| | |  | Spyware | Home » » » » The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing: Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing Made Easy (Syngress Basics Series) | | | | | | | Description: | | The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing serves as an introduction to the steps required to complete a penetration test or perform an ethical hack. You learn how to properly utilize and interpret the results of modern day hacking tools; which are required to complete a penetration test. Tool coverage will include, Backtrack Linux, Google, Whois, Nmap, Nessus, Metasploit, Netcat, Netbus, and more. A simple and clean explanation of how to utilize these tools will allow you to gain a solid understanding of each of the four phases and prepare them to take on more in-depth texts and topics. This book includes the use of a single example (pen test target) all the way through the book which allows you to clearly see how the tools and phases relate.
- Each chapter contains hands-on examples teach you how to interpret the results and utilize those results in later phases
- Written by an author who has practical experience as a Penetration Tester and who has taught “Introduction to Penetration Testing? for 5 years
- Utilizes Backtrack Linux distribution and the “core? tools required to complete a penetration test
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Average Customer Review:
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31 of 32 found the following review helpful:
 Excellent book - Delivers on the TitleAug 15, 2011
By jlh
This is a really great book that delivers on the promise described in the title. It covers the basics of hacking and penetration test and makes no assumption of prior security or hacking knowledge. This is an excellent resource for anyone looking to jumpstart his or her knowledge in this area.
The book takes the reader on a quick step-by-step journey through a penetration test beginning with Information Gathering, moving into Scanning, then Exploitation, and concluding with Report Writing. While the book does not cover any particular methodology like OSSTM or PTES it does a nice job of laying out each step in an orderly and straightforward manner. The book covers all of the major tools, in an appropriate order so the reader gets a good sense of how to run the tools and how they relate to each other.
The book gets down to business in chapter 1 and wastes no time in bringing the reader up to speed on the latest tools and techniques. One of the greatest strengths of the book is its size. Most people will be able to read through the entire book in just a few days. Another benefit of covering only the basics is that the book should have a longer shelf life. As the author points out, a Nmap Syn scan has been the same for the past 10 years.
If you're looking for an in-depth coverage of any particular tool like Nmap, Metasploit, or the like, this is not the book for you. You're better off buying a book dedicated to the tool you're interested in.
On the flip side, if you're interested in seeing the whole picture and getting a feel for how to run and use the major tools used in a basic penetration test this is a good buy.
Finally, I enjoyed the laidback and casual writing style of the author. This made the chapters easier to digest and kept me interested while still delivering enough technical meat to satisfy my knowledge and process requirements.
10 of 10 found the following review helpful:
A delicious sip of network security and PEN testOct 10, 2011
By Jose A. Campo
"SQL DBA [MCTS on SQL2005 & 2008]"
Very easy to read, very fun and interesting! I'm more into databases but the way everything integrates now in the current IT world, I realized that I need to get a better understanding of how to protect my database servers (or provide additional value to my Projects), network or at least, being able to discuss about security with my network team without feeling lost. This books is about how to protect yourself from the very "nasty" and "wild" Internet world we all are living in. It will change your false sense of security at work or home, trust me! Even though this is not an in-depth volume about PEN testing tools or techniques, this book delivers what is promised on the cover and much more!
All chapters are very coherent, meticously structured and nicely integrated between each other thanks to the PEN test process it follows. There are even suggestions about how to test all the examples in a secure and practical way. Of course, a virtual lab using any of the virtualization technologies is highly advised. The author suggests VMware, I used Parallels, but there are several free tools out there including Virtual PC or VirtualBox, both are free as well.
The book uses Metasploit framework/software for its examples but makes strong emphasize on concepts rather than tools, which it is very good in my opinion because whatever is being taught can be later extrapolated using other tools. PEN test is more a process than mere scripts and tools. I also like the fact that you don't need a very strong knowledge on networking, cryptography or C++ in order to understand this book. Instead It relies on easy vocabulary with lot of examples and screen-shoots that help almost anyone who is new into this field (a basic knowledge of Linux won't hurt though, that made it easy for me to understand some commands)
-- Additional bibliography --
Once you're done with this one I recommend these two books: Metasploit: The Penetration Tester's Guide, by David Kennedy and Nmap Cookbook: The Fat-free Guide to Network Scanning. The 1st one expands a bit more on the Metasploit software and its components, which are briefly explained on the Syngress book. The Nmap cookbook, talks about nmap scanning tool and different switches you can use when working on the scanning phase; nmap cookbook is not a theory book, but visual examples of how to use the tool depending of the target or desired goal
16 of 18 found the following review helpful:
Really helped my understanding of Penetration TestingAug 19, 2011
By Frederick Schmidt
I work for a small company with little resources for security when it comes to protection against people with malicious intent. We run our own web and data servers and have been hacked on at least on occasion. This book really helped me learn how to test my network for weaknesses. Gave me best practice tips for protecting our servers against unwanted penetration. Most of all it showed me how little I new about how easy it was to penetrate our network even with off the shelf applications. This book is a must for small businesses trying to run big business operations.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 Great taste for potential pen testersSep 05, 2011
By Mikey Psycho
I'm not finished with the book, but I felt it necessary to express my opinion. The reason I gave it 4 starts instead of 5 is because I feel to the book is too short and definitely has the ability to expand in certain areas. The writing is not too technical, easy to follow, and the author gives plenty of examples to help you follow what he is doing. That's great, but you only get about a page or page and a half on each type of software you can use for pen testing. Yes while there are books out there for specific types of software, I believe it is impractical to read everything given the huge amount of security software out there. That is why I would like to have seen a little bit more, a page or two extra on each program for example, from this book since it did a great job in the limited time that it had (only 150 pages of material). Anyway, I look forward to more (articles and books) from this author.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Great bookSep 03, 2011
By Charles W. Hayes
What can I say, this is a great book for the beginning to intermediate pen tester. It never hurts to learn new techniques or see how someone else approaches doing something to gain new insights you can use in the future.
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