Hardware Equipment for Hacker Labs PART-2

Before you start building your penetration testing lab you must consider what kind of lab need in order to have the appropriate equipment.So the hardware requirements depend of the type of the lab that you want to have.

There are five types of Labs that you can create:

1. Internal

2. Virtual

3. External

4. Project-specific

5. Ad-hoc

You might want to recreate the network of your company in your lab in order to have realistic and proper results.

If you have the budget and the space you can have a physical lab with a complete set of networking devices (routers,switches,hubs) and a hardware firewall.Otherwise you can create a virtual lab with many hosts with different operating systems which is a more economical approach and provides flexibility in case that you want to recover/rebuild your lab.

Computers

The number of the computers that you have in your availability will depend probably of the budget that you have to spend for the penetration testing lab.It is always better to have many workstations with different operating systems installed however you can do the job with 2 computers by creating a virtual lab.

CABLES

Of course you will need Ethernet cables with the RJ-45 connectors.Crossover and loopback adapters can prove handy.Also if you have include in your lab network and routers you will need and some rollover cables.Having a wide variety of different cables will allow you to have different network topologies according to your needs.

Hubs,Switches and Routers

These components are essential if you have a physical lab because you can create a proper network.It is almost impossible not to find Cisco products in every network that you will go for your penetration tests so choosing to build your lab with Cisco products it is a brilliant idea.HoweverCisco products are expensive so you probably want to find some older versions.

Removable disk storage

You might want to have some USB and FireWire drives that will allow you to save and restore the images ofyour systems in case that become corrupt during a test.

It is almost a necessity to have a Network-attached storage (NAS) which you can keep copies of configuration files,software,system images and tools.The NAS will act as a central storage location so that you can access it from your network hosts.

FIREWALL

In companies networks it is almost impossible not to meet a Firewall and specific firewall policies.Installing and setting up a firewall for your lab can help you to build up realistic scenarios.

Wireless Routers,WiFi Access Points and Cards

If your company has also a wireless network or you are offering and wireless penetration testing services and you need also training some wireless cracking tools then you musthave the proper equipment.WiFi cards,Access points and Wireless Router will help you to build a WiFi network for your tests.

KVM,Power Strips and Surge Suppressors

If you build a lab with many workstations then you will not want to deal with a bunch of monitors,mice and keyboards that will limit your space in the lab.A KVM switch can save a lot of space.Also you need to have power strips,surge suppressors and maybe a UPS.

As a conclusion your hardware gear must include the following:
*. Computers
*. Cables
*. Hubs
*. Switches
*. Routers
*. Removable disk storage
*. Firewalls
*. Cisco equipment
*. Network-attached storage (NAS)
*. Keyboard,Video,Mouse switches (KVM)
*. Power strips and Surge suppressors
*. Wireless Access Points
*. Networking Tools
Remember also that before buying the hardware components for your penetration testing lab you should ensure that the hardware will support what is commonly used in the corporate world.

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7 things you really don't need to take a photo of

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Microsoft unveil new Windows 8Tablet PC called Surface

Here at its mysterious, last-minute press event in Los Angeles, Microsoft just confirmed it will sell its own Microsoft-branded Windows 8 RT tablet under the Surface badge. Measuring just 9.3mm thick, the Surface for Windows RT is built around an angled, all-magnesium VaporMg case that weighs just under 1.3 pounds, with an NVIDIA-made ARM chip powering the whole affair. Microsoft’s hardware partner has also gone all-out on extra touches, such as a built-in stand, twin 2×2 MIMO antennas for WiFi, and a 10.6-inch optically-bonded, Gorilla Glass 2-covered, full HD display. Not unlike Apple’s last two generations, there’s a magnetically attached covered, but it’s more than just a protector: here, it includes a full multi-touch keyboard and trackpad. As for expansion, you’ll get one each of HDMI, microSD and USB 2.0 (sorry folks, no 3.0) as well as either 32GB or 64GB of storage, while software includes the usual Windows 8 accoutrements and a newly Metrofied version of Netflix. We don’t know exactly when this ARM tablet will ship, but Microsoft is promising pricing “competitive” withsimilar ARM tablets.

[img:engadget]

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Free Kindle e-books at Hundred Zeros

Think publishers charge too much for e-books? Maybe so, but there's one price you can't beat: free.

Amazon routinely offers Kindle e-books at no charge, either permanently or temporarily. The tricky part is finding them, especially if you want to browse the freebies by category.

There are, of course, ways to score free books for your Kindle (or Nook) , as well as matchmaking sites for e-book borrowing and lending .



Now there's another resource:Hundred Zeros catalogs many of the free Kindle e-bookscurrently available through Amazon, updating its listings every hour so you're always seeing the latest and greatest stuff.

