Penetration Testing: A Survival Guide

Chapter 2. Information Gathering and Vulnerability Assessment

There is a myth that all Windows systems are easy to exploit. This is not entirely true. Almost any Windows system can be hardened to the point that it takes too long to exploit its vulnerabilities. In this chapter, you will learn the following:

• How to footprint your Windows network and discover the vulnerabilities before the bad guys do
• Ways to investigate and map your Windows network to find the Windows systems that are susceptible to exploits

In some cases, this will be adding to your knowledge of the top 10 security tools, and in others, we will show you entirely new tools to handle this category of investigation.

Footprinting the network

You can't find your way without a good map. ...