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On January 11, 2010 the BackTrack team published the official release of BackTrack version 4. It is now possible to download both the traditional ISO and a high-useful VMWare virtual machine image. Now it is even easier to get up and running quickly. I used the final version recently on a security assessment and I am impressed with how this tool kit has grown in functionality and ease of use.
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BackTrack release 4 has been out now for a little over a month. They have had over 100,000 downloads of their security-focused distribution. Word has spread quickly of this great distribution image. Recently I performed a security assessment and made extensive use of BackTrack 4. It was useful to have a live assessment so that I could really explore all the tools that it had to offer.
After you download the image and install it you can start up the image or VM and log into the environment using the default login/password (root/toor). Once logged in you can type 'startx' at the root@bt# prompt to start the KDE window manager. To start up networking enter the command '/etc/init.d/networking start' to establish IP network connectivity.
BackTrack 4 organizes the tools into categories that relate to the security assessment methodology. Following is a screen shot of the tools and how they are organized along the lines of a typical assessment methodology. Some of the tools that I found useful were Dnsmap, Aircrack-NG, OpenVAS, MSF 3, xprobe2, 5nmp, nmap, MSSQLscan, ike-scan, and SSLscan.
A while back I wrote an article about how the BackTrack 4 pre-release version has some IPv6-capable utilities. I felt that this was an indication that IPv6 was becoming more mainstream and more useful to white/gray/blackhats. I was concerned over how encapsulated IPv6 traffic could be used as a command-and-control channel because it could pass through networks undetected. The reality is that traditional IPv4 IRC, P2P and HTTP are more frequently used. That is because these commonly-used protocols are allowed outbound through organization's firewalls and it is the least path of resistance. The botnets are developed to have usability over the largest number of malware infected hosts. IPv6 still hasn't reached the adoption rate to warrant the botnet creators to change their choice in protocols.
The next time you have to perform a security assessment you should definitely look into using BackTrack 4 as one of the tools in your arsenal.
![Backtrack 4 vmware image download Backtrack 4 vmware image download](/uploads/1/2/5/6/125699175/785747679.jpg)
Scott
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BackTrack 5 R3 | |
Developer | Mati Aharoni, Devon Kearns, Offensive Security[1] |
---|---|
OS family | Unix-like |
Working state | Superseded by Kali Linux |
Source model | Open source |
Latest release | 5 R3 / August 13, 2012; 7 years ago |
Platforms | i386 (x86), AMD64 (x86-64), ARM |
Kernel type | Monolithic |
Default user interface | Bash, KDE Plasma Desktop, Fluxbox,[2][3]GNOME |
License | Various |
Official website | www.backtrack-linux.org |
BackTrack was a Linux distribution that focused on security, based on the KnoppixLinux distribution aimed at digital forensics and penetration testing use.[4] In March 2013, the Offensive Security team rebuilt BackTrack around the Debian distribution and released it under the name Kali Linux.[5]
History[edit]
The BackTrack distribution originated from the merger of two formerly competing distributions which focused on penetration testing:
- WHAX: a Slax-based Linux distribution developed by Mati Aharoni, a security consultant. Earlier versions of WHAX were called Whoppix[6] and were based on Knoppix.
- Auditor Security Collection: a Live CD based on Knoppix developed by Max Moser which included over 300 tools organized in a user-friendly hierarchy.
On January 9th, 2010, BackTrack 4 improved hardware support, and added official FluxBox support[7]. The overlap with Auditor and WHAX in purpose and in collection of tools partly led to the merger. The overlap was done based on Ubuntu Lucid LTS starting from BackTrack 5.[8]
Tools[edit]
BackTrack provided users with easy access to a comprehensive and large collection of security-related tools ranging from port scanners to Security Audit. Support for Live CD and Live USB functionality allowed users to boot BackTrack directly from portable media without requiring installation, though permanent installation to hard disk and network was also an option.
