Real-World Ethical Hacking: Hands-on Cybersecurity from Udemy

What's inside

Learning objectives

Secure your computer, your network, and your data from 99% of all attacks on the internet.
Test for security vulnerabilities using the tricks the bad guys use.
Find and fix weaknesses and harden your computer's security.

Avoid phishing, viruses, ransomware, and online scams.
Keep yourself safe online, at home, at school, or at work.

Secure your computer, your network, and your data from 99% of all attacks on the internet.
Test for security vulnerabilities using the tricks the bad guys use.
Find and fix weaknesses and harden your computer's security.
Avoid phishing, viruses, ransomware, and online scams.
Keep yourself safe online, at home, at school, or at work.

Syllabus

By the end of this section, you'll be able to reset any user's password and create an administrator account on almost any Windows PC using just 2 reboots, 2 special keys, and 4 terminal commands!

Real-World Ethical Hacking is based on lessons taught in the National Cyber Warrior Academy, but this video course is not endorsed or sponsored by the University or by the NSA. All opinions expressed are the author's alone, and even ethical hacking carries some risk. Please use the tools and techniques in this course responsibly and ONLY on computers you own or have express, written permission to test.

Overview: What is Ethical Hacking?

Our first hands-on, real-world ethical hacking exercise: Hacking Windows, resetting a password and creating new admin users, using a boot disk.

The attack vector for this hack will be the Windows "Sticky Keys" app SETHC.EXE, triggered any time you press the SHIFT key 5 times in Windows.

Where to get a legal copy of Windows 10 Enterprise, and how to burn your own Windows 10 install/boot disc.

Just two reboots, two special keys, and four commands to PWN any Windows PC.

Second reboot, second key combo, and final two commands to add an admin/root/super user to any Windows box from Windows XP to Windows 10.1!

Stage 3: Gaining Access! Log in as root/super/admin user and recover your files!

Lessons Learned:

Physical access is total access
Never leave your laptop/desktop unattended
Ethical Hacking is practical and useful!

To protect against this hack:

Change your BIOS settings to require a password to change the boot order or boot device
Encrypt your files to make them unreadable without your ORIGINAL password

Extra: Mac Root Hack!

Use VirtualBox to create your own FREE, legal, Ethical Hacking lab with Windows, Linux, and Android VM's (virtual machines)!

Updated for VirtualBox 6.1 and newer - get started building your FREE ethical hacking virtual lab with Oracle VirtualBox on Mac, Windows, or Linux.

Updated for Kali Linux 2020.2 and newer versions!

Create a Windows 10 VM

Create an Android Phone/Tablet VM for Mobile Hacking!

The Ultimately Hackable Metasploitable!

Troubleshooting VirtualBox on Mac/Windows (Updated 6/2020 for VirtualBox 6.1)

Create and manipulate files from the command line in Linux and Windows, get to know your environment variables, check network settings and more!

Intro to Command-Line Linux and Windows

Basic Linux Commands

Command-Line Linux File Magic!

More Helpful Linux Commands

Display output like a table (| column –t):
mount | column –t
cat /etc/passwd | column -t -s :

Go back to previous directory: cd -

Turn on aliases in your .bashrc alias ll=‘ls -l’; alias la=‘ls -a’

Run multiple commands: ; (in order) or && (if successful)

Reuse last argument: !$ Reuse last command: !! (e.g. sudo !!)

Reverse text (rev): echo hello | rev

Draw banner letters (figlet): figlet hello

clear [also ctrl+L]

cal [calendar] factor 24 [factors…] > filename [empty file]

head [top of file] tail [last few lines] grep [superfind]

Basic Command-Line Commands for Windows

Windows File Commands

Advanced Windows Command-Line Commands

Command-Line Review for Linux and Windows

Create two VirtualBox networks, one private and the other public, and learn to switch your virtual machines from one network to the other, and when you should use each one.

