Please Seperate Each Response!!
Discussion 1:
1. Why is Linux, especially Kali Linux, rather than some other operating systems, such as Windows, preferred by most people for penetration testing?
Discussion 2:
Agree or Disagree? Why?
How are passwords stored on Linux systems?
Similar to Windows, Linux stores passwords as a hash; however, Linux stores then in the /etc/shadow file rather than an SAM file in Windows (Easttom, 2018). Easttom explains that Linux uses a salt algorithm which periodically inserts bits into the passwords (2018). Additionally, salt is often utilized in hashing to prevent attacks on rainbow tables (Easttom, 2018). One may be able to use a rainbow table in an attempt to recover a password if you can recover the hash from Linux (Easttom, 2018).
For a simpler answer, I found the following explanation on the Red Hat website: passwords stored in Linux in the /etc/shadow file ARE hashes. When you sign in, the process of authentication compares the stored hash with the hashed version of the password you keyed in- if the checksums of both are identical, the correct password was entered, and authentication is complete (Garn, 2021). Furthermore, by checking the first 2 characters of the encrypted password (ie $1, $5, or $6), then the password is encrypted by MD5, SHA256, or SHA512 respectively (Garn, 2021).
Easttom, C. (2018). Penetration Testing Fundamentals (Ch 3). Pearson Education, Inc.
Garn, D. (2021, January 18). An Introduction To Hashing And Checksums In Linux. Red Hat. Retrieved June 9, 2024, from https://www.redhat.com/sysadmin/hashing-checksums
Discussion 3:
1. Select five or more Linux commands from the list below and describe their purposes.
· ls, cd, grep, ps, kill
· mkdir, rm, mv, rmdir, chown, chmod
· useradd, userdel, users, who
2. Select three or more Linux directories from the list below and describe them briefly.
· /root
· /bin,
· /etc/passwd
· /etc/shadow
· /dev
· /boot
· /usr
