Weapons I found most dangerous In Digital Warfare

• Nmap
• Nessus
• Metasploit
• W3af
• John The Ripper
• Nikto
• Superscan
• Wireskark
• Cain & Abel
• Kismet
• Netstumbler
• hping
• paros proxy
• netcat
• netwag
• dsniff
• hunt
• aircrack
• Brutus
• Hydra
• lophtcrack
• Ethereal
• Snort
• tcpduump
• Ettercap
• Airsnort
• Webscarab
• Core Impact
• Pwdump
• RainbowCrack
• Firewalk
• Angry IP Scanner
• RK Hunter
• chrootkit
• Wikto
• N-Stealth

Note: All the tools and information available on this blog is only for learning purpose. Please, 'NO' destructive use. 

Testing Your Web Apps

A Quick 10-Step Guide

by Krishen Kota, PMP

Interested in a quick checklist for testing a web application? The following 10 steps cover the most critical items that I have found important in making sure a web application is ready to be deployed. Depending on size, complexity, and corporate policies, modify the following steps to meet your specific testing needs.

Step 1 - Objectives

Make sure to establish your testing objectives up front and make sure they are measurable. It will make your life a lot easier by having written objectives that your whole team can understand and rally around. In addition to documenting your objectives, make sure your objectives are prioritized. Ask yourself questions like "What is most important: minimal defects or time-to-market?"

Here are two examples of how to determine priorities:

If you are building a medical web application that will assist in diagnosing illnesses, and someone could potentially die based on how correctly the application functions, you may want to make testing the correctness of the business functionality a higher priority than testing for navigational consistency throughout the application.

If you are testing an application that will be used to solicit external funding, you may want to put testing the aspects of the application that impact the visual appeal as the highest testing priority.

Your web application doesn't have to be perfect; it just needs to meet your intended customer's requirements and expectations.

Step 2 – Process and Reporting

Make sure that everyone on your testing team knows his or her role. Who should report what to whom and when? In other words, define your testing process. Use the following questions to help you get started:

• How will issues be reported?
• Who can assign issues?
• How will issues be categorized?
• Who needs what report and when do they need it?
• Are team meetings scheduled in advance or scheduled as needed?

You may define your testing process and reporting requirements formally or informally, depending on your particular needs. The main point to keep in mind is to organize your team in a way that supports your testing objectives and takes into account the individual personalities on your team. One size never fits all when dealing with people.

Step 3 - Tracking Results

Once you start executing your test plans, you will probably generate a large number of bugs, issues, defects, etc. You will want a way to easily store, organize, and distribute this information to the appropriate technical team members. You will also need a way to keep management informed on the status of your testing efforts. If your company already has a system in place to track this type of information, don't try to reinvent the wheel. Take advantage of what's already in place.

If your company doesn't already have something in place, spend a little time investigating some of the easy-to-setup online systems such as the one found atAdminiTrack.com. By using an online system, you can make it much easier on yourself by eliminating the need to install and maintain an off-the-shelf package.

Step 4 - Test Environment

Set up a test environment that is separate from your development and production environment. This includes a separate web server, database server, and application server if applicable. You may or may not be able to utilize existing computers to setup a separate test environment.

Create an explicitly defined procedure for moving code to and from your test environment and make sure the procedure is followed. Also, work with your development team to make sure each new version of source code to be tested is uniquely identified.

Step 5 - Usability Testing

In usability testing, you'll be looking at aspects of your web application that affect the user's experience, such as:

• How easy is it to navigate through your web application?
• Is it obvious to the user which actions are available to him or her?
• Is the look-and-feel of your web application consistent from page to page, including font sizes and colors?

The book, "Don't Make Me Think! A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability" by Steve Krug and Roger Black, provides a practical approach to the topic of usability. I refer to it often, and recommend it highly.

In addition to the traditional navigation and look-and-feel issues, Section 508 compliance is another area of importance. The 1998 Amendment to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act spells out accessibility requirements for individuals with certain disabilities.