Virtual Networking in VirtualBox

Creating the Private, Host-Only 10.0.3.x Network

Connecting Your VMs to the Host-Only Network

Creating and Using a Public NAT Network in VBox

Updating Kali and Windows VMs

Build a perfect Spear-Phishing email, and understand how to protect against phishing at work and at home.

Intro to Social Engineering

The Social Engineer's Toolkit in Kali Linux

Cloning Facebook and Harvesting User Passwords

2022 Update: If you're having trouble cloning a site in the previous lesson, try the Web Site Templates option in SET (press 1, 2, 3, 1, then choose any of the three pre-made web site templates, I chose Twitter). SET provides three usable templates to show how easy it is to trick users into filling in their username and password in a phishing site.

Intro to Spear-Phishing

Advanced IP Address Masking: Hiding Your Real URL

Crafting the Perfect Spear-Phishing Email

Capturing the User's Login and Password in Kali

A quick review and bonus on cloning Twitter's login page, updated for Kali 2020.2 and later.

Review: Social Engineering Techniques

Stopping Phishing at Work and at Home

Perform OSINT (open-source intelligence) information gathering about an organization or individual; use theHarvester, Recon-ng, nmap, and Legion to search, scan and enumerate devices and accounts

Information Gathering: Passive vs. Active Reconnaissance

OSINT (Open-Source INTelligence) Framework: Domain Dossier

theHarvester: How hackers find users and email information for phishing

Recon-ng: Enumeration of servers/hosts with Recon-ng

nmap: Active Scanning with nmap

Legion: Active network and vulnerability scanning with LEGION GUI

In this section, you'll learn how hackers build viruses and other malware, and how they can infect your computer to take full control of a Windows 10 machine.

Hacking Win10: The Attack Phase

Intro to Metasploit: The Hacker's Swiss Army Knife

See how easily attackers can create malware to take over your computer - you'll never want to click on a suspicious file again!

In this lesson, you learn to run the Apache web server on Kali to share your virus as a downloadable file to Windows 10.

We'll add USB support, attach a WebCam to the Win10 VM, and temporarily turn off the Windows Firewall and Virus Protection to make it a little easier for our first virus to infect the Windows 10 VM.

Infecting Your Windows 10 VM with the Virus

Use Meterpreter to download files from Windows 10, grab a screenshot of the user's desktop, listen to their keystrokes, even shut down their computer!

Attack Phase Recap/Reconnecting in Meterpreter

Intro to Meterpreter: Your Remote Attack Shell!

Viewing, Downloading and Uploading Files with Meterpreter

Stealing Screenshots, Keystrokes, and ,Webcams

How Attackers Steal Windows 10 Passwords: Privilege Escalation

Defending Yourself from Malware Attacks

Use the OpenGarages.org tools to access, test, and even modify your automobiles CAN controller area network! Includes a bonus Replay Attack!

Intro to Car Hacking!

Update: Installing can-utils and ICSim on Kali 2020 and newer

Running the Car Dashboard Simulator ICSim

Capturing CAN Traffic with CanSniffer

The Replay Attack: Replaying CAN Packets with CANplayer

Car Hacking Review

2022 Updated step-by-step instructions for reverse-engineering each function in your car by interacting with the CAN bus, finding the CAN bus IDs of the system you're changing, then determining the data values for that function and resending them one-by-one using the cansend command. A full start-to-finish tour of car hacking in 30 minutes or less!

If you're having trouble running the CAN tools, ICSim, cansniffer, etc., it could be because of video scaling on larger monitors. Be sure to change your View>Virtual Screen 1>Scaling to 100% (unscaled output) to fix VirtualBox's performance issues on high-resolution monitors. Then, you should be able to resize text inside the VM, as well as use your Magnifier tool in Windows or Zoom accessibility tool in MacOS, to be able to view your VM well without the extreme lagging that Video Scaling causes in VirtualBox. Search "VirtualBox VM slowness" in Google to find the most up-to-date fixes. My performance was more than 4x faster after fixing the scaling issue!

Special Lecture: Hacking the Car Hacking Software, to 1000 mph!

