Retro64.xyz

Introduction To WiFi Hacking

Tue, 29 Oct 2019 04:52:43 -0700

Performance Objective

At the conclusion of the course the student will be able to:

Identify one site that can assist you in locating wireless networks.
Identify one tool used to crack wireless networks.
Identify what frequency WiFi functions on.
Identify a tool for phishing WiFi passwords.

Introduction

Wireless Fidelity, or WiFi, is a type of technology employed to provide connectivity to a computer network without cable or hardwired connection. WiFi works within the 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz range and should not interfere with cellphones, broadcast radio, television, or hand held radios. WiFi functions by transmitting data over radio waves between a client device and a device called a router. This router can then transmit data to systems internally or outwards to the internet.

WiFi is used across the planet to simplify the deployment of networks, provide communication to large numbers of devices, and to increase convenience. While WiFi is well known, there are additional wireless signals that we may not consider or think about regularly due to their ubiquitous nature. This includes cell phones, blue tooth, and other wireless devices.

WiFi is neither more nor less secure than a traditional hard wired network but is instead a completely different and less comparable interface. Wired and wireless both provide a method for devices to communicate but will require separate thought processes when it comes to security, availability, and functionality. You can not treat one network the same as the other or expect them to behave the same.

WiFi does not make you sick.

Extensive research has concluded to date that WiFi does not make you sick or cause autism. However, there is a growing number of researchers who believe that the ’nocebo’ effect can cause illness. Fake WiFi devices were strapped to human test subjects who began to complain of anxiety, head pain, and tingling feelings. The devices were completely harmless and fake but the human mind was capable of causing users to feel they were experiencing harm.

WiFi Frequencies

WiFi versions or iterations have changed over the years. WiFi began as an 11 megabit per second method for networking devices but today we now see multi gigabit speeds. Each iteration has brought about numerous changes and a gradual increase in performance as well as some changes in security.

802.11b

Transmits at 2.4GHz and moves data at 11 megabits per second. Released at the same time as amendment a. 2.4GHz easily experiences interference.

802.11a

Transmits data at 5GHz. Transmits at a maximum of 54 megabits per second. Uses OFDM or Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing to enhance reception by dividing the radio signals into smaller signals before reaching the router.

802.11g

Transmits at 2.4GHz. Moves data at 54 megabits per second. Uses OFDM technology.

802.11n

Transmits at 5GHz and 2.4GHz. Moves data at 140 megabits per second with a theoretical max of 300 Mbps (Maybe 450 with MIMO).

802.11ac

Transmits at a theoretical maximum of several Gigabits per second and works exclusively in the 5 GHz band. Uses beam forming and focuses transmission of signals directly at devices. Supports Multi User MIMO to increase throughput of devices and allows several devices to communicate at roughly at the same time.

WiFi Security

The most important thing to remember is that WEP or Wired Equivalent Privacy was released in 1997 and is completely broken. WEP can be broken in minutes or less. Your modern devices will neither offer nor function with a WEP network and most routers no longer support it. Stay far away from WEP.

WPA-TKIP and WPA2-AES

WP or WP-TKIP was an intermediate fix while working towards WPA2. TKIP is considered fairly vulnerable and should be avoided or turned off. As of this writing you should be using WPA2-AES as this is considered the most secure method of security.

WiFi Channels

US Routers have 11 channels at 2.4GHz and 45 channels for the 5GHz networks. Adjacent channel interference occurs when devices from overlapping channels broadcast over each other. The 2.4GHz spectrum has three channels that do not technically overlap. Channels 1, 6, and 11.

WiFi Aggregation

Your wireless router may support packet aggregation. If it is using 801.11ac it is mandatory. The concept of packet aggregation is simple. You send two or more data frames in a single transmission. This reduces overhead and increases performance. This reduces the overhead of sending many smaller packets that could reduce performance.

WiFi SSID Setup

Should I hide my WiFi SSID? What is an SSID?

An SSID or Service Set Identified is the beacon that informs individuals in the area that a wireless network exists and can be connected to. Broadcasting the SSID makes it very simple for individuals interested in connecting to a network to find it. However, it is important to understand that obscuring the SSID or otherwise hiding it does not provide any form of security.

There are multiple methods by which you can decloak or locate a hidden WiFi networks and reveal the name. It is considered a trivial action. So when should we hide our SSID name? When we wish to declutter the local airwaves is generally the only time it is necessary or relevant. It should not be considered a security feature or tool but instead a tool of convenience.

Aircrack-ng

Aircrack-ng is a complete suite of tools to assess WiFi network security. ACNG provides monitoring, attacking, testing, and cracking tools. Aircrack provides the tools necessary to put your wireless cards into monitor mode using the airmon-ng command.

Aircrack-ng is a fantastic tool for testing the security of your network and conducting attacks on WEP as well as WPA2 if you wish to run a dictionary attack.

Pixiewps

Pixieswps is a tool you can use for brute forcing WPS pins. WPS is designed in such a way that it is possible to essentially attack approximately 11,000 combinations in order to get the correct code. This requires approximately 12 seconds to execute and quickly defeats WPS and therefore can assist in defeating WPA.

Competitive tools like Reaver claim attack times in the hours but Pixiewps and the ‘pixie-dust attack’ are capable of defeating WPS and recovering WPA credentials in seconds. Pixiewps is a tool that was born from a collaboration that began on the Kali Linux web forums among active members of the community.

Kismet Wireless

Kismet is a wireless network and device detector, sniffer, wardriving tool, and wireless intrusion detection framework.

How To Find A Hidden SSID

With aircrack-ng -

$ sudo pacman -S aircrack-ng
$ sudo airmon-ng start wlan0
$ sudo airodump-ng mon0
$ sudo airodump-ng -c 1 --bssid XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX mon0
$ sudo aireplay-ng -0 15 -c CLIENT BSSID -a NETWORK BSSID mon0

Wifiphisher

The number one way to conduct an attack on a user and to gain access to their system is to access for that access. Wifiphisher is a fantastic tool for conducting that style of attack. It allows you to create a fake Network Manager Connect Page, Firmware Upgrade Page, OAuth Login Page, or Browser Plugin Update page and force users to see this on connection to the rogue access point.

