Part 1 of this series focused on the basics of using a HTTP proxy to assess a web application. I encourage people to play around with HTTP proxies with a web application that they use frequently, it’s interesting to see what information is being passed between the client and server. This communication can sometimes include your private information so it’s good to understand how that particular web application is handling your information.
Continue reading ‘Webscarab Tutorial Part 2 (sessiond ID analysis)’
The story of user information being stolen on Monster.com has been in the news about a week now. I noticed that its starting to pick up steam with articles on the front page of major news sites and finally on the front page of the Money section in Sunday’s USA Today. 
There are two reasons why I wanted to comment on this story. First its nice to see these types of stories circulated within the major news providers. It’s unfortunate when any type of private information is leaked to malicious users but when that happens it’s nice to see the public clamor and highlight these types of stories. Secondly end users have to get more involved when it comes to controlling their personal information. When an incident like this happens contact the organization that has your personal information let them that loose controls over your private information isn’t kosher. This story hit home for me because I have my resume on their site, so I contacted them and let them know how I felt. You can also contact them here if you like. Even if this incident doesn’t involve your information you can voice your concerns. Also as a consumer you can take your business elsewhere. There are now plenty of other job boards where you can post your information. Monster.com is no longer the monopoly they once where. As a matter of fact my last job was secured through CarrerBuilder.com, so I encourage others to use services that value your personal information.
Amado Hidlago of Symantec has written a nice technical article explaining what happened and how it may effect you.
This tutorial is designed to walk you through the basics of using a HTTP proxy. A HTTP proxy is very useful when it comes to web application vulnerability assessment. A proxy will allow you to record all of your transactions while using the web application producing a history of pages you have visited and links you have clicked. A proxy also allows you to see the “raw” HTTP request and responses, basically you’ll see what is being sent behind the scenes. This document will go into more detail about what a HTTP proxy can do as we step through some exercises on analyzing traffic from a web application.
Continue reading ‘Webscarab Tutorial Part 1 (learning the basics)’
I’ve seen blank administrator passwords at every organization I’ve worked. Without fail there will be some user that manages to get a PC onto your network without setting a password. This type of scenario opens up Pandora’s box into the number of vectors that could be created. Once a malicious user has control over a machine on your network its essentially game over. So as someone with security and risk management in mind you want to periodically scan for such activity, but your organization isn’t gonna spring for some fancy tool. Luckily this task can be put into a windows script that can check for this condition, see the script below.
Continue reading ‘Scan for Blank Admin Passwords without Commercial Software’
