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The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing: Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing Made Easy (Syngress Basics Series)
 
 
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The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing: Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing Made Easy (Syngress Basics Series) [Paperback]

Patrick Engebretson (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)

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Book Description

August 4, 2011 1597496553 978-1597496551 1

The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing serves as an introduction to the steps required to complete a penetration test or perform an ethical hack. You learn how to properly utilize and interpret the results of modern day hacking tools; which are required to complete a penetration test. Tool coverage will include, Backtrack Linux, Google, Whois, Nmap, Nessus, Metasploit, Netcat, Netbus, and more. A simple and clean explanation of how to utilize these tools will allow you  to gain a solid understanding of each of the four phases and prepare them to take on more in-depth texts and topics. This book includes the use of a single example (pen test target) all the way through the book which allows you to clearly see how the tools and phases relate.

  • Each chapter contains hands-on examples teach you how to interpret the results and utilize those results in later phases
  • Written by an author who has practical experience as a Penetration Tester and who has taught "Introduction to Penetration Testing” for 5 years
  • Utilizes Backtrack Linux distribution and the "core” tools required to complete a penetration test

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The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing: Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing Made Easy (Syngress Basics Series) + Metasploit: The Penetration Tester's Guide + The Web Application Hacker's Handbook: Finding and Exploiting Security Flaws
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Although this book is ideal for beginners, most security professionals will have been involved with penetration testing during some point in their career. This book is thus an excellent refresher for those of us who fondly recall Nmap, Nessus and Netcat as being the tools of choice for both whitehat and blackhat hackers, but have long-since forgotten the full command-line syntax and would benefit from a refresh. Patrick Engebretson gets the reader involved in the art of hacking from page one and makes this book a fascinating and productive read."--Best Hacking and Pen Testing Books in InfoSecReviews Book Awards

"Have you heard of penetration testing but have no idea what it entails? This is the perfect book to get you started, easy to read, does not assume prior knowledge, and is up-to-date. I strongly recommend Pat's latest work."--Jared DeMott, Principle Security Researcher, Crucial Security, Inc.

"If you are searching for a book to get you started with penetration testing, 'The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing' is the right one. It assumes little and gives a lot, and doesn't require huge amounts of technical knowledge in order to be read or understood. As complex the subject may sound to novices, the author does a great job explaining it. He eschews techno-babble and when he repeatedly returns to some issues, it's because he has more to say about them, not because he can't think about what to right next."--Help Net Security

"This book offers a broad overview of basic concepts of hacking and penetration testing for readers with no previous background. It outlines a four-phase model of conducting a penetration test, or an 'ethical hack,' and shows how to use such hacking tools as Backtrack Linux, Hacker Defender, and MetGooFil. A sequential example throughout the book demonstrates how the tools and phases work together. The book includes chapter introductions and summaries, b&w screenshots, examples and exercises, and recommended resources."--SciTech Book News

Review

"Although this book is ideal for beginners, most security professionals will have been involved with penetration testing during some point in their career. This book is thus an excellent refresher for those of us who fondly recall Nmap, Nessus and Netcat as being the tools of choice for both whitehat and blackhat hackers, but have long-since forgotten the full command-line syntax and would benefit from a refresh. Patrick Engebretson gets the reader involved in the art of hacking from page one and makes this book a fascinating and productive read."--Best Hacking and Pen Testing Books in InfoSecReviews Book Awards

"Have you heard of penetration testing but have no idea what it entails? This is the perfect book to get you started, easy to read, does not assume prior knowledge, and is up-to-date. I strongly recommend Pat's latest work."--Jared DeMott, Principle Security Researcher, Crucial Security, Inc.

"If you are searching for a book to get you started with penetration testing, 'The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing' is the right one. It assumes little and gives a lot, and doesn't require huge amounts of technical knowledge in order to be read or understood. As complex the subject may sound to novices, the author does a great job explaining it. He eschews techno-babble and when he repeatedly returns to some issues, it's because he has more to say about them, not because he can't think about what to right next."--Help Net Security

"This book offers a broad overview of basic concepts of hacking and penetration testing for readers with no previous background. It outlines a four-phase model of conducting a penetration test, or an 'ethical hack,' and shows how to use such hacking tools as Backtrack Linux, Hacker Defender, and MetGooFil. A sequential example throughout the book demonstrates how the tools and phases work together. The book includes chapter introductions and summaries, b&w screenshots, examples and exercises, and recommended resources."--SciTech Book News


Product Details

  • Paperback: 180 pages
  • Publisher: Syngress; 1 edition (August 4, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1597496553
  • ISBN-13: 978-1597496551
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,670 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Father. Husband. Professor. Hacker. Pen Tester. And now author!

Born in northern Minnesota, undergraduate at North Dakota State University, Masters and Doctorate at Dakota State University.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 32 people found the following review helpful
By jlh
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a really great book that delivers on the promise described in the title. It covers the basics of hacking and penetration test and makes no assumption of prior security or hacking knowledge. This is an excellent resource for anyone looking to jumpstart his or her knowledge in this area.