How to use Wifiphisher

$ yay -S wifiphisher
$ sudo wifiphisher -i URLAN1

Wifiphisher is easy to install and use and simply requires sudo access and an ability to follow a prompt.

WPS and Wifite

Attacking WPS with Wifite is relatively simple. You run a WiFi device in monitor mode, choose your target, and wait.

WPA2 and Wifite

$ wifite -mac -aircrack -dict /usr/share/wordlists/passwords.txt

WIDS with Kismet

Kismet provides a method by which you can detect rogue wireless access points, monitor the local area, and alert. Creating or purchasing a wireless intrusion detection system will greatly enhance the safety of your network and users.

Users will setup their own methods to avoid road blocks and will often do so with little regard to the sanctity of the network or security in general. You may also have users who have learned to conduct a Denial of Service and now revel in causing disruption. You need to be able to look for and identify noise and congestion.

You may also have intruders or attackers who want access to your network to cause harm. They may be looking for payment data, Personally Identifiable Information, or methods by which to pivot to other resources. An attacker may compromise a network in order to attack the clients of that company. External attacks can be devastating but worse yet is the internal attack.

It should also be noted that WIDS are not perfect and it can be exceptionally difficult to know what is or is not authorized on your network. Bring Your Own Device is changing how we work and alleviating costs but increasing vulnerabilities on the network. A WIDS may not be able to identify or fingerprint many vulnerabilities. You must also have plenty of space and the capability of monitoring trends over time or else you will not be able to see what is really happening. A single packet event will rarely reveal an issue.

Wave Bubble

Users can construct or purchase a wave bubble and have the capability of jamming a large amount of the RF spectrum. This will include cordless phones, GPS, wifi, bluetooth and potentially more within a 20 foot radius.

It should be noted that documented uses of devices like the wave bubble within the United States is relatively sparse. However, in countries like South Africa, similar tools are deployed during perpetration of violent crime. A man portable backpack sized jammer is regularly deployed by criminals who can jam communications up to nearly a half mile. After jamming locals communications the criminals will then conduct an attack.

Unconfirmed reports of American discussion of this tactic among potential threat actors has occurred online on varying discussion sites for these groups. The idea that an individual could deploy a tool like this in an ambush setting or during a home invasion has been shared in a manner similar to what is happening over seas.

GNU Radio

GNU Radio is a free and open source tool that provides signal processing blocks to implement software defined radio. Low Cost and easily available RF hardware can be deployed to assist in hobby, academic, and even commercial environments.

GNU Radio performs signal processing. You can work with GNU Radio without writing code but it is recommend that you have the ability to work comfortably in a language like python in order to get the most out of this tool.

Wigle

Wigle is a website and mobile tool that is used for creating physical maps of where wifi networks are located. Wigle tracks approximately 600,000,000 networks and reports on them using reporters who help locate these items.

It is also possible to use Wigle to locate cellular towers which introduces a different set of issues. Russia is working on installing Pole-21 anti missile jamming systems on their various civilian cellular network towers. While groups within the United States have been discussing the feasibility of attack critical infrastructure like communication towers and the like.

Wigle is simple to use and allows you to look for wireless access points based on vicinity. This can reveal whether or not someone is in an area or operating in an area. Wigle is an excellent tool for conducting reconnaissance on a site remotely.

Answers

Wigle is a site that can be used for locating wireless networks.
Aircrack-ng can be used to crack wireless networks.
Wifi normally functions on 5GHz or 2.4GHz.
Wifiphisher (The Rogue Access Point) is a tool that can be used for phishing wifi passwords.

Conclusion

Securing your wireless network goes beyond detecting attacks. A good network engineer knows what devices are authorized, where they are located, and what they should be doing. WiFi removes boundaries and with the advent of ‘Bring Your Own Device Culture’ it is becoming increasingly difficult for admins to know what is or is not on their network.

Finding a hidden SSID is trivial. Basic computing tools can be used to defeat any obfuscation. Rogue access points, targeted attacks, and even phishing can be deployed to defeat most basic forms of securing a wireless network.

You must consider implementing a Wireless Intrusion Detection System and treat your wireless networks as potentially vulnerable at all times. In addition, you should consider deeply how a WiFi network can reveal additional meta data about a building, person, or surrounding area. Looking for WiFi and other wireless signals can reveal tremendous amounts of information about an area and the activities being conducted there. SIGSEC or Signals Security matters.

Final Recommendations

Choose *nix.
Secure your network and monitor local traffic.
Regularly review tools like Wigle for changes in your local area.
Develop your equipment and gear.
Choose freedom.

Introduction To Assembly Language - Part Two

Sat, 01 Jun 2019 04:52:43 -0700

Performance Objective

At the conclusion of the course the student will be able to:

Understand how to locate values in a running application using scanmem.
Understand how to manipulate memory during run time.
Identify a tool that can be used to automate malware analysis.
Identify one method by which a VM can be identified by malware.
Identify one reason for analyzing malware.

Introduction

Programming at a low level requires intimate knowledge of your hardware. Understanding how information is stored in ram, accessed by applications, and eventually disposed of or written to permanent storage is important. We will be using an application called scanmem in conjunction with the video game Doom to gain a better understanding of how values can be stored by an application and located or manipulated by the user. While we will be using a video game for demonstration purposes it is important to understand that these concepts are applicable in a wide array of situations.

Installation

You will need the scanmem program for these exercises. We will be manipulating the video game Doom to better understand how memory can be accessed and manipulated in a running application.

Scanmem

$ sudo pacman -S scanmem

Scanmem allows us to locate and modify variables in an executing process. The scanmem application is an interactive debugging utility that can be used to isolate the address of a variable in an executing process by successively scanning the process address space while looking for matching values.

GZDoom

$ yay -S gzdoom

GZDoom is an application that can be used to play the video game Doom. Doom is a 1993 first person shooter made by id Software. Doom has frequently been cited as one of the most important and greatest games of all time. Today, GZDoom provides a simple method to run this family of games via packaged files known as WADS.

