Sunday, April 3, 2016

Anonymous Hackers breach South Africa’s Department of Water Affairs


Recently anonymous hackers have breach South African Government’s website database as part of #OpAfrica campaign.
Now the hackivists involved in the #OpAfrica and #OpMonsanto campaigns and have breached South Africa’s Department of Water Affairs (DWA).

Hackers have breached the site’s database, stolen all its data and dumped it online. The dumped data on online contains names, emails, ID numbers of over 5,800 government employees and collaborators.
It’s not over, even phone numbers, date of birth, addresses, departments where they work, job titles, and hashed passwords  has been dumped online.
Hackers got access to the site’s administration panel, and got all the user details.

Top Android Apps for Hacking



Here we have in no particular order the top Android apps for hacking using an android smartphone.
Disclaimer: These apps should be used for research purposes only
1. SpoofApp:- SpoofApp is a Caller ID Spoofing, Voice Changing and Call Recording mobile app for your iPhone, BlackBerry and Android phone. It’s a decent mobile app to help protect your privacy on the phone. However, it has been banned from the Play Store for allegedly being in conflict with The Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009.
2. Andosid:- The DOS tool for Android Phones allows security professionals to simulate a DOS attack (an http post flood attack to be exact) and of course a dDOS on a web server, from mobile phones.
3.Faceniff:- Allows you to sniff and intercept web session profiles over the WiFi that your mobile is connected to. It is possible to hijack sessions only when WiFi is not using EAP, but it should work over any private networks.
4.Nmapper:- (Network Mapper) is a security scanner originally written by Gordon Lyon used to discover hosts and services on a computer network, thus creating a “map” of the network. To accomplish its goal, Nmapper sends specially crafted packets to the target host and then analyses the responses.
5. Anti-Android Network Toolkit:- zANTI is a comprehensive network diagnostics toolkit that enables complex audits and penetration tests at the push of a button. It provides cloud-based reporting that walks you through simple guidelines to ensure network safety.
6. SSHDroid:- SSHDroid is a SSH server implementation for Android. This application will let you connect to your device from a PC and execute commands (like “terminal” and “adb shell”) or edit files (through SFTP, WinSCP, Cyberduck, etc).
7. WiFi Analyser:- Turns your android phone into a Wi-Fi analyser. Shows the Wi-Fi channels around you. Helps you to find a less crowded channel for your wireless router.
8. Network Discovery:- Discover hosts and scan their ports in your Wifi network. A great tool for testing your network security.
9. ConnectBot:- ConnectBot is a powerful open-source Secure Shell (SSH) client. It can manage simultaneous SSH sessions, create secure tunnels, and copy/paste between other applications. This client allows you to connect to Secure Shell servers that typically run on UNIX-based servers.
10. dSploit:-Android network analysis and penetration suite offering the most complete and advanced professional toolkit to perform network security assesments on a mobile device.
11. Hackode:- The hacker’s Toolbox is an application for penetration tester, Ethical hackers, IT administrator and Cyber security professional to perform different tasks like reconnaissance, scanning performing exploits etc.
12.Androrat:- Remote Administration Tool for Android. Androrat is a client/server application developed in Java Android for the client side and in Java/Swing for the Server.
13.APKInspector:- APKinspector is a powerful GUI tool for analysts to analyse the Android applications. The goal of this project is to aide analysts and reverse engineers to visualize compiled Android packages and their corresponding DEX code.
14.DroidBox:- DroidBox is developed to offer dynamic analysis of Android applications.
15.Burp Suite:- Burp Suite is an integrated platform for performing security testing of web applications. Its various tools work seamlessly together to support the entire testing process, from initial mapping and analysis of an application’s attack surface, through to finding and exploiting security vulnerabilities.
16. Droid Sheep:- DroidSheep can be easily used by anybody who has an Android device and only the provider of the web service can protect the users. So Anybody can test the security of his account by himself and can decide whether to keep on using the web service.
17. AppUse:– Android Pentest Platform Unified Standalone Environment:- AppSec Labs recently developed the AppUse Virtual Machine. This system is a unique, free, platform for mobile application security testing in the android environment, and it includes unique custom-made tools created by AppSec Labs.
18. Shark for Root:- Traffic sniffer, works on 3G and WiFi (works on FroYo tethered mode too). To open dump use WireShark or similar software, for preview dump on phone use Shark Reader. Based on tcpdump.
19. Fing:- Find out which devices are connected to your Wi-Fi network, in just a few seconds.
Fast and accurate, Fing is a professional App for network analysis. A simple and intuitive interface helps you evaluate security levels, detect intruders and resolve network issues.
20.Drozer:- drozer enables you to search for security vulnerabilities in apps and devices by assuming the role of an app and interacting with the Dalvik VM, other apps’ IPC endpoints and the underlying OS. drozer provides tools to help you use and share public Android exploits. It helps you to deploy a drozer agent by using weasel – MWR’s advanced exploitation payload.
21. WifiKill:– Second app, developed also by B.Ponury is an app which can kill connections and kick site-hoggers from the site. This app definitely kick then net user from the site so he cannot use it anymore. The app also offers the list of viewed sites by the hogger.
22. DroidSniff:– Similar to DroidSheep but with a newer and nicer interface is DroidSniff – sniffing app not only for Facebook. This app shows you what is the hogger looking for and then you can “take” his control, steal the cookies and rock’n’roll. Works perfectly.
23. Network Spoofer:– The last app, called NetWork Spoofer is very similar to dSploit but it’s more easier to use. Only hitch is that you need to have at least 500MB of free data. It offers you a lot of troll features – change Google searches, flip images, redirect websites, swap YouTube videos and others.
24. Droid SQLI:- allows you to test your MySQL based web application against SQL injection attacks. DroidSQLi supports the following injection techniques: Time based injection, blind injection, error based injection, normal injection.
25. sqlmapchik:- is a cross-platform sqlmap GUI for the extremely popular sqlmap tool
26. Whatsapp viewer:- is a simple forensic tool. It gives the access to whatsapp chat directly from sqlite databases, even from encrypted databases.
27. WhatsAPI:- Is a platform that allows you to send bulk messages through PHP. The script itself is simple.