For instance, if a user forgets to fill in a required field, you might think it is a good idea to present the user with a friendly error message and change the color of the field label to red or some other conspicuous color. However, changing the color of the field label would not really help a user who has difficulty deciphering colors. The use of color may help most users, but you would want to use an additional visual clue, such as placing an asterisk beside the field in question or additionally making the text bold.

For more details, refer to http://www.section508.gov. Another great resource that can help analyze your HTML pages for Section 508 compliance can be found athttp://www.cast.org/bobby/. If you are working with the United States federal government, Section 508 compliance is not only good design, it most likely is a legal requirement. You may want to utilize the following information regarding techniques for accessibility evaluation and repair tools, which can be found athttp://www.w3.org/TR/AERT.

Step 6 – Unit Testing

Unit testing is focused on verifying small portions of functionality. For example, an individual unit test case might focus on verifying that the correct data has been saved to the database when the Submit button on a particular page is clicked.

An important subset of unit testing that is often overlooked is range checking. That is, making sure all the fields that collect information from the user, can gracefully handle any value that is entered. Most people think of range checking as making sure that a numeric field only accepts numbers. In addition to traditional range checking make sure you also check for less common, but just as problematic exceptions. For example, what happens when a user enters his or her last name and the last name contains an apostrophe, such as O'Brien? Different combinations of databases and database drivers handle the apostrophe differently, sometimes with unexpected results. Proper unit testing will help rid your web application of obvious errors that your users should never have to encounter.

Step 7 - Verifying the HTML

Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) is the computer language sent from your web server to the web browser on your users' computer to display the pages that make up your web application. The World Wide Web Consortium (http://www.w3.org) manages the HTML specification. One major objective of HTML is to provide the ability for anyone from anywhere to access information on the World Wide Web. This concept generally holds true if you conform strictly to the relevant version of the HTML specification that you will support. Unfortunately, in the real world, it is possible for a developer to inadvertently use a proprietary HTML tag that may not work for all of your intended users.

Verifying HTML is simple in concept but can be very time consuming in practice. A good place to start is with the World Wide Web Consortium's free HTML Validation Service (http://validator.w3.org). There are also other online and downloadable applications to help in this area such as Net Mechanic (http://www.netmechanic.com). There are two main aspects of verifying the validity of your HTML. First, you want to make sure that your syntax is correct, such as verifying that all opening and closing tags match, etc. Secondly, you want to verify how your pages look in different browsers, at different screen resolutions, and on different operating systems. Create a profile of your target audience and make some decisions on what browsers you will support, on which operating systems, and at what screen resolutions.

In general, the later versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer are very forgiving. If your development team has only been using Internet Explorer 5.5 on high-resolution monitors, you may be unpleasantly surprised when you see your web application on a typical user's computer. The sooner you start verifying your HTML, the better off your web application will be.

Step 8 - Load Testing

In performing load testing, you want to simulate how users will use your web application in the real world. The earlier you perform load testing the better. Simple design changes can often make a significant impact on the performance and scalability of your web application. A good overview of how to perform load testing can be found on Microsoft's Developer Network (MSDN) website:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/03/01/LoadTesting/default.aspx

A topic closely related to load testing is performance tuning. Performance tuning should be tightly integrated with the design of your application. If you are using Microsoft technology, the following article is a great resource for understanding the specifics of tuning a web application.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vsent7/html/vxconPerformance.asp

People hate to wait for a web page to load. As general rule, try to make sure that all of your pages load in 15 seconds or less. This rule will of course depend on your particular application and the expectations of the people using it.

Step 9 - User Acceptance Testing

By performing user acceptance testing, you are making sure your web application fits the use for which it was intended. Simply stated, you are making sure your web application makes things easier for the user and not harder. One effective way to handle user acceptance testing is by setting up a beta test for your web application.

