Computer Science project regarding Hacking--Your suggestion please

[Pret]

I have a final project to do before i complete my bachelors degree. And, i have chosen HACKING. I'm planning to finish the project with the below specified resources. Can anybody help me find a suitable one or give your suggestions, just tell me what you have in your mind. Please elaborate as i don't know much about hacking.

 

Resources:

1. 4 to 5 computers(in case the project deals with hacking a network)

All the computers 40Gb HDD, 128Mb SDRAM, Pentium 4, 2.8GHz

2. Operating Systems available

Linux(Red Hat, Fedora Core 3, Mandrake 10.0)

Windows 98, 2000 NT, XP, 2003 Server.

 

Any suggestion will highly help me. Thanks in advance fellas. :hyper:

[Turtle]

___While hacking may arguably have its merit, it carries a bad connotation. How about programming some cellular automata or better yet, use your computers to find the largest Anomolous Strange Number ever found!

http://hypography.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1220

:hyper:

[Pret]

use your computers to find the largest Anomolous Strange Number ever found!

 

First, thanks a lot for your suggestion. But, finding strange numbers by factorising sounds a bit like a Math project. Though factorising,addin,subtracting has got everything to do with computers, i don't think my staff would approve another title change. I took pains explaining them Hacking is not what they think it is.

 

The project has to revolve around network security, firewalls, worms and such stuff. Some effective programming to get through firewalls or protect the network from malicious code, sort of a thing. Anybody got ideas? :hyper:

[Turtle]

Design your worm to force a host computer to factor integers in search of anomolous Strange Numbers & not release control until finding them & sending you a report? :hihi: Or, since nothing but factoring finds all the Strange Numbers, use the set(s) as an encryption scheme.

 

Come out of the box to think for awhile; the narrow way is better seen from there. Read some of Kevin Mitnick's writing & employ some social engineering techniques; you write very well by the way Pret. :hyper:

 

Germain link:

http://www.kevinmitnick.com/

[GAHD]

my suggestions? Check out Astalavista.com , baby

 

Best security and hacking site on the net. You might want to check out the box.SK network too. linux.box.sk is a good place to check up on what's been found with Linux.

 

On a slightly unrelated note nerd.box.sk is a fun place to check out if you're bored.

[UncleAl]

4 to 5 computers(in case the project deals with hacking a network)

All the computers 40Gb HDD, 128Mb SDRAM, Pentium 4, 2.8GHz

What difference does the hardware make? AMD makes a better, faster throughput, lower-powered CPU than Intel across the board, Athlon vs. Pentium to Opteron vs. Itanium (bad joke, that Itanium). The obvious target for reduction to practice is your school's network. Find a flaw, turn it in. A first-rate school would be grateful. A second-rate school will skin you alive (the Emperor is never naked). 128 MB of RAM for Widows is ludicrously small. The next version of Windows will require 2000 MB of RAM to boot. If you want to do something thereafter, 4000 MB of RAM.

 

The working future is Linux OS in AMD hardware. 64-bit computing with 100% x86 compatiblity has been here for years. Somebody tell Intel and Microcrap.

[C1ay]

The project has to revolve around network security, firewalls, worms and such stuff. Some effective programming to get through firewalls or protect the network from malicious code, sort of a thing. Anybody got ideas? :confused:

I suggest you demonstrate how securing a Windows box is independant of the OS itself since the only way to secure a Windows box is to remove all cables, mouse, keyboard, monitor, power cable, etc.. and place the box in a safe and close and lock it. The level of security will depend on your choice of safe.

[Pret]

Thank you Turtle. I seriously did not expect so immediate a response from members. This place rocks :surprise: and i mean it.

And about astalavista.com, i already checked that place out and found the tools and most of the information, far fetched and will take the hell out of me to implement. But, anyways will give them a try.

Thanks guys, for helping me find how to secure Wincrap box. :surprise: See you soon. :confused:

[UncleAl]

the only way to secure a Windows box is to remove all cables, mouse, keyboard, monitor, power cable, etc.. and place the box in a safe and close and lock it. The level of security will depend on your choice of safe.

Ground the safe: Wi-Fi. Best to surround the grounded safe with armed guards, then shoot the guards. Active-X is a 40-year old hooker on payday declaring her virginity while surrounded by crying kids yelling "MOMMY!"

 

Can a fellow get any credit for hacking into Windows? It's like being shoved through an open garage door. I'm surprised Redmond doesn't include an option for periodic OS reinstallation every reboot or every hour - whichever comes first.

[Pret]

I hope i'm not getting your nerves by asking for suggestions :)

 

*I got into a windows box through its open ports, through the funny haywall(firewall)

*I'm using up the system resources to run my program.

#Now, i don't want my program to show up in the task manager. Can anyone tell me how to do it? Just in case the user finds his system slowed down and presses ctrl+alt+del.

 

May be writing a code or something? I went bonkers trying to find it out. Should it have to do something with the registry? :) It can be made to show as a vital system process ;) but how??

[Adrian Cobon]

Hmmm... Maybe make the program trick the OS into thinking it is an underlying part of the OS? The only opensource project that I can point to that I had actually see do this is the Black Box for Windows project (it is a explorer replacement app.) Or you can just Google it, something along the lines of "Solutions to Hiding Running Code on the Windows NT Platform" "should" help. FYI I had seen it do the hide effect on an old AST Windows 95...

[GAHD]

eah, hiding runing processes required that they run independantly of explorer(I think anyways) would have to be an X86 binary executeable that calls directly to BIOS as far as I can figure. Alternatly you could set the process to "below average" priority so it only runs on spare ticks and doesn't tip-off the user(something I'm surprised malware people havn't figured out yet).