Question

According to the global statistics provided by gs.statcounter.com (see Figure 13.2 ), 70.22 percent of all global desktop users are using Windows—more than 50 percent of those users are on Windows 10, and interestingly enough, 2.22 percent are on Windows XP. According to this graph, there are more global users of Windows XP than Linux, statistically speaking. I have done my best to show you mainly tools of the Windows persuasion. However, we've gotten to a tool that only runs on Linux and macOS. But I may have a few tricks.

Figure 13.2 : 70.22 percent of the planet runs Microsoft Windows.

Windows 10 has an interesting tool called the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). It is a compatibility layer for running a Linux‐compatible kernel interface that can then run GNU on top of it. GNU is actually not an acronym—it is an antelope this project was named after. GNU is an operating system composed wholly of free software like Ubuntu, openSUSE, Debian, or Kali Linux. This type of user space will allow you to use a bash shell or programming languages like Ruby or Python.

There are pros and cons for everything, and there are times and places for tools. WSL has its benefits as well as drawbacks. A lot of great tools have been developed for Linux that are free, and WSL supports a wide variety of Linux distributions. WSL is easy to install, and it takes about 5 minutes (not counting the reboot). While WSL is running, you can access your local machines filesystem from the subsystem. The flip side of this is that WSL is almost like a Linux lite. It was not engineered for heavy‐duty production loads, and it might be more efficient and faster to run a full‐fledged virtual machine. WSL is command line only. There is no GUI, so that can be a drawback for some. As a friend of mine, Josh Franz, a security consultant at Rapid7, told me, “It can just be buggy.” He's right. The earlier iterations had limitations with what networking commands worked. Like any security tool we use, WSL will continue to evolve.

The Social Engineer Toolkit was written by David Kennedy and with a lot of help from the security community has evolved into a tool specifically used against people and their weaknesses. The attacks that are built into this toolkit are reminiscent of Metasploit; however, instead of focusing on network or application attacks, it assists penetration testers to target a person or organization.

Before you can install the Social Engineer Toolkit (SET), you have to turn on WSL in Windows 10 and reboot the machine. Go to your Control Panel, open Programs And Features, and find the option to Turn Windows Features On Or Off. Scroll down toward the bottom until you find Windows Subsystem For Linux; then check that box and click OK, as you see in Figure 13.3 . The system should prompt you to reboot the computer so this feature can be available.

Figure 13.3 : Turning on the Windows feature of the Windows subsystem for Linux

Once your machine has rebooted, go to your Start menu, and it is time to go shopping at the Microsoft Store. Open the Microsoft Store and look for the magnifying glass in the upper right. In the Search field in the upper right, look for Ubuntu. There are several flavors for you to choose from. Open Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. As you see in Figure 13.4 , this version of Ubuntu 18.04 on Windows will let you run an Ubuntu Terminal and run the Ubuntu command‐line utilities, including bash, ssh, apt, and many more.

Figure 13.4 : Finding Ubuntu 18.04 on Windows WSL

If you click the More hyperlink above the word Free, you're reminded that this tool is used through a command prompt so you need to turn that feature on. As you see in Figure 13.5 , it also contains a link to Windows help documents, but there are also help documents on www.ubuntu.com .

Figure 13.5 : Details of Ubuntu 18.04 LTS

In Lab 13.1 , you'll install Ubuntu 18.04 on a Windows machine.

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LAB 13.1 : INSTALLING THE LINUX OS UBUNTU 18.04 ON A WINDOWS MACHINE

1. On a Windows machine, use the search tool for Windows Features. As you saw earlier in Figure 13.3 , check the box for Windows Subsystem for Linux. Reboot the system. Now open the Start menu, pull up the Microsoft Store, and search for Ubuntu.
2. Open the dialog box for Ubuntu 18.04 LTS and click the Get button. This will download the file you need to complete this installation. The Install button will light up in the upper right. If you are asked to sign into your Microsoft account, click Not Now.
3. The install will take over, and then you will see the Launch button in the upper right of the window, as shown in Figure 13.6 . Click Launch.

   

   Figure 13.6 : Ubuntu 18.04 successfully installed

4. The first time you launch your Ubuntu install, you have a little housekeeping to do. As you see in Figure 13.7 , you will have to wait a few minutes for the install to complete, and then you will need to create a UNIX username and password. After you have completed the installation successfully, launch a new Ubuntu command prompt screen.

   

   Figure 13.7 : Creating credentials on Ubuntu 18.04

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We all have our heroes. Linus Torvalds is one of mine. His philosophy is “Intelligence is the ability to avoid doing work, yet getting the work done.” At 10 years old, he was not happy with the MS‐DOS and decided to create his own operating system based on UNIX. In 1991, he posted a message that he was ready to share what would become Linux. The original code and Linux kernel version 1.0 was released in 1994, and it has been the operating system of choice of geeks everywhere. In addition to being free, it rarely crashed and can be modified by anyone. Not only is Torvalds father of Linux, he also created Git.

Git is what we call a distributed version‐control system. What this means to developers is that if you clone a Git project, you have the entire project history. You can develop all you want on your local machine with no need of server interaction. GitHub also stores a copy of your project. You designate the project's central library or repository, and developers can push and pull all they want. Git is the system; GitHub is the service. I explained it because you're about to install it.

In Lab 13.2 , you'll install the Social Engineer Toolkit in the WSL.

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LAB 13.2 : INSTALLING SET IN WSL

1. From the command prompt in the new Ubuntu 18.04 asset you just installed from the Microsoft Store, type in sudo apt‐get install git .
2. Next, git SET and put it in the set folder by entering the following command:

   git clone https://github.com/trustedsec/social-engineer-toolkit/ set/ 

   As you see in Figure 13.8 , this will start cloning the toolkit to your machine. You want to make sure all objects, deltas, and files are at 100 percent.

   

   Figure 13.8 : Cloning SET to your set folder

3. When Git has completed installation and you are back at a command prompt, change the directory by typing in cd set .
4. Your command prompt will change. You are now in the set directory. Type the following command to use Python to build and install all modules in one run:

   python setup.py install

5. When the install completes, you can type in sudo setoolkit and see something similar to Figure 13.9 . This is the welcome page to SET.

   

   Figure 13.9 : SET welcome screen

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   NOTE

   Like Metasploit Framework, HD and David have a quirky sense of humor, and the welcome page changes each time you log in.

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6. From the menu at the bottom, shown in Figure 13.10 , choose 1) Social Engineering Attacks. Then press Enter. From the Social Engineering Attacks menu, choose 5) Mass Mailer Attack.

   

   Figure 13.10 : Social engineering attacks

7. Once you have selected Mass Mailer Attack, you are ready to use all the quirks of human nature combined with the art of persuasion to develop the content of your phishing campaign. As you see in Figure 13.11 , you have a choice of either spear phishing one person or casting a wider net by importing a list of email addresses in the Social Engineer Toolkit Mass E‐Mailer. Choose option 1, E‐mail Attack Single Email Address, and SET will guide you through the creation and delivery of a phishing campaign. Happy phishing!

   

   Figure 13.11 : Phishing with SAT

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