Step 10 - Testing Security

With the large number of highly skilled hackers in the world, security should be a huge concern for anyone building a web application. You need to test how secure your web application is from both external and internal threats. The security of your web application should be planned for and verified by qualified security specialists.

Some additional online resources to help you stay up to date on the latest Internet security issues include:

CERT Coordination Center
http://www.cert.org

Computer Security Resource Center
http://csrc.nist.gov

After performing your initial security testing, make sure to also perform ongoing security audits to ensure your web application remains secure over time as people and technology change.

Testing a web application can be a totally overwhelming task. The best advice I can give you is to keep prioritizing and focusing on the most important aspects of your application and don't forget to solicit help from your fellow team members.

By following the steps above coupled with your own expertise and knowledge, you will have a web application you can be proud of and that your users will love. You will also be giving your company the opportunity to deploy a web application that could become a run away success and possibly makes tons of money, saves millions of lives, or slashes customer support costs in half. Even better, because of your awesome web application, you may get profiled on CNN, which causes the killer job offers to start flooding in.

Proper testing is an integral part of creating a positive user experience, which can translate into the ultimate success of your web application. Even if your web application doesn't get featured on CNN, CNBC, or Fox News, you can take great satisfaction in knowing how you and your team's diligent testing efforts made all the difference in your successful deployment.

Reference: http://www.adminitrack.com/articles/TestingYourWebApps.aspx

Some Pentest Report Sample and Templates

http://www.niiconsulting.com/services/security_assessment/NII_Sample_PT_Report.pdf

http://www.offensive-security.com/offsec-sample-report.pdf

http://www.sans.org/reading_room/whitepapers/bestprac/writing-penetration-testing-report_33343

http://www.vulnerabilityassessment.co.uk/report%20template.html

http://www.digitalencode.net/ossar/ossar_v0.5.pdf

http://www.besnard.org/biometrics/2BIO706_business_report.pdf

How to write a penetration testing report..

I see some people regularly asking for sample penetration test reports. Well, here's some I found on the net.

Sample Penetration Test Report by Offensive Security-- An excellent report by an excellent team.
www.offensive-security.com/offsec-sample-report.pdf

Writing a Penetration Testing Report -- Probably one of the best papers on this subject. It was written by Mansour A. Alharbi for his GIAC certification. The author starts with report development stages, then describes the report format and ends it with a sample report.
http://www.sans.org/reading_room/whitepapers/bestprac/writing-penetration-testing-report_33343

Report  Template-- A report template by vulnerabilityassessment.co.uk
www.vulnerabilityassessment.co.uk/report%20template.html
PDF version:
http://www.okdhs.org/NR/rdonlyres/EDC02492-637C-4C45-B305-35856EBEE8DF/0/SecurityPenetrationTestResultsRprttemp_EPMO_05052009.pd

Penetration Testing Report-- Sample report by niiconsulting.com
http://www.niiconsulting.com/services/security_assessment/NII_Sample_PT_Report.pdf

Penetration Test Report-- Another good sample report
www.besnard.org/biometrics/2BIO706_business_report.pdf

Penetration Test Report-- Sample OSSAR report
www.digitalencode.net/ossar/ossar_v0.5.pdf

penetration testing report template-- Template by logicallysecure.com
http://www.logicallysecure.com/resources/downloads/penetration%20testing%20report%20template.doc