The book takes the reader on a quick step-by-step journey through a penetration test beginning with Information Gathering, moving into Scanning, then Exploitation, and concluding with Report Writing. While the book does not cover any particular methodology like OSSTM or PTES it does a nice job of laying out each step in an orderly and straightforward manner. The book covers all of the major tools, in an appropriate order so the reader gets a good sense of how to run the tools and how they relate to each other.

The book gets down to business in chapter 1 and wastes no time in bringing the reader up to speed on the latest tools and techniques. One of the greatest strengths of the book is its size. Most people will be able to read through the entire book in just a few days. Another benefit of covering only the basics is that the book should have a longer shelf life. As the author points out, a Nmap Syn scan has been the same for the past 10 years.

If you're looking for an in-depth coverage of any particular tool like Nmap, Metasploit, or the like, this is not the book for you. You're better off buying a book dedicated to the tool you're interested in.

On the flip side, if you're interested in seeing the whole picture and getting a feel for how to run and use the major tools used in a basic penetration test this is a good buy.

Finally, I enjoyed the laidback and casual writing style of the author. This made the chapters easier to digest and kept me interested while still delivering enough technical meat to satisfy my knowledge and process requirements.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Very easy to read, very fun and interesting! I'm more into databases but the way everything integrates now in the current IT world, I realized that I need to get a better understanding of how to protect my database servers (or provide additional value to my Projects), network or at least, being able to discuss about security with my network team without feeling lost. This books is about how to protect yourself from the very "nasty" and "wild" Internet world we all are living in. It will change your false sense of security at work or home, trust me! Even though this is not an in-depth volume about PEN testing tools or techniques, this book delivers what is promised on the cover and much more!

All chapters are very coherent, meticously structured and nicely integrated between each other thanks to the PEN test process it follows. There are even suggestions about how to test all the examples in a secure and practical way. Of course, a virtual lab using any of the virtualization technologies is highly advised. The author suggests VMware, I used Parallels, but there are several free tools out there including Virtual PC or VirtualBox, both are free as well.

The book uses Metasploit framework/software for its examples but makes strong emphasize on concepts rather than tools, which it is very good in my opinion because whatever is being taught can be later extrapolated using other tools. PEN test is more a process than mere scripts and tools. I also like the fact that you don't need a very strong knowledge on networking, cryptography or C++ in order to understand this book. Instead It relies on easy vocabulary with lot of examples and screen-shoots that help almost anyone who is new into this field (a basic knowledge of Linux won't hurt though, that made it easy for me to understand some commands)

-- Additional bibliography --

Once you're done with this one I recommend these two books: Metasploit: The Penetration Tester's Guide, by David Kennedy and Nmap Cookbook: The Fat-free Guide to Network Scanning. The 1st one expands a bit more on the Metasploit software and its components, which are briefly explained on the Syngress book. The Nmap cookbook, talks about nmap scanning tool and different switches you can use when working on the scanning phase; nmap cookbook is not a theory book, but visual examples of how to use the tool depending of the target or desired goal
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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I work for a small company with little resources for security when it comes to protection against people with malicious intent. We run our own web and data servers and have been hacked on at least on occasion. This book really helped me learn how to test my network for weaknesses. Gave me best practice tips for protecting our servers against unwanted penetration. Most of all it showed me how little I new about how easy it was to penetrate our network even with off the shelf applications. This book is a must for small businesses trying to run big business operations.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
BASICS - Is what it's all about
i covered about 2 chapters upon receiving the book and the author has done a good job to educate beginners or a newbie on not only the concepts but also how to think strategically,... Read more
Published 5 days ago by TablazSONIKz
Great read for begining Pentesters and Advanced Pentesters
I've been using and pentesting computers for many years now, have been paid to do so, and have seen the darker side of the art aswell. Read more
Published 16 days ago by Ponzi
Very Helpful
This book is pretty good for those just starting, would suggest this book as a good starting place to learn some of the basics. Read more
Published 1 month ago by NunYoBusiness
This book is confused on what it is and what it is doing
Pros:
Some good introductions to ideas and tools of penetration testing.

Cons:
Not coherent or consistent at times. Read more
Published 1 month ago by GK
totally worth it!
If you are taking an Ethical Hacking course or you simply wish to learn how to hack, but your not quite sure where to begin then this I would recommend this book! Read more
Published 1 month ago by just.some.guy
Interesting, Informative, and Brief - Excellent intro to Ethical...
This book is a very interesting and informative read. I followed all of the steps almost verbatim and everything worked as written. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Jim Johnson
This is the best in it's category!
I have never seen a book as good as this when it comes to hacking. Instead of rambling on and on about things that nobody could possibly understand, this actually takes you through... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Jordan
Needs to spend more time on the basics, but otherwise, great!
"The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing" is a great treatise on hacking and how to plan a successful penetration test, and a successful hack. Read more
Published 4 months ago by A. Quesenberry
A must have
For those of you wanting to learn the Pen-Testing basics in structured and well organized way, look no further. This book is a must have. Big kudos and thank you to Dr. P. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Nelson Santiago
Fantastic Foundational Outline for Pen Testing
I have been looking for a book to offer a general framework and pathway for identifying the basic fundamentals of pen testing. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Luke Donoho
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