Basics

Start GZDoom
Load Doom
Open a terminal and type pidof gzdoom or optionally you can run pgrep gzdoom
Run sudo scanmem 4865
Type the value we are search for and hit enter while modulating the value until you locate it.

You can then SET the value and you will see a result like info: setting *0x56243f28fe88 to 0x3e7... that will reveal you have successfully changed your value.

Finding, reading, and changing values in memory is an iportant aspect of debugging as well as learning how applications function.

pgrep VS pidof

pgrep can match based on regular expressions but pidof is very literal. You can use either to accomplsih your goal of getting the pid for an application.

What is RAM?

RAM is an acronym for random access memory. RAM is the storage place for data that the CPU or central processing unit is working with. RAM is used for storing temporary data that will normally be flushed on shutdown or reset of the computer.

32-bit versus 64-bit

A 32-bit CPU can address a maximum of 4,294,967,296 bytes of RAM. This equals approximately 4 gigabytes. However, in practice the CPU will generally only be able to use around 3.5 gigabytes because some of the RAM will need to be reserved for storing temporary values besides memory addresses.

A 64-bit CPU can theoretically address 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 bytes, or 17,179,869,184 gigabytes (16 exabytes) of memory. A 64-bit computer can certainly access more than 3.5 gigabytes of RAM.

In theory a 64-bit processor is more efficient and capable of operating at much higher speeds than a 32-bit system because of the ability to address more ram and to use processor operations for 64-bit code that would not be available to 32-bit users.

Malware Analysis

Malware analysis is an integral part of the intelligence tool chain that can reveal who is targetting your organization, how they are doing so, and potentially what tools they may be using. It is vital that we each contribute to the knowledge base by becoming familiar with automated tools for analyzing these attack vectors. Tools like Cuckoo can be deployed in a segregated network with minimal effort and they can be used to gather information that can be of importance to law enforcement, investigators, and others.

Setup

The first thing we need to decide on is whether or not we will be using physical hardware for our analytical purposes or deploying virtual machines for handling our malware specimens. The simplest and fastest way to get started is usually virtualization.

I recommend one of two virtualization engines. VirtualBox or virt-manager in conjunction with KVM VM’s. Pick one. Your choice of virtual machine is important but you can work successfully with just about any type of VM provider.

You will need plenty of RAM and a large hard drive space. You may want to strive to have 16 gigabytes or more RAM available on your system. However, it is important to remember that in a virtualized environment, your malware may be able to detect it is in a virtual machine. So don’t rely entirely on a virtual environment. Be prepared to deploy a piece of physical hardware if necessary.

Isolation And Safety

Don’t reuse your equipment. You should not keep personal data on your analytic machine.
Don’t connect your laboratory and personal equipment to the same network. Malware is made to infect and to look for footholds. Don’t provide one.
Use a dedicated DSL or Cable Modem for the connection of the system. Don’t allow the malware in your lab to destroy someone elses system or to attack yours.
Speed up your work flow through the use of automation. Get low hanging fruit.
Take notes and keep ample documentation.

Cuckoo

Cuckoo describes malware as the Swiss army knife of cyber criminals. I agree. The adversary is always looking for a method by which they can gain a foothold into our network, our life, and our wallet. It is important to understand that we must be on the look out for all of the methods by which a plethora of individuals can conduct an attack against us.

Ponderings

What do I want to analyze?
How much analysis do I need to be able to do?
What platforms am I targeting?
What do I want to know?

We need to decide on operating system, language, patch level, and what software we plan to have installed. Analysis of something like malware is as much art as it is science. We need to take a sterile VM and make it look ’lived in’. If you have no browser history and the malware is designed to hunt for browser history, this will be an obvious issue.

We must never forget that our virtualized machines can be detected and countermeasures against detection must be deployed if we want to get the maximum amount of data from our tools.

Virtualization Detection

Malware can use many tools to detect if it is inside of a virtualized environment. A small list is provided.

Registry Checking and the presence of specific registry keys or searching for specific values such as ‘VMware, Inc.’ can potentially reveal the presence of virtualization.
Memory checking and verifying how memory structures are used. The Store Interrupt Descriptor Table is higher in a virtual environment than a physical machine. The malware might also look for Store Local Descriptor Table, Store Global Descriptor Table, and the Store Task Register.
Malware can run an IN instruction that is normally run from Ring 0. A VM will allow you to run IN from Ring 3 (The OS) and will return a value of ‘VMxh’ to the EBX register. This confirms the existence of a VM.
A VMware MAC address can be presumed by a specific numbering.
Other hardware information can also reveal the existence of a VM.

Countering these issues requires intercepting file and process checks, countering memory checks, and verifying that the OS is unable to communicate with the VM. There also exist tools to assist with this like vmcloak.

Answers

Scanmem provides an automated method by which we can locate values through an interface exposed to the user.
Scanmem provides the SET command to allow us to manipulate memory values.
Cuckoo can be used to automate malware analysis.
Malware can identify a VM through querying the registry in a Windows machine.
Malware analysis provides excellent intelligence on who is targeting us.

Conclusion

Understanding your computer is paramount. Many users feel confidant in their Linux skills but discover very quickly that their skill set is often lacking in the basics. Memory, CPU, and all other low level aspects of the computer are often obfuscated behind the operating system and much of this mysterious real estate will never be explored by even some advanced users.

There exist plenty of tools that can be deployed to simplify your job and to enhance your effectiveness. While some tools do increase complexity in one realm, they can often have benefits that far outweigh the problems. Consider using tools like Cuckoo to assist you in automating your malware scanning and study. You may also consider learning how to follow an application through execution so that you are better prepared in the event that you need to begin dismantling or otherwise gaining insight into the tools being used to attack your network.

Many users dispose of the malware that is being used to target them without a second thought. I think this is a poor use of resources. Setting up even a basic intelligence analysis group for your threats can enhance your safety and the safety of others tremendously. Learn how to profile threat actors, automate and triage attacks, and funnel that information towards law enforcement agencies who can use that data to build cases and develop a course of action for managing these threats.

Final Recommendations

Use Linux.
Learn more about your computer.
Learn how to take notes.
Develop a plan for enhancing your skills.
Share Information.