Car Hacking LIVE on Dr. Payne's VW Jetta: Facebook Live Video from NCWA 2017

Use Metasploit and Meterpreter to compromise Win7 computers from Kali Linux using common vulnerabilities and exploits!

Win7 isn't available from Microsoft anymore as a free VM, but I've included this lecture because you can still hack (and defend) a real Windows 7 computer, and there are millions of them still in use in businesses and homes - maybe even yours!

Intro to Metasploit

Setting up Guest Additions in VirtualBox

Creating an Exploit Payload with Metasploit

Sharing the Exploit over the Web

Running the Exploit to Hack Windows 7

Privilege Escalation: Gaining Root Access and Dumping Password Hashes

Metasploit & Meterpreter Review

Learn how to protect your password, and how to protect your information with simpler but BETTER passwords! Includes password cracking, hacking, snacking and hijacking!

Six Problems with Passwords

Hijacking Stored Passwords from Chrome and Firefox

Sniffing the Network: Installing Wireshark

Sniffing Unencrypted Passwords with Wireshark

Cracking Passwords with Kali and Online Tools

Seven Things You Can Do for Safer Passwords

Learn how to test for and how to prevent Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) and SQL Injection (SQLi) attacks using real-world examples.

Intro to Web Hacking

Hands-on Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Attacks That Work!

SQL (Structured Query Language) Injection: Messing with Databases

Advanced SQLi Attacks

Good to know

Know what's good

, what to watch for

, and possible dealbreakers

Covers social engineering, which is standard in industry

Examines ethical hacking, which is highly relevant to cybersecurity

Explores car hacking, which is an emerging field

Teaches command-line tools and techniques, which are useful for both personal and professional growth

Develops mobile hacking skills, which are useful for those working in information security

Assumes some background knowledge of command-line tools and ethical hacking techniques

Career center

Learners who complete Real-World Ethical Hacking: Hands-on Cybersecurity will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Information Security Analyst

Information Security Analysts spend their days putting their knowledge of computer science, network security, and risk management to use to protect their employer's networks and data from unauthorized access and cyberattacks. To be successful in this role, it is important to have a deep understanding of the ethical guidelines and practices surrounding computer and network security, as well as the latest cybersecurity hacking techniques such as phishing and ransomware. This course, _Real-World Ethical Hacking: Hands-on Cybersecurity_, introduces these important concepts, and will give you a solid foundation to build upon on your path to becoming an Information Security Analyst.

See salaries and explore the career path for Information Security Analyst

Penetration Tester

Penetration Testers are responsible for simulating cyberattacks on their employers' networks and systems in order to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses. They then report their findings to management so that the vulnerabilities can be fixed. A deep understanding of ethical hacking techniques is critical to being successful in this role, and this course, _Real-World Ethical Hacking: Hands-on Cybersecurity_, will give you the expertise you need to excel.

See salaries and explore the career path for Penetration Tester

Security Consultant

Security Consultants help guide businesses in improving their cybersecurity through risk management and audits. In this role, you would work closely with clients to assess their cybersecurity needs and vulnerabilities, and provide recommendations on how to protect their data and networks. Knowledge of ethical hacking techniques such as phishing and social engineering can give you an edge on understanding how to test your clients' systems, and familiarity with security tools like Kali Linux is also a plus. This course, _Real-World Ethical Hacking: Hands-on Cybersecurity_, will help you build the foundation you need to be successful in this role.

See salaries and explore the career path for Security Consultant

IT Auditor

IT Auditors assess organizations' information systems and controls in order to ensure compliance with laws, regulations, and internal policies. Ethical hacking is a valuable skill for IT Auditors, as it can help them identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses in an organization's systems and controls. The importance of cybersecurity and the prevalence of hacking in today's world make it more important than ever to have a solid understanding of ethical hacking techniques, and this course, _Real-World Ethical Hacking: Hands-on Cybersecurity_, can help you gain that competitive edge.