How to develop an enterprise security policy

By Marc Gartenberg

January 13, 2005 12:00 PM ET

Computerworld - Policy is the cornerstone of an effective organization. It serves as a road map that every person in the organization can use in a variety of ways. However, the policy document has to be overarching and fairly all-encompassing -- clearly a challenge from the start. As such, policy development is often referred to as an art as well as a skill.
Federal agencies have a statutory obligation under the Federal Information Security Management Act to maintain an up-to-date security policy. The responsibility lies with the CIO, the chief information security officer (CISO) and, ultimately, the head of the agency. This maps well to industry; just replace the agency head with the CEO.
A good security policy takes into consideration the mission of the organization, the critical assets requiring protection, the threats posed and the mitigating risks against known vulnerabilities. These are all parts of a risk assessment that includes a business-impact analysis, which identifies the weaknesses, the critical assets and the effect on the company if a vulnerability were exploited.
Developing a security policy isn't a daunting task once the scope is identified using this simple explanation. The challenges are in defining the scope and writing a policy that can be embraced by other areas of the organization.
By definition, the policy is the high-level document that's used to guide the formulation of procedures and guidelines. The policy answers the question of "What should be done and by whom?" The procedures and guidelines answer the question of "How should it be done?"
Below are some tips for developing a comprehensive enterprise security policy. It's a checklist for any policy wonk given the responsibility of putting the document together. 

1. Know your organization. Without a realistic understanding of the organizational structure -- the players, the environment, the mission, goals and objectives -- it's exceedingly difficult to write a policy that will fit. Therefore, knowing the lay of the land -- the hierarchy and the roles and responsibilities of different areas -- is very important.
2. Define the scope and the agenda. What will the policy cover? This should be stated upfront in the policy document. Equally important is what it won't cover. If you can derive both, it will be meaningful to the people who need to translate the policy to practical procedures and/or guidelines.
3. Know your target audience. Who are the stakeholders for the various sections of the document? Who will be reading and signing off on it? The CEO, CIO and CISO are normally the key stakeholders, and each has a specific agenda that should be addressed. For the CEO, it would be the areas derived from the business-impact analysis; for the CIO, it would be the overall enterprise architecture and infrastructure that aligns and enables the CEO and the organizational mission; and for the CISO, it should address the critical infrastructure and assets, along with risk, vulnerability and mitigation focus.
4. Stay high-level, general and broad. These are critical points that need to be remembered as each policy statement is written. Going too far down in the weeds leads to the area of procedures, so it's important to keep the policy statements at the appropriate level and aligned with the mission.
5. Ensure that it can be easily translated to procedures and guidelines by the appropriate areas. Try a small sample, imagine the area to which the policy might apply and see if you can easily derive a procedure or guideline. After all, you might be asked for some examples down the road by less-experienced managers.
6. Keep weaknesses and organizational deficiencies in mind so the policy can address specific areas while staying aligned with your goals. Recognize the gaps and try to bridge them through policies. Keep the mission and business-impact analysis in mind. These are critical to effective policies that supplant the gaps in organizational functionality.
7. Be aware of external drivers. Depending on your industry, there may be regulatory requirements or cross-cutting laws. The policy should address the requirements to ensure compliance and make your organization a model.
8. Be realistic. If you can get a first cut past the approving authorities, it's a step in the right direction. Policies can never be static because the environment and organizational operations are always changing. Companies on the leading edge are dynamic in nature, and gaining competitive advantage requires continuous change and improvement. A policy that addresses 90% of the needs and is implemented is better than one that aims for 100% but never gets out of draft mode.
9. Ensure version control and backups. This seems like common sense, but you'd be surprised at how many organizations don't maintain tight version control, including documented procedures for modifications along with a good single backup strategy. You never want to end up hunting for the most current policy document, nor should you ever question its integrity. This in itself may require a policy.
10. Avoid controversy. This of course depends on how well the policy is rolled out and what changes are made. If change is required, do it incrementally. It hurts less. Having the backing of senior executive leadership is also important in the event that critical gaps require immediate change.
11. Wear a white hat. Remember, the whole reason for developing security policies is to benefit the organization and its personnel. If you are given the task of getting the job done, try to get acceptance from the key managers sooner rather than later. An effective policy development effort has collaboration written all over it. And, done properly, it can even be fun.
12. Finally, don't forget to smile and keep your sense of humor. It can be an intense effort, but by using proven project management methods, including milestones and timing, you can ensure that the important pieces are addressed first and that stress is minimized. It comes down to having a good road map, a strategy and a flashlight.