How do I use Docker and Dropbox to run multiple instances?

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 15:52:43 -0700

Settin Up Docker And Dropbox

Shivam Kapoor created an excellent blog post on how to setup Dropbox using Docker to allow multiple instances to function on a system. I made some minor changes and used this to setup a laptop so I can work with multiple copies of Dropbox without issue.

How To

Install Docker.
```
$ sudo pacman -S docker
```
Use your package manager to install Docker.
Setup your user.
```
$ sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
```
Setup your user by adding them to the docker group. This is so you don’t have to use sudo to work with Docker.
Get the Docker Image
```
$ docker pull janeczku/dropbox
```
User janeczku created a docker image that runs dropbox. Review the code yourself.
Create the Docker Machine and the volume
```
$ docker run -d --restart=always --name=RENAMETHIS -v /home/aaronj/Dropbox:/dbox/Dropbox -v /home/aaronj/.dropbox:/dbox/.dropbox -e DBOX_UID=1000 -e DBOX_GID=1000 janeczku/dropbox
```
You need to edit the name of the machine, the locations you want to use for the volumes, and the UID/GID so you don’t run into permissions issues. If your user is aaronj you would do cat /etc/passwd | grep "aaronj" and use the UID/GID displaye so you don’t run into permissions issues. If your user is aaronj you would do cat /etc/passwd | grep "aaronj" and use the UID/GID displayed.
Register the Docker Account
```
$ docker logs RENAMETHIS
```

Look for a line that says something like -

https://www.dropbox.com/cli_link_nonce?nonce=612531228134bf411986991sdd4d69438

Click it and login to register your Dropbox account with that container. 7. Restart the docker machine $ docker restart RENAMETHIS 8. Wait for the box to sync. 9. Fix the file permissions. $ sudo chmod 755 /home/aaronj/Dropbox -R $ sudo chmod g+s /home/aaronj/Dropbox -R $ sudo chown aaronj:aaronj /home/aaronj/Dropbox -R

This resolved my issue and with the laptop being a single user system, I am unconcerned about the permissiveness of the settings because my system is a single user box with disk encryption. You may want to write a cron to restart the box every 10-15 minutes as well. The Dropbox daemon seems to have some issues within the container and it helps to just restart the container.

Troubleshooting

How do I restart my dropbox machine?

$ docker container ls

You will want to find the name of the container you need. 2. Then restart the machine.

$ docker restart NAMEOFTHEMACHINE

This usually solves the issue. You can also create a cronjob that restarts regularly to solve any issues off the bat.

$ sudo crontab -s
# Edit the crontab to look like this -
# This restarts the container every 10 minutes. Edit this as you see fit.
*/10 * * * * /usr/bin/docker restart RENAMETHIS

Introduction To Mesh Networks

Sun, 14 Apr 2019 04:52:43 -0700

Performance Objective

At the conclusion of the course the student will be able to:

Identify what a mesh network is.
Identify how a mesh network can be employed during an emergency.
Identify what the PirateBox project is.
Describe one feature that the PirateBox provides.

Introduction

A wireless mesh network or (WMN) is a method of creating a network for communication that is composed of radio nodes that act in an ad hoc manner. The average WMN will consit of clients, routers, and gateways that allow the devices connected to the network to communicate with each other. This is usually designed to work without any kind of centralized infrastructure that would prevent communication if any one node were to disappear. However, on smaller networks it is possible that the inoperability of a single device could cease communications for all members involved. This is likely when deploying a PirateBox for communication. If you have a single PirateBox and that PirateBox fails, you will quickly find yourself without a means to communicate.

The normal internet functions by providing a centralized infrastructure that is designed to ferry data and information around the globe at high speeds. It is also useful for allowing people to monitor and spy on every individual using that infrastructure. This spying can take the form of capturing of packets and reading the exact information being sent or it can include more esoteric spying such as the passing of digital fingerprints and measuring traffic to make a best guess as to the content of the traffic itself.

PirateBox can be used to spy on traffic but the spirit of the device and the intention in which it is deployed reduces that possibility. A PirateBox creates a very small and local network that can be accessed by present parties to share information and foster digital communication. Similar to the bulletin board systems of days gone past, the PirateBox is tool that can enhance local communication and to foster discussion within small communities.

PirateBox Goals

Reproduced without permission, the below list contains the stated goals of the PirateBox project.

PirateBox provides easy file sharing and messaging over a local area network.
PirateBox is designed to educate the public and make them aware about online censorship, surveillance, and freedom of speech.
PirateBox truly respects privacy and thus does not collect any access or connection logs from its users.
PirateBox has an educational purpose and aims to teach about computer programming and computer networks.
PirateBox network (AP) should be open, and use open networking standards to allow communication with other users.

File sharing and messaging are extremely important to anyone who has any amount of experience with the internet. The ability to relay data and information with rapidity is vital when dealing with emergencies or even with something as simple as requesting homework help. The internet itself lives on the vital life force of files and text that is pumped between device on the network.

PirateBox fosters file sharing and messaging through the inclusion of a simple browser based application that exposes file sharing, chat, and an image board to users who connect to the PirateBox network. This behavior is the core of the PirateBox user interface and is vital for encouraging the use of the device.

Education

PirateBox has a stated goal of educating the public on censorship, surveillance, and freedom of speech. Education of the public is vitally important. PirateBox is an excellent conversation piece and demonstration of how a free and open internet can function and is an excellent tool for generating discussion on topics that the public may have difficulty even asking.

PirateBox is also beneficial in that it encourages tinkering and exploration. Users who deploy a PirateBox may look for ways to improve the project or to find alternatives that better fit their use case scenario. Can I improve connectivity by adding new antennas? Deploying more devices? Adding a method to support different types of encryption for different layers of use? All of these questions could come up and users might look for answers.

Privacy

Internet surveillance is a topic that raises serious concern for both law enforcement as well as citizenry. The public perception of law enforcement is that they should be able to solve crimes, stop crimes, resolve issues after crimes have occurred, and do all of this without ever making a mistake or causing an issue. They must also do all of this without ever glancing at anything that others have done or posted online and must respect the privacy of all peoples but must also stop terrorists from conducting attacks and organizing online. Internet based surveillance is not going away and will continue to grow thanks to the number of always connected online enabled devices that exist in homes and on persons nearly everywhere.