The site shows some of the newest titles on its home page, but you canalso click a category (everything from Arts and Entertainment to Travel) to browse the listings. There's also a search option if you want to look for a particular topic. (Curiously, it doesn't seem to work for authors; I searched for John Scalzi, whose new novel "Redshirts"-- the first four chapters, anyway -- appears in the Science Fiction category, and came up empty.)

Still, it's easy to mine for gold in Hundred Zeros' stacks. In addition to the aforementioned Scalzi teaser, I found a couple top-rated YA books for my daughter and some mysteries that sounded intriguing. Your mileage may vary, of course, depending on your tastes, but this place is definitely worth a stop if you're looking for some cheap (by which I mean free) reading material.

Once you find a book you like, just click the cover to head to the corresponding Amazon page, where you can make your"purchase."

Don't own a Kindle? No problem: You can read Kindle books on your PC, smartphone, or tablet -- no extra charge.

Have you found a better source for Kindle freebies? Tell me about it in the comments!

source:[CNET]

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Nvidia Levels Up With New Gaming Graphics Card

A new video card from Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA) or competitor AMD (NYSE: AMD) isn't usually all that news worthy, but when the latest card arrives with eight Graphics Processing Clusters (GPCs), and a total of 4 GB of GDDR5 video memory that runs at 6.008 GHz over two 256-bit memory, that is enough for hard-core enthusiasts to take pause.

For everyone else, the release of a video card that carries a price point just under US$1,000 will certainly draw attention.

The Nvidia GTX 690, which is powered by dual Kepler-based architecture-based GPUs, also features a chromium-plated aluminum casing that is a departure from the typical chips and fans on a board. Nvidia made it clear this one, which looks impressive on the outside while providing equally impressive graphics performance, wasn't aimed at the casual gamer.

"The GTX 690 is truly a work of art -- gorgeous on the outside with amazing performance on the inside," said Brian Kelleher, senior vice president of GPU engineering at Nvidia. "Gamers will love playing on multiple screens at high resolutions with all the eye candy turned on. Andthey'll relish showing their friends how beautiful the cards look inside their systems."

SOURCE: tech news world

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Apple announces a new iPad3 and Apple TV

Apple CEO Tim Cook took to the stagein San Francisco Wednesday to announce a new iPad. In fact, he just called it simply "the new iPad." It will have a quad-core chip, "retina" high-resolution display, a 5-megapixelcamera and 4G LTE networking for fast connection on Verizon Wireless and AT&T.

The product will have the same pricing as the previous generation, starting at $499. It will be in stores on March 16, but pre-orders start today

Apple will keep the iPad 2 in the picture: There will be a 16GB iPad 2 for $399, and a 3G version of that for$629. There are no longer any 32GB or 64GB versions of the iPad 2.

The display has 2048 x 1536 pixels. That's over 3.1 million pixels, "the most ever on a mobile devices," says Phil Schiller, worldwide marketing boss.

The new iPad will have an A5X chip, which is a quad-core processor. It delivers four times the performance of the iPad 2.

The camera on the new iPad has a 5-megapixel center, optics with an IR filter, and some nice controls to maximize picture taking. As you may expect from the camera and the screen, you can shoot 1080p video with this baby.

There's voice-to-text for emails and other text-input windows, but it doesn't look like there's full-blown Sirihere, which seems odd. The voice is some guy's voice, not the sultry Siri we've come to know (in the U.S.).

Cook called the iPad the "poster child of the post-PC era," and says that for most users, it's the preferred device for email, Web browsing, e-reading and gaming, activities previously doneby a range of competing products.

Product demos for the new iPad showgame previews from Namco and Epic games, and a Sketchbook update from Autodesk. (Not much to say now, but when we have video of the demos, we'll share.)

There's a whole new iWork and iLife out, a free update to people who already have. The new Garage Band has a Jam Session feature for simultaneous play by musicians with their own iPads.

Best of all, iPhoto finally came to the iPad, with all kinds of finger-friendly features. The controls really are cool, and you can beam photos from device to device. Crazier still, the iPhoto stuff will work on iPhone too. It will cost $4.99, and you can get it today.

The first big announcement was the new Apple TV, which supports 1080p video and has an all-new user interface. Eddie Cue, head of Internet services, hit the stage to demo it. It's available next week and will still cost$99.More on the new Apple TV here.

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New Apple TV unveiled: 1080p, improved interface and much more

The rumors were true: An updated version of the Apple TV is on its way. The new device will support 1080p full HD video, have an improved user interface, and be available next week

Let's be clear though: This new Apple TV is not same thing as the mysterious iTV we've been hearing rumors about. Instead it is an upgraded version of the set-top box already in stores.

The new Apple TV will improve on the prior model by offering 1080p video (as opposed to a mere 720p) and allowing users to stream movie purchases from iCloud. It will become available on March 16 and priced at$99 (just like its predecessor).

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