Firs time building Backtrack Lab

[GLaDOS]

Hello everyone,

With the holidays coming around, I was thinking of building a very small BackTrack pen testing lab. I am trying to learn the fundamentals of computer security so I'm new to the pen-test lab set up. I have very limited space and was thinking of using 2 laptops (one as the attacker and one as the victim) to simulate attacks and watch them unfold in real time in order to get an understanding of how such attacks work. I was also gonna get myself a beginners guide to learning about BackTrack.

Since this is my first time building such a lab, I wanted to consult with the members here to see if they had any experience, advice, or tips. I was thinking of using 2 cheap/used laptops (maybe the Dell D620 Laptop Duo Core). Again, space is very limited (I'm essentially working out of 1 bedroom with limited table space), so maybe virtualization is the way to go? I don't know, I'm really open to any and all suggestions. Thanks everyone and Happy Thanksgiving to those who are celebrating!!

 

[Matt77]

those laptops should be fine...

Happy turkey day!

 

[carnageX]

As long as their wifi cards support packet injection and can be put into Monitor Mode, they should be fine. Do some research on what wifi chipset they have to see if you'll need special drivers or if the cards are compatible or not.

Most computers I've used so far have compatible chipsets (there's a few that aren't though), and have worked flawlessly.

 

[Matt77]

After doing some research, I can say that those Dells will probably work. I found many threads on other forums regarding users successfully Packet Injecting on those builds.

 

[GLaDOS]

After doing some research, I can say that those Dells will probably work. I found many threads on other forums regarding users successfully Packet Injecting on those builds.

Thanks M4TT I really appreciate you taking the time to look into that. Would I need to get my own router/wireless network set up in order to pen-test. Is it safe to have a pen-test lab like this on a production network?

 

[Matt77]

Can you define production network?
And you could use WiFi Pineapple I think...

 

[patonb]

No, Do not put the lAB out in the open. Your systems will be compromised, so someone may beable to get to your true network off your lab.

You could setup vbox systems on only 1 system and do it without a router, but grab a cheap router for like 35 bucks, or less on craiglist.

 

[GLaDOS]

Can you define production network?
And you could use WiFi Pineapple I think...

I meant the wireless network my family uses. I quickly skimmed WiFi Pineapple - does it create it's own wireless network and then just pretend to be a wireless network you've connected to before (i.e. your home network)?

 

[Matt77]

I meant the wireless network my family uses. I quickly skimmed WiFi Pineapple - does it create it's own wireless network and then just pretend to be a wireless network you've connected to before (i.e. your home network)?

I remember seeing something about packet injection being used on a wifi pineapple which used custom firmware. I'll find you a link.

 

[GLaDOS]

No, Do not put the lAB out in the open. Your systems will be compromised, so someone may beable to get to your true network off your lab.

You could setup vbox systems on only 1 system and do it without a router, but grab a cheap router for like 35 bucks, or less on craiglist.

I tried doing that on a Dell Optiplex machine I grabbed cheap from somewhere online (I did it w/o a router). I couldn't figure out how to get the virtual machine with BackTrack to attach the virtual Windows XP, but that could be more due to my lack of knowledge/understanding.

Basically, what I am trying to accomplish is to teach myself BackTrack using this book:

BackTrack 5 Wireless Penetration Testing Beginner's Guide: Vivek Ramachandran: 9781849515580: Amazon.com: Books

And it appears (according to the reviews) that this book uses 2 laptops along with a router and a usb wireless card in most of it's exercises so I was trying to mimic that in order to get the most out of it. I've tried a few online guides, but they never seem to inclusive of everything - only focusing on certain aspects or assuming you have certain knowledge that I generally don't