Some individuals seem to believe that they have a right to privacy when they share their information because there is a continued notion that companies like Facebook, Twitter, or Reddit have your best interests. This is false. These companies use you as a product that they distill, condense, package, and sell for a profit while expecting you to constantly produce content for them to data mine. Every thing you upload to the internet through these companies should be considered compromised by every government, institution, group, and person on this planet.

PirateBox removes you from the digital data mining circle and encourages you to develop your own methods of communication. You can operate independently of these companies and are encouraged to do so. If you wish to use a device in a manner in which only people you trust are allowed to communicate with you, you can.

Open Standards

Open Source is not Free Software. Richard Stallman states that open source software is released as a practical advantage that does not campaign for principles. Free software respects a users ability to run it, study it, change it, and to redistribute copies with or without changes. Open Standards are the policies and technology that exist in a non-proprietary manner while allowing any other device to be able to communicate if they too share in those open standards.

So does PirateBox profess to be free software friendly? No. It is an open source project that exists to use open standards. This means that devices that include proprietary drivers could potentially function. Is this good or bad? Neither. It is an ideology and a design choice based on practicality. PirateBox does not appear to be approved as Free Software Foundation friendly.

You can search for yourself at the FSF Directory.

Development

Development of the PirateBox is done using Github. The PirateBox teams keeps a large number of repositories available for your perusal and their website has excellent documentation on how to locate their projects. I recommend reviewing their development repositories to build your knowledge of how the device works, how to improve on it, and how to deploy your changes.

Deployment

Deployment of the PirateBox provides infinite possibilities. You can pretend to be a spy, setup a mesh LAN for your neighborhood, or provide an intranet for use during an emergency. The PirateBox is an awesome tool.

Dead Drops
Emergency Operations
Meetups

Dead Drops

The PirateBox allows for anonymous communication and file transfers between multiple parties. You can also use the device for chat or as a forum. This behavior is independent of the internet and does not require anything beyond normal WIFI networking tools to function. An individual could setup a PirateBox at a location, leave it connected to a battery or other form of power, and allow individuals passing by to communicate with the device and leave messages or other data at their leisure that could be later retrieved.

Emergency Operations

The very nature of an emergency invariably means that the normal situation is no more and we may require tools like the PirateBox to communicate in a grid down or grid damaged event. Shelter standup could be conducted when there is no access to the internet and a tool like the PirateBox could be deployed to allow communication locally. Minor changes to the PirateBox could be made to provide an announcements tool allowing users to connect and view information being posted by emergency management personnel. This could include scheduling, orders, or lists of casualties updated in real time. The PirateBox can be upgraded to provide an amazing connection capability.

Meetups

The PirateBox could also be a fun tool to stand up during meetings or conventions. You can deploy the device and see who finds it and what they do with it. The very nature of the PirateBox will encourage interaction and sharing. Will someone attempt to upload malware? Photos of their pets? Or will they use it to spread discord or chaos? No way to know until you stand one up and wait and see what happens.

Answers

A mesh network is a method by which infrastructure is deployed to allow bridges, switches, and other devices to communicate directly and non-hierarchically as possible with each other.
A mesh network can be deployed during an emergency to allow computers and other devices to communicate with each other over a wireless connection when the grid is damaged or otherwise unavailable.
The PirateBox is an anonymous offline mobile file-sharing and communications system that can be deployed using off-the-shelf hardware and free software.
The PirateBox provides an image board as well as file sharing.

Conclusion

A mesh network is a vital tool for off grid communication and provides a promising base for developing a local method of communication that is divorced from standard infrastructure. Mesh networking is a defense against the control exerted by centralized resources and their decision on what you may or may not do with the internet.

Projects like the PirateBox can be privacy respecting as is claimed in the goals of the project itself. These projects are often intended to help individuals who are interested in removing themselves from the Facebook, Google, and Ad powered ecosystem that most people are beholden to.

You as a user have an opportunity to contribute to a free internet by adding mesh networking to your equipment or gear bag. You can use battery powered Raspberry PI based devices as well as other alternatives to create and distribute a powerful network that can host any number of files. Contribute to a free internet by building a free internet.

Final Recommendations

Choose *nix.
Build or join a mesh network.
Network and build relationships in real life locally.
Develop your equipment and gear.
Choose freedom.

Security Discussion - Church - March

Fri, 22 Mar 2019 04:52:43 -0700

Topics

Violence In Houses Of Worship
First Aid Familiarity
Getting Organized - A Proposal

Introduction

‘The new normal’ is an idea proposed by author and former CIA employee Steve Tarani that violence and community fracture is inevitable as many different groups and ideologies continue to clash. These clashes will spawn violence that many individuals are not mentally prepared for. We must not allow normalcy bias to rob us of our ability to react to these situations but instead must embrace this new normal and prepare ourselves physically and mentally to react when presented with danger.

We need to understand that moving forward, if you are responding to ‘Bang’, you have already failed. If you have to go to guns, you have failed. If you are not prepared to avoid the threat instead of confronting it, you have failed.

Christchurch Shooting

On March 15, 2019 a 28 year old man named Brenton Tarrant used Facebook to live stream himself conducting a shooting at the Masjid Al Noor mosque in Christchurch New Zealand at 1345. He used multiple weapons including rifles as well as shotguns to conduct the shooting. His victims included men, women, and children. The estimated death toll was 49 with more than 20 individuals wounded. Many of his victims required multiple surgeries to save their lives.

Tarrant used Facebook to live stream his attack, posted numerous warnings online, and also posted on a popular image board with information on his upcoming attack and an invitation for viewers to view the carnage. He also informed individuals that his intention was to live but he was expecting law enforcement response to be deadly.

Tarrant has been celebrated both online as well as off line. His actions are being called an inspiration for numerous people who feel that violence is the only answer in response to what they believe to be increasing encroachment on their way of life. Calls for further violence have been posted online with many referring to Tarrant as a ‘Saint’.

