and turns abusive, Zion and Beulah decide to take matters in their own hands when they can't get help from the local sheriff. Wonderfully written, not overly funny but oddly satisying, this was a fun read!

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