How To Build An Open Source Personal Food Computer (PFC)?


Short Bytes: The Open Agriculture Initiative (OpenAG) is an MIT program that aims to create more robo-farmers for the future of food production. The initiative is developing open source software and hardware for sensor-controlled agriculture systems. Know more about the initiative and learn how to build your own Personal Food Computer (PFC).

What is a Food Computer?

Food Computer is basically a tool for users to innovate, test, hack and grow the crops more efficiently. OpenAG is working to develop an open source system that enables people to contribute to a universal library of climate recipes that could be used by everybody to improve the crops.
The Food Computer is controlled-environment agriculture technology that uses automated systems to control and study vital factors like energy, water, nutrition, climate etc inside a specialized chamber. These climate variables can be controlled with the help of different sensors. Food Computers can be made in a variety of sizes suited for different production needs:
  • Personal Food Computer — a PC-sized unit for small scale environments perfect for hobbyist, schools, draw makers etc.
  • Food Server — the mid-sized units are suitable for small-scale cafeterias, restaurants, researchers and small scale producers to grow on-site.
  • Food Datacenter — still in development phase, a warehouse-size unit capable of industrial production

How to make a Personal Food Computer (PFC)?

The OpenAG initiative has released its internal documentation and an inside look into its engineering process. The hardware and software of the computer are now open source and could be used to create a PFC.
Anyone who is interested in making a Food Computer will be needed to modify and hack the instructions provided by the team as the project is still in an early development phase.
Here’s the GitHub link to access all documentation.
Below is a video that shows how to built a prototype version of the control panel, frame, and the shell out of easily available parts.
Here’s a demo video of the software system that will power the Personal Food Computer. It’s a place where you can keep your data log easily and study the progress:

How To Get Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Operating System For Free