Tarrant decorated his weapons with eulogies and slogans. He posted pictures of the weapons online and framed the weapons in his videos so that his messages could be read while he conducted his violent attacks.

ISIS posted a photo of an AK-47 variant in a tweet with promises of retaliation. The weapon was painted in a manner similar to how Tarrant painted his weapons. The messages and memorials for the victims of Islamic attacks were added to Tarrants weapon using a silver or white pen or marker. This was imitated by the ISIS fighter with his threat.

Threats Against The Latter Day Saint Community

Sometime around November 2017 members of ISIS began posting threatening images of bloody knives, Christmas gatherings, and an iconic LDS Temple located in San Diego with threats of violence. Law enforcement turn out was swift and overwhelming and as of this posting there has not been an organized attack on any LDS Temples within the United States in recent history.

First Aid

Please consider creating a simple combat life saver kit for yourself and family. An effective kit would include gloves, tourniquets (CAT for adults and wrap style for children), and a simple pressure dressing. An effective kit can be put together for very little money and will fit on a belt using a pouch.

Getting Organized

The Maricopa Sheriffs Office provides a block watch program as well as encourages the organization of members of the community. I am not asking you to do any policing and neither is the MCSO. I am asking you to be willing to be organized and to keep an eye on your homes and neighborhood.

One of the best deterrents against crime is positive outdoor activity. When
the community is out and about, you can be the eyes and ears of the
neighborhood, but please leave the policing to our deputies.
Please notify MCSO of any suspicious activity by calling the non-emergency
number, 602-876-1011; in an emergency, call 9-1-1. Not only does the
notification help solve potential crimes and keep the neighborhood safe,
the information assists with intelligence led policing. MCSO has a crime
analyst who uses calls for service to help direct targeted patrols and
identify trends.

I have requested information on the block watch and volunteer to organize it if members of our community are willing to participate. You are not being asked to become agents of enforcement but are being asked to be willing to report crime and to secure your neighborhood through cooperation with local established law enforcement channels.

Conclusion

Violence is inevitable. There are an increasing number of people calling for violence with an expectation that conflict resolution cannot be found within nonviolent means with regards to current and future political as well as religious differences. Targets are being chosen and planning is being conducted right now by both groups as well as individuals from all spectrum of the community. You cannot allow yourself to become complacent or to be caught unaware.

Final Recommendations

Prepare yourself mentally for violence and how you will respond.
Actively decide to defend yourself and your family.
Purchase a tourniquet and other first aid supplies. Learn to use it.
Understand the phrase ‘The New Normal’.
Seek out additional instruction.

Book Study - Your Most Powerful Weapon

Sun, 17 Mar 2019 15:52:43 -0700

A foreword

I received a copy of this book from my mentor. He encouraged me to read the book as part of my leadership training and because he found it to be very beneficial. I was unsure if this book was going to be of use to me but after having read it, I was very impressed. It had a lot of good information and the tone of the book was very familiar to me as I felt that there were many bits of information that I had previously heard or otherwise been trained on in other classes.

The book claims that it will teach you how to: build mental toughness, control your environment, avoid threats, defeat attackers, and control fear. Does it?

Your Most Powerful Weapon

How To Use Your Mind To Stay Safe

The New Normal

Tarani touches on normalcy bias, types of terrorism, and the ubiquity of new forms of attack that can be executed remotely. You must take responsibility for your future and safety. There are two basic forms of attack, the lone wolf style and the command or leadership enabled type.

How To Control Your Environment

Situational awareness is the concept of knowing what is happening around you. Many people do not pay attention to their surroundings and are not likely to initiate action to protect themselves. Tarani references a study in which images of individuals were shown to criminals and those criminals were polled on who they felt was a ‘good’ choice of victim. Every criminal made the unanimous decision that their target should be the person who appeared to be unaware and not paying attention.

How To Control A Threat

How you react to a threat is as important as threat avoidance. When you go to guns, you have failed. You need to be able to react to situations as they evolve and understand that the risks that come from dealing with an issue after it is right of bang. You face injury both physical and liability related as well as possible death when you have to confront a threat with force. It is better to avoid the threat in it’s entirety and defend yourself through not being a target.

How To Defeat An Attack

The first step in defeating a threat is to be able to recognize it and to interdict the threat before you must resort to violence or force. Just as when controlling the threat, you want to be able to reply with the least amount of force necessary to gain the advantage and to hold it. Development of soft skills is extremely important because it can provide you the abilities necessary to defend yourself without having to move to violence.

How To Control Fear

Many people are not inoculated against violence or fear. There is a popular story about two air craft that collided while on a run way. The majority of individuals on one plane died in a fire because they refused to get out of their seats and exit the plane. They sat in stunned silence until overcome by the smoke. You must not allow fear to rob you of your ability to care for yourself or your loved ones. As an aside, I was taught that courage is not the absence of fear but is the application of action when you are afraid.

Conclusion

This is a fantastic book and I was extremely happy with the recommendation I received to read it. A lot of the information consisted of solid advice that I had previously received when I was working for the Texas State Guard. However, it had been many years since I had last received this kind of training and the refreshed was much appreciated. I would recommend that people read this book. It will make a positive impact in your life whether you are military, police, or civilian.

You can purchase the book on Amazon.

Book Study - El Narco

Fri, 01 Mar 2019 15:52:43 -0700

A foreword

I spent several years working on the border between the United States and Mexico as a member of the Texas State Guard. I believe that those years helped forment my opinions on gangs, narcotics, crime, and law enforcement. El Narco is a fantastic book that documents much of what was happening inside Mexico during those years. I feel a special connection to this book due to the fact I can look at some of the stories mentioned and remember them as they occurred from the perspective of a soldier assigned to Operation Border Star.

El Narco

Inside Mexico’s Criminal Insurgency

El Narco is a book written by Ioan Grillo on the vast criminal network from Mexico that controls narcotics, murder, and other crimes south of the American border. This book paints a picture of not only the faceless criminal organization but a more human cost paid by the men and women who are touched by the exploits of El Narco.

