Notes on Ethical Hacking and Networking Concepts

Jul 29, 2024

Lecture Notes on Ethical Hacking and Networking Concepts

Introduction

  • Host: आशीष कुमार
  • Course: Complete Ethical Hacking (Beginner to Advance).
  • Importance of Ethical Hacking: Understanding what ethical hacking is and its relevance in today's cyber security landscape.

Ethical Hacking Defined

  • Hacking: Breaking into systems to steal data.
  • Ethical: Performing actions legally, with permission from the system's owner.
  • Legal Aspects: Anyone testing a system must have written permission from the owner.

Demand for Ethical Hacking

  • Growing demand: Due to rising cybercrimes affecting individuals, businesses, and governments.
  • Responsibilities: Ethical hackers must sharpen skills to combat black hat hackers and reduce cybercrime.

Importance of Networking in Ethical Hacking

  • Networking: Critical to understanding how communication between systems takes place one of the core concepts in ethical hacking.
  • Understanding the flow of data: Data sharing across systems involves various entities and understanding helps identify vulnerabilities.

Computer Networking

  • Definition: Communication between computers to share resources.
  • Key Points:
    • Communication of software, files, information, etc.
    • Maintenance of data preservation and integrity.
    • Sharing hardware resources.

Types of Networking

  1. LAN (Local Area Network):
    • Covers a small area, typically a few systems interconnected.
  2. MAN (Metropolitan Area Network):
    • Covers broader areas than LAN, typically city-wide.
  3. WAN (Wide Area Network):
    • Covers large geographical areas like countries or continents.

Important Networking Entities

  • IP Address: Important in identifying and communicating between devices.
  • MAC Address: Hardware ID for devices.
  • Ports: Communication endpoints for networking, each service/application usually runs on a specific port.

Network Protocols

  • Definition: A set of rules that governs data exchange over networks.
  • Common protocols: TCP/IP, UDP, FTP, HTTP, etc.

TCP vs UDP

  • TCP (Transmission Control Protocol): Reliable, connection-oriented protocol that ensures data integrity.
  • UDP (User Datagram Protocol): Less reliable, connectionless protocol; faster but doesn't guarantee order or delivery of packets.

Using Virtual Private Networks (VPN) and Proxies

  • VPN: Provides a secure tunnel, masking the user’s real IP address, often used for privacy.
    • Risks: Potential logging and tracking by VPN services.
  • Proxy: An intermediary that hides your real IP, but could be less reliable with variable performance.

Layers of the Internet

  • Surface Web: Accessible and indexed pages on the internet; roughly 5% of the internet.
  • Deep Web: Non-indexed and often protected content; includes databases, private sites, etc. (approximately 95% of internet content).
  • Dark Web: Part of the deep web; often associated with illegal activities.

Summary of Key Points

  1. Ethical hacking is vital for system and data security.
  2. Networking understanding is crucial for penetration testing.
  3. Protocols and addresses play significant roles in network security.
  4. Use of VPNs and proxies must consider risks and practicality.
  5. Knowledge about different web layers helps to understand online anonymity.

Tips for Further Study

  • Engage with practical tools for networking and ethical hacking.
  • Experiment with visualization tools for understanding network flows.
  • Familiarize with software installations in Kali Linux and explore command-line tools.