BackTrack included many well known security tools including:
- Metasploit for integration
- Wi-Fi drivers supporting monitor mode (rfmon mode) and packet injection
- Reaver, a tool used to exploit a vulnerability in WPS
- Wireshark (formerly known as Ethereal)
- Hydra
- OWASP Mantra Security Framework, a collection of hacking tools, add-ons and scripts based on Firefox
- Cisco OCS Mass Scanner, a very reliable and fast scanner for Cisco routers to test default telnet and enabling password.
- A large collection of exploits as well as more commonplace software such as browsers.
- Armitage - java frontend to Metasploit.
BackTrack arranged tools into 12 categories:
- Information gathering
- Vulnerability assessment
- Exploitation tools
- Privilege escalation
- Maintaining access
- RFID tools
- Stress testing
- Forensics
- Reporting tools
- Services
- Miscellaneous
Releases[edit]
Date | Release |
---|---|
May 26, 2006 | First stable release of BackTrack [9][10] |
October 13, 2006 | BackTrack 2 beta #1 released [11][12] |
November 19, 2006 | BackTrack 2 beta #2 released [13] |
March 6, 2007 | BackTrack 2 final released [14][15] |
December 14, 2008 | BackTrack 3 beta released [16][17] |
June 19, 2008 | BackTrack 3 final released (Linux kernel 2.6.21.5) [18][19] |
February 11, 2009 | BackTrack 4 beta released [20] |
January 9, 2010 | BackTrack 4 final release (Linux kernel 2.6.30.9) [21][22] |
May 8, 2010 | BackTrack 4 R1 release [23] |
November 22, 2010 | BackTrack 4 R2 release [24] |
May 10, 2011 | BackTrack 5 release (Linux kernel 2.6.38) [25][26] |
August 18, 2011 | BackTrack 5 R1 release (Linux kernel 2.6.39.5) [27] |
March 1, 2012 | BackTrack 5 R2 release (Linux kernel 3.2.6) [28] |
August 13, 2012 | BackTrack 5 R3 release [29] |
Whenever a new version of BackTrack was released, older versions would lose their support and service from the BackTrack development team. There are currently no supported versions of BackTrack.[30]
References[edit]
![Backtrack 4 Backtrack 4](/uploads/1/2/5/6/125699175/921245950.png)
- ^'Developers'. Archived from the original on 2010-03-22. Retrieved 2010-03-19.
- ^'HowTo:Install KDE 4.1'. Offensive-security.com. Archived from the original on 2009-08-06. Retrieved 2009-12-12.
- ^'BackTrack 4 tutorial'. Archived from the original on 2011-10-26.
- ^'BackTrack Linux – Penetration Testing Distribution'.
- ^'Kali Linux Has Been Released!'. 2013-03-12. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
- ^'BackTrack - remote-exploit.org'.
- ^'BackTrack Linux - Penetration Testing Distribution'. www.backtrack-linux.org. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
- ^'BackTrack Linux - Penetration Testing Distribution'. backtrack-linux.org. 2018-04-09. Archived from the original on 2018-04-09. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
- ^'BackTrack Downloads (seriously old)'. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^'BackTrack Security Final Release'. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^'Downloads'. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^'BackTrack v2.0 Public Beta Has Been Released!'. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^'BackTrack Downloads'. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^'BackTrack Developers Log'. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^'BackTrack 2.0 Final Due End of Febuary [sic]'. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^'Latest News'. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^'BackTrack 3 Beta out!'. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^'BackTrack Developers Log'. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^'BackTrack'. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^'BackTrack Downloads'. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^'BackTrack 4 Final Released'. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^'BackTrack 4 Final Release'. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^'BackTrack 4 R1 – Public Release'. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^'BackTrack 4 R2 Download!'. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^'BackTrack Linux'. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^'BackTrack 5 Release'. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^'BackTrack 5 R1 released'. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^'BackTrack 5 R2 Released'. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^'BackTrack 5 R3 Released!'. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^'BackTrack to be Reborn as Kali Linux!'. 2013-02-01.
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=BackTrack&oldid=915445268'