Short Bytes: To own a copy of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), you need to purchase a license. However, if you are a developer, Red Hat has introduced a program that’ll let you own a copy free-of-cost. Read more and know how to get a free license of RHEL.
If you wish to get involved with Linux development, you need to master C, download a Linux distro and get started. But, when it comes to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) development, things are different. The OS doesn’t come free of cost — a weird thing in the open source world — and to program for RHEL, you need to spend some money.
Now, Red Hat is here to make things easier for your by allowing you to get RHEL subscription for free. This has been made possible with company’s Red Hat Developer Program. It looks like Red Hat is celebrating its historic $2 billion annual revenue by releasing a developer-focused gift to the open source community.
The free-of-cost Red Hat Enterprise Linux Developer Suite is a self-supported and non-production subscription that will act as a stable dev platform for making applications suitable for enterprise and suitable for cloud, virtual, physical, and container-centric infrastructures.
All you need to do is join Red Hat Developer Program that will also give you access to the Red Hat Container Developer Kit (CDK) and a local desktop instance of OpenShift Enterprise for development purposes.
Here’s what you’ll get as a part of this package:
  • RHEL 7 Server
  • Development tools with long-term support. These tools include Python, PHP, Ruby, OpenJDK 7 (1.7), OpenJDK 8 (1.8) and more.
  • Multiple opens-source programming languages, databases, web servers, and other tools
If you are looking to take advantage of this offer, you can sign up here. Don’t miss the opportunity and take advantage of this platform from a leader in open source technologies.

Hub vs Switch: Comparison And Difference Between Networking Devices


Short Bytes: Hub vs Switch – which one is better? Which one should be used for faster communication? Which one is more secure? Well, we answer all the aspects of using a hub and a switch against each other in this article.
Hub was very popular before the arrival of a Switch. So, what was something special inside a Switch which made Switch so popular? We will take a look at all the differences and functional aspects between a Switch and hub.
Let’s take a look:

Hub vs switch — Comparison and differences

Hub’s properties:

  • Works at the physical layer of the OSI layer
  • Uses ‘Store and forwarding’ when it receives a data packet
  • A virtual LAN cannot be created using a hub
  • Usually comes with 4 to 12 ports
  • Only transmits electrical signals or the bits (relate it with physical layer)
  • Does not use any software
  • Does not have its own memory for memorizing the devices connected over to the network
  • Cannot learn the MAC addresses and neither can forward them
  • Supports Half-duplex transmission mode
  • A hub has only one broadcast domain
  • Cannot support Spanning tree protocol
  • Packet collisions occur commonly inside a hub

Switch’s properties:

  • Works at the Data link layer or layer two of the OSI model
  • Uses ‘filter and forwarding’ when it receives a data packet
  • A virtual LAN can be created using a Switch and it can also work as a multi-port bridge
  • Usually comes with 24 to 48 ports
  • Transmits Frames (layer 2 packets) and Layer 3 packets of the OSI model
  • Uses its software for admin access and other configurations
  • Has its own memory for memorizing the devices connected over to the network
  • Can learn the MAC addresses and stores those addressed in a CAM (Content Addressable Memories)
  • Supports Half as well as full duplex transmission mode
  • A hub has only one broadcast domain
  • Can support Spanning tree protocol
  • No packet collisions occur commonly inside a hub

Working differences — Hub vs  switch

Before you proceed to further reading, have a look at the basic concepts of the different networking devices and hardware types — hub, switch, router, modem, bridge, repeater.
Let’s say a few computers are connected to a hub in one of the scenarios and in the other scenario, they are connected to a switch.
In the Hub’s case, when all the computers send data packets, those are copied as a signal at the different ports of the hub. That means, the hub simply replicates the signal and the intended recipient gets the packets. Since there is no concept of filtering the packets and forwarding those, there will be a lot of collisions as well.
When the same data packet will arrive at one of the ports of a Switch, the following generic steps will take place:
  • A data packet arrives at one of the ports.
  • The Switch checks of the address inside the data packet (also called as a frame of layer 2 on OSI model)
  • The switch has a CAM table and it will match the address of the frame with one of the addresses of the CAM table.
  • If the address matches, the switch known the particular port at which that address resides. So the Switch will forward that packet to that particular port and this is also called as ‘Filter and forwarding’ in computer networks terms
  • These things are all possible because of a configuration file and memory inside a Switch which is absent in a hub.
  • The network admin can configure the switch according to his preference.
  • Because of the filter and forwarding, there is no collision inside a switch.