See salaries and explore the career path for IT Auditor

Cybersecurity Engineer

Cybersecurity Engineers design, implement, and maintain cybersecurity systems and software. This role requires a deep understanding of cybersecurity principles and practices, as well as the ability to keep up with new technologies. This course _Real-World Ethical Hacking: Hands-on Cybersecurity_, is a great way to gain valuable cybersecurity knowledge and skills.

See salaries and explore the career path for Cybersecurity Engineer

Network Security Engineer

Network Security Engineers design, implement, and maintain network security systems and software. This role requires a deep understanding of network security principles and practices, including ethical hacking techniques such as phishing and social engineering. This course, _Real-World Ethical Hacking: Hands-on Cybersecurity_, is a great way to gain the knowledge and skills you need for this role.

See salaries and explore the career path for Network Security Engineer

Data Analyst

Data Analysts use data to solve business problems. They collect, clean, and analyze data to identify trends and patterns that can help businesses make better decisions. This course, _Real-World Ethical Hacking: Hands-on Cybersecurity_, may be useful to those interested in Data Analyst roles, as it provides a foundation in data analysis and cybersecurity principles.

See salaries and explore the career path for Data Analyst

Computer Systems Analyst

Computer Systems Analysts analyze and design computer systems. This role requires a deep understanding of computer science principles and practices, as well as the ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders. This course, _Real-World Ethical Hacking: Hands-on Cybersecurity_, may be useful for those interested in Computer Systems Analyst roles, as it provides a foundation in computer science principles and cybersecurity practices.

See salaries and explore the career path for Computer Systems Analyst

IT Manager

IT Managers plan, implement, and manage IT systems and infrastructure. This role requires a deep understanding of IT principles and practices, as well as the ability to manage teams and projects. This course, _Real-World Ethical Hacking: Hands-on Cybersecurity_, may be useful for those interested in IT Manager roles, as it provides a foundation in IT principles and cybersecurity practices.

See salaries and explore the career path for IT Manager

Information Systems Manager

Information Systems Managers plan, implement, and manage information systems and technology. This role requires a deep understanding of information systems principles and practices, as well as the ability to manage teams and projects. This course, _Real-World Ethical Hacking: Hands-on Cybersecurity_, may be useful for those interested in Information Systems Manager roles, as it provides a foundation in information systems principles and cybersecurity practices.

See salaries and explore the career path for Information Systems Manager

Network Administrator

Network Administrators manage and maintain computer networks. This role requires a deep understanding of networking principles and practices, as well as the ability to troubleshoot and resolve network issues. This course, _Real-World Ethical Hacking: Hands-on Cybersecurity_, may be useful for those interested in Network Administrator roles, as it provides a foundation in networking principles and cybersecurity practices.

See salaries and explore the career path for Network Administrator

Security Architect

Security Architects design and implement security systems and solutions. This role requires a deep understanding of security principles and practices, as well as the ability to work with a variety of stakeholders. This course, _Real-World Ethical Hacking: Hands-on Cybersecurity_, may be useful for those interested in Security Architect roles, as it provides a foundation in security principles and cybersecurity practices.

See salaries and explore the career path for Security Architect

Software Engineer

Software Engineers design, develop, and maintain software systems. While this course, _Real-World Ethical Hacking: Hands-on Cybersecurity_, is not directly related to software engineering, it may be useful for Software Engineers who are interested in learning about ethical hacking techniques and cybersecurity principles.

See salaries and explore the career path for Software Engineer

Systems Administrator

Systems Administrators manage and maintain computer systems and software. This role requires a deep understanding of computer science principles and practices, as well as the ability to troubleshoot and resolve system issues. This course, _Real-World Ethical Hacking: Hands-on Cybersecurity_, may be useful for those interested in Systems Administrator roles, as it provides a foundation in computer science principles and cybersecurity practices.

See salaries and explore the career path for Systems Administrator

Web Developer

Web Developers design and develop websites and web applications. While this course, _Real-World Ethical Hacking: Hands-on Cybersecurity_, is not directly related to web development, it may be useful for Web Developers who are interested in learning about ethical hacking techniques and cybersecurity principles.

See salaries and explore the career path for Web Developer