This book is an excellent introduction to the drug war and the toll being paid by Mexico and it’s people. If you have any curiosity about what is happening to our neighbor to the south, I recommend taking the time to read this book. It is full of examples, stories, and information that makes it an invaluable resource for the terminally curious as well as any one who may be working in criminal intelligence or enforcement. If you have ever watched the news and wondered ‘Why?’, this book may be able to help you understand the answer.

History

El Narco covers the early origins of the narcotics trade with a strong focus on the peoples of the Sinaloa area who have supplemented their income for many years by growing and distributing marijuana as well as opium. The Chinese brought opium dens to the area and the Sinaloan peoples eventually learned how to grow, process, and distribute the opium themselves. The Sinaloans then evicted the Chinese and began their rise to power as an international criminal super power.

Mexico has a storied history with mythical criminal figures from Jesus Malverde to Poncho Villa. This history of violence, smuggling, and living beyond the law has evolved and launched forward into today. We now have new figures making a name for themselves and their exploits are just as extreme and bloody as any of the past, if not more so.

Anatomy

The members of the cartel work in semi autonomous units whose operations are often times as antagonistic to each other as they are to the outsider. El Narco does a fantastic job of introducing you to these people and their stories. Killers, hustlers, and their mothers are each interviewed and their mentality is dissected with an excellent translation of what they think they are doing and what is really happening.

The key players in the drug war are not just the colorfully named main characters presented by the news but the Sicarios, field workers, and grieving relatives who each contribute to the war at large. El Narco brings faces and names to the table and you learn about the men and women being left headless in the streets or who vanish forever without a trace. Humanization of the war is important if we wish to understand the ramifications of the battles.

Destiny

El Narco proposes a process of legalization and a reduction in crime through taxation and normalization. The Mexican people have suffered tremendously under the rule of their narco overlords and a simmering stew of events is waiting to produce a major civil war or conflict in their country. Mexico is forced to live in a reactionary state at all times, their actions guided by the addictions and wants of foreign nationals whose money and vices drive the violence and blood shed on a global scale.

Will we see Mexico deteriorate into a narco state, ruled by the wealthy who build their fortunes off of the lives of addicts and smugglers? Will the burgeoning quasi religious movement that is preached by street thugs and ghetto priests continue to replace organized religion? We are seeing an increase in faithfuls for a new pantheon. What does worshiping money and death Gods like Santa Muerte do to a populace who is becoming increasingly numb to violence?

Conclusion

This is a fantastic book that describes some of the issues facing Mexico as well as the global community. Narcotics and the economy surrounding it has reached every corner of the planet. Money spent in the United States makes a trip to Mexico where it funds women who travel to Europe to build networks that lead to overdoses in Australia. This global economy of bloodshed and cash may never be stopped but learning how it began may help others in better making decisions that will benefit a larger number of people.

If you have any desire to understand the drug war, this is mandatory reading. Find yourself a copy and spend a few days studying the pages of this book. It provides a lot of information that puts the violence and bloodshed into perspective. We must better understand the relationship between addict, pusher, distributor, and the violence that churns in foreign nations because of their interaction.

You can purchase the book on Amazon.

Introduction To Assembly Language

Wed, 20 Feb 2019 04:52:43 -0700

Performance Objective

At the conclusion of the course the student will be able to:

Install the tools necessary to compile and run assembly language code.
Identify the three sections of an assembly program.
Identify the five logical instructions that assembly recognizes.
Identify what recursion is.
Understand the basics of memory management.

Introduction

Assembly or asm is a catch-all term used to describe low-level programming language with close parity to hardware machine code instructions. Assembly language will be specific to particular computer architecture and operating systems. Assembly is generally not portable and does not share the ease in which high-level programming languages can be ported across architectures thanks to interpreting and compiling.

Assembly is made into something that can be executed with a tool known as an assembler. We will be using nasm for the purposes of this instructional material.

Installation

Assembly language requires an assembler. This is an application that turns your assembly code into something that can be executed. We will be using nasm because it is easy to install, readily available, and runs on Linux.

Check to make sure you don’t have development tools installed with

$ whereis nasm

We can also run

$ which nasm

If you see nasm: then you need to install using the command sudo pacman -S nasm or your equivalent installation command for your distribution.

Once you have installed nasm we can begin writing and building executables from assembly.

Basic Syntax

Assembly programs are generally divided into three sections. These three sections consist of the data section, the bss section, and the text section.

data section

The data section will be used to hold your constants and the initialized data that you have declared. This data will not change at runtime and is useful to holding things like strings.

You declare the data section using the following syntax.

section .data
msg db 'Hello World!', 0xa ;string
len equ $ - msg ;length of the string

bss section

The bss section has no content. It is uninitialized data. This contains the information necessary for the loader to preallocate memory space when starting a program. At execution this will normally contain all 0s and is devoid of useful information until data is written to those variables. You can use a debugger to review the contents of this memory as the system runs the program.

Think of it like taking cardboard, folding a box, putting a name on the box, and declaring ’this box holds 4 glass jars’. You are preparing the object to hold things, but it is empty until something is put in it.

text section

The text section will house your actual code. This section has a specific declaration and this informs the kernel where program execution begins. This is similar to the main() function found in languages like C or C++.

section.text
global _start
_start:

Comments

Assembly supports inline and lone comments. A comment supports all printable characters and also allows for blank lines. We use comments to bring attention to code segments when the code itself is not self explanatory. There are many thoughts on how comments should be used. I the author believe that code should be easy to read and indicative of what it is doing and comments should be used sparingly. Others believe that comments should be used liberally. You as a coder should make that decision but writing well formed and self documenting code should be your priority regardless of the methodology chosen.