“Mr. Linux” Of Oracle Joins Microsoft To Lead Open Source And Linux Efforts


Short Bytes: Microsoft’s HR department has poached the man who turned Oracle into a Linux-dominated company. Wim Coekaerts, commonly known as Oracle’s “Mr. Linux”, has joined Redmond folks to head up its Linux and open source efforts.
This is an established fact that Microsoft loves Linux and open source technologies. The recent developments at Build Developer Conference 2016 will soon allow developers to use Ubuntu on Windows 10.
In order to fasten the progress of Linux and open source projects at Redmond, the company’s HR department has stepped up its game. The software giant has reportedly poached Wim Coekaerts, commonly known as Oracle’s “Mr. Linux”.
In the tech world, Coekaerts is well-known for his contribution to Linux projects and bringing the open source technology to Oracle. He also turned Oracle into a Linux distro-maker with the launch of Oracle Linux for the enterprise.
Talking to ZDNet, Mike Neil, Microsoft’s Corporate VP of the Enterprise Cloud has confirmed this news.
“Wim Coekaerts has joined Microsoft as Corp VP of Open Source in our Enterprise Cloud Group. As we continue to deepen our commitment to open source, Wim will focus on deepening our engagement, contributions and innovation to the open-source community,” he said.
Microsoft became involved with Linux since Satya Nadella became CEO, going as far as creating a custom Linux-based software for networking and Azure.
The company hasn’t told what parts of its open source efforts will be taken care by Coekaerts, but it’s important to note that he is the person who turned Oracle into a company dominated by Linux-based technologies.
So, is it another indication that Microsoft is soon going to make a Linux distribution and turn our April Fool’s “Windows L” joke into a reality? We’ll have to wait and find out.

Friday, April 1, 2016

Here are some “very basic” tips to keep your Windows 10 PC running smoothHere are some “very basic” tips to keep your Windows 10 PC running smooth


Tips to make your Windows 10 PC run faster

Experts say, Windows 7 and XP are best in terms of UI and hardware management. And the latest Windows 10 is somewhat a “bulky” OS. So if you are among the people who have updated their Windows, you may be facing issue of reduced performance(specially if you were a Windows 7 user). We are providing some stuff here, These tips should help you improve performance on your computer by cleaning the clutter you don’t really need.

1: Prevent programs from loading on startup

Some programs are launched at startup, these programs are ones which Windows tries to provide fast access to . But this approach is less efficient at times when such programs are seldom used.
You have to visit the Startup tab of the Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) or use Microsoft’s official (and free) “Autoruns for Windows” tool to see what’s launching alongside the OS. From there, you can disable anything you don’t want. If there’s a particular entry you’re not sure about, err on the side of caution and leave it to be.
Windows

2:Uninstall unnecessary apps

Unused applications don’t necessarily do your PC any direct harm, but they take up valuable hard disk space and room in the memory, and tend to mean Windows is working harder than it needs to. They can also cause unexpected bugs and incompatibility issues with other devices and apps.
Type “uninstall” in the taskbar search box then pick Change or remove a program to see all the applications currently stored on your machine. For any that have been gathering dust for a few months, click the relevant icon and select Uninstall, then follow the instructions on screen to complete the process.
Windows

3:Disable background apps

Some apps run in background by default, and luckily you can change this setting.
To modify software running in the background, go to Settings from the Start menu then click Privacy and Background apps. Turn off the toggle switches next to the apps you don’t want to have running all the time. Of course, you can still launch these programs manually if you need them.
Windows

4.Clean up the disks:

Microsoft’s Disk Cleaner utility has survived through all of the recent Windows upheaval, and it’s still a great way to sweep out some of the temporary data and unnecessary files taking up room on your hard drive. Even better, now it’s mostly automatic and easy to navigate.
Right-click on any drive in File Explorer, then choose Properties and Disk Cleanup (under the General tab) to find the program. It targets files including system memory dump files and temporary internet files, and you can review its findings before clicking on the OK button to confirm.
Windows
A great idea is to use a speedup tool like CCleaner Professional, which will perform everything mentioned above for you.