Sugar CRM is on the way!!!

Installation initializing............. Done!
Installation completed........... Done!
Configured Successfully........ Done!

Web Applications Vulnerability Assessment Tools

http://sectools.org/web-scanners.html

http://samate.nist.gov/index.php/Web_Application_Vulnerability_Scanners.html

Easy way to hack windows XP password using backtrack

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIeJkjB3okE

Easy steps to Penetrate in Oracle 10g database

http://www.red-database-security.com/wp/backtrack_oracle_tutorial.pdf

http://www.red-database-security.com/wp/itu2007.pdf

Millions gather at Holy Mosques seeking Lailat Al-Qadr blessings

An aerial view of the Grand Mosque in Makkah on Sunday, the 27th night of Ramadan. (AN photo by Khidr Al-Zahrani)

 1 of 3

By BADEA ABU AL-NAJA | ARAB NEWS

Published: Sep 6, 2010 00:22 Updated: Sep 6, 2010 00:32

MAKKAH/MADINAH: Over three million Muslims attended special prayers at the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah on Sunday, the 27th night of Ramadan, seeking the blessings of Lailat Al-Qadr (the Night of Power).

The Grand Mosque in Makkah overflowed with hundreds of thousands of Muslims as they came to perform Umrah, attend Taraweeh and Qiyamullail prayers. They also offered special prayers seeking the blessings of Lailat Al-Qadr, which is worth more than a 1,000 months in terms of rewards.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) has said: “Whoever offers voluntary prayers during the Night of Power out of belief and expecting its reward from Allah will have his past sins forgiven.”

The government has made all arrangements to receive the large crowds of worshippers from within the Kingdom and other parts of the world. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah is in Makkah to supervise the services being rendered to the guests of God.

About 4,500 police officers have been deployed to maintain law and order in the city. The Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques and the Makkah Municipality have deployed nearly 10,000 cleaning workers to keep the mosque and its surroundings neat and tidy.

About 20,000 water coolers have been kept in different parts of the mosque to supply drinking water to the faithful round the clock. Despite the huge crowd of worshippers, the traffic in Makkah was smooth and no major accidents have been reported. Special security officers had been deployed to arrest pickpockets and other criminals. The Civil Defense Department has kept its firefighting and rescue units ready inside the central region of Makkah.

All hotels and furnished apartments in Makkah were fully occupied. Sales of prayer mattresses went up on Sunday as many people bought them to pray outside the mosque. The price of such mattresses went up from SR10 to SR25 because of the huge demand.

The Saudi Public Transport Company operated a large number of buses to transport pilgrims from the large parking areas around Makkah to the mosque and back. Taxis were making a lot of money as they charged inflated fares of up to SR90 for taking pilgrims from the Haram to the parking lot, while mini buses were charging SR15 to SR20 for each pilgrim.

Municipal officials inspected fast-food shops around the mosque to make sure they fulfilled hygiene conditions.

At the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, a large number of Muslims including expatriate workers and foreign visitors attended Taraweeh and Qiyamullail prayers. The mosque was crowded with worshippers, including about 10,000 who were performing etikaf (a form of deep worship involving a period of retreat in a mosque).

Google Hacking for Penetration testers

http://books.google.com.pk/books?id=fKsc9NwsNpMC&lpg=PP1&ots=faOKGEmzRs&dq=google%20hacking&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false

Best book on Google hacking, I found yet.

Airbase near Jacobabad under US control, Senate panel told

ISLAMABAD: Health relief operations in Jacobabad are not possible because the airbase in the area is controlled by the US.

The stunning statement was made by Health Secretary Khushnood Lashari during an appearance at the Senate Standing Committee on Health on Wednesday.

“Health relief operations are not possible in the flood-affected areas of Jacobabad because the airbase is with the United States,” Mr Lashari said while answering a question asked by Senator Semeen Yusuf Siddiqui of PML-Q.

