The Hacker's Guide to OS X

Chapter 4

Footprinting OSX

Introduction

So you’ve survived the trek through the book thus far and by the title of the chapter you must have certain expectations about what you will read within. While this chapter is titled Footprinting, we will be discussing various aspects of reconnaissance from both the perspective of a passive listener on the network and active attacker on the system. This step is one of the most critical phases an attacker takes when approaching any information system and can be compared to sending out scouts to understand what the enemy has in place before you attack.

One point of confusion that we must clear up before you begin is the difference between a footprint and a fingerprint. Often the terms are tossed about incorrectly ...