Dr Jahanzeb Aurakzai, coordinator of the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Centre, said: “Foreign health teams could not start relief operations in remote areas because there are no airstrips close to several areas, including Jacobabad.”

The town has been evacuated and 500,000 to 700,000 people have been affected. People displaced from Jacobabad, Thul, Kandhkot, Kashmore, Ghouspur and Karumpur are camping in Dera Allahyar.

“It is very unfortunate that Americans can launch a drone attack from Shahbaz airbase but the government is helpless even in using the country’s base for relief operations,” Senator Semeen said while talking to this correspondent.

She said the health ministry should have requested the army to ask the US to allow relief operation from the base.

“I don’t know why the health minister failed to report the matter to the quarters concerned, specifically the Pakistan Army.

“The airbase, which I think the government has given on lease to the Americans, should be used to provide immediate health relief to the flood-affected people.”

The committee, headed by Senator Kulsoom Parveen, was briefed by officials on health-related operations in the affected areas.

APP adds: Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman has ordered PAF to form an air bridge of relief supply for Jacobabad which has been cut off from the rest of the country and make operational an airfield near Sibi for immediate supply of relief goods to flood-hit areas in the vicinity.

Presiding over a meeting, he asked the air staff to use all available human and material resources to provide timely relief to the affected people.

Pakistan accepts India’s offer, appeals for more aid

NEW DELHI: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi appealed to the international community to provide more and immediate aid to cope with the humanitarian crisis due to the floods. 
 
Moreover, Pakistan has decided to accept flood aid from its neighbour India, saying the offer was a “very welcome initiative” as both countries look to improve their tense relations.

Foreign Minister Qureshi told India's NDTV television in an interview broadcast Friday that Islamabad would take India's offer of five million dollars which was made last Friday.

“I can share with you that the government of Pakistan has agreed to accept the Indian offer,” Qureshi said from New York, where he addressed a special session of the UN General Assembly called to boost aid for flood victims.

“I think this initiative of India is a very welcome initiative.”

India and Pakistan have made major efforts in recent months to build confidence in their relations, which were badly strained by the Mumbai 2008 terror attacks, which Indian blamed on militants from Pakistan.

The United States urged Pakistan earlier this week to accept the Indian offer and not let rivalry stand in the way of helping its citizens in flood-ravaged regions.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh rang his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday “to express his sense of sorrow and to condole the deaths resulting from the huge floods,” Singh's office said.
The catastrophic floods in Pakistan have claimed nearly 1,500 lives and affected 20 million people. – AFP

Pakistan crisis a 'slow-motion tsunami,' UN chief says

The U.N. secretary-general, who traveled to Pakistan last weekend to visit sites devastated by the disaster, said almost 20 million people need shelter, food and emergency care.
"That is more than the entire population hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami, the Kashmir earthquake, Cyclone Nargis, and the earthquake in Haiti -- combined," he said.
The United Nations has already appealed for $460 million over the next three months, Ban said, and although donors delivered more than a half, the available resources are not sufficient to meet the needs on the ground.
The European Commission has pledged 40 million euros ($51 million) since July 31 for the flood victims. It said it will mobilize an additional 30 million euros (about $38 million).
"This disaster is like few the world has ever seen. It requires a response to match," Ban said. "Pakistan needs a flood of support."
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who also attended the General Assembly meeting, announced an additional $60 million in U.S. aid. The funds bring to $150 million the amount pledged to Pakistan by the United States.
"I want the people of Pakistan to know: The United States will be with you through this crisis," she said. "We will be with you as the rivers rise and fall. We will be with you as you replant your fields and repair your roads. And we will be with you as you meet the long-term challenge to build a stronger nation and a better future for your families."
Clinton urged other nations to help the nation meet its funding goals.
Analysts have blamed "donor fatigue" for the delay in aid.

Pakistan has been on a seemingly constant round of donor needs -- to revive its feeble economy, to fight the Taliban and to recover from the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the 2009 refugee crisis.