;
;
; This is an example comment.
;
;
msg db 'Hello World!', 0xa ; This is also an inline comment.

asm Hello World

Intel Syntax

section .text
global _start ;must be declared for linker (ld)
_start: ;tell linker entry point
mov edx,len ;message length
mov ecx,msg ;message to write
mov ebx,1 ;file descriptor (stdout)
mov eax,4 ;system call number (sys_write)
int 0x80 ;call kernel
mov eax,1 ;system call number (sys_exit)
int 0x80 ;call kernel
section .data
msg db 'Hello, world!',0xa ;our dear string
len equ $ - msg ;length of our dear string

$ nasm -f elf64 hello.asm
$ ld -m elf_x86_64 -s hello.o -o hello
$ ./hello

AT&T Syntax

.global _start
.text
_start:
# write(1, message, 13)
mov $4, %eax # system call 4 is write
mov $1, %ebx # file handle 1 is stdout
mov $message, %ecx # address of string to output
mov $13, %edx # number of bytes to write
int $0x80 # invoke operating system code
# exit(0)
mov $1, %eax # system call 1 is exit
xor %ebx, %ebx # we want return code 0
int $0x80 # invoke operating system code
message:
.ascii "Hello, World\n"

$ gcc -c hello.s
$ ld hello.o -o hello
$ ./hello

32 bit General Registers: EAX,EBX,ECX,EDX
int is an interrupt. 0x80 informs the kernel it needs to do the action being held inside eax. The action is known as a ‘system call’.
System call 1 forces a program to exit
System call 4 forces a program to print
64 bit General Registers: RAX, RDI, RSI, RDX

Intel Syntax: mov eax, 1 Instruction, Destination, Source

AT&T Syntax: mov $4, %eax Instruction, Source, Destination

Intel syntax uses inference to decided the amount of data which is moved and the addressing mode comes from the operands themselves. AT&T syntax supports using suffixes at the end of the instruction set to signify the size of the data. This is not mandatory. The real explicitness of AT&T syntax comes from the use of the $ and % symbols. $ means immediate addressing. Without the $ it would fetch the value found at memory address 1. The % means use the register and makes sure the system not to use the symbol (labeled memory address).

Suffixes

l - long 32 bits
w - word 16 bits
q - quad-word 64 bits
b - single byte

Registers

Data must be stored in memory and accessed as necessary by the processor. Reading data from and storing data inside memory is a slow process relatively speaking. The process itself requires data to be moved across the bus and into a memory storage before then traversing the same bus in the opposite direction when the data is needed again. Moving information between ram and cpu is slow.

Registers exist to speed up processor operations by making memory storage allocation available within the cpu itself. Registers store data elements for processing without ever having to traverse the bus and access memory. This means we have a limited number of spots where we can store information within the cpu itself.

64 bit architecture enjoys the benefits of a large number of registers. However it should be wise to remember that IA-64 assembly language was deliberately designed with the intention that compilers will conduct the majority of code writing and that humans will do little if any interaction in assembly. This is important to remember. In modern systems, compilers and high level programs can now do an excellent job in taking advantage of hardware and is easily able to conduct a large sum of optimization without the user needing to get involved.

Logical Instructions

AND

AND is used for supporting logical expressions by performing bitwise AND operations. This operation will return 1 if the matching bits from both operands are 1, else it returns 0. Does this sound similar to a logic gate? It should as they operate the same.

0 AND 0 = 0
0 AND 1 = 0
1 AND 0 = 0
1 AND 1 = 1

OR

OR is used for setting one or more bits. The bitwise OR operator will return 1 if the matching bits from either or both operands are one. It returns 0 if both bits are zero.

0 OR 0 = 0
1 OR 0 = 1
0 OR 1 = 1
1 OR 1 = 1

XOR

XOR is a logic gate that gives a 1 output when the number of true inputs is odd. This can also be used to clear a register.

0 and 0 = 0
0 and 1 = 1
1 and 0 = 1
1 and 1 = 0

Clearing a register would look like XOR ABC, ABC.

TEST

TEST instructions work the same as the AND operation but does not change anything. This allows you to find out if a number is even or odd without changing the original number.

NOT

NOT will reverse the bits of an operand.

0 NOT = 1
1 NOT = 0

Recursion

Recursion exists in two forms. Direct recursion is the procedure in which a function calls itself. Indirect recursion is the procedure by which a second procedure calls the first function. Python performs direct recursion very elegantly. Consider the following bit of code for finding the factor of a number.

def fact(a):
if a == 1:
return 1
else:
return a * fact(a-1)

If you are not familiar with finding the factorial of a number it works like this.

print(fact(4))
4 * 3 * 2 * 1

Recursion is an elegant and simple method of allowing you to conduct repeated operations with specifically defined rules.

Memory

Pointers, Virtual Memory, and Physical Addresses are all important concepts to begin mastering. In assembly language, we allocate space and then fill it with a string. You can see the comparison between assembly and something like python very easily in regards to handling a string and printing it.

Assembly - hello.asm

; Define variables in the data section
SECTION .DATA
hello: db 'Hello world!',10
helloLen: equ $-hello
; Code goes in the text section
SECTION .TEXT
GLOBAL _start
_start:
mov eax,4 ; 'write' system call = 4
mov ebx,1 ; file descriptor 1 = STDOUT
mov ecx,hello ; string to write
mov edx,helloLen ; length of string to write
int 80h ; call the kernel
; Terminate program
mov eax,1 ; 'exit' system call
mov ebx,0 ; exit with error code 0
int 80h ; call the kernel

You then must compile.

$ nasm -f elf64 hello.asm
$ ld hello.o -o hello
./hello

Python - hello.py

hello = 'Hello World!'
print(hello)

Running is trivial.

python hello.py

GDB

GDB, the GNU Project Debugger allows you to find out what is happening with a program as it executes. GDB is generally used for catching issues or bugs in software. GDB is capable of doing four main things:

Start a program and specify anything that could change the behavior of that program.
Make a program stop on demand or conditionally.
Examine what happened to a program when it has stopped.
Change things in the program, this allows experimentation.

GDB supports a plethora of languages including:

C
C++
D
Fortran
Go
Rust
Python
and more …

We can install GDB using sudo pacman -S gdb or use the appropriate package manager for your distribution. The AUR for python-dbg must also be installed if you plan to use gdb in conjunction with python. This will replace your python with one that includes the debugging hooks. Sometimes this breaks things. Don’t hesitate to use a virtual environment to help with this.

Python developers can also use pdb.

Answers

NASM - the Netwide Assembler can be installed in Arch derivatives with sudo pacman -S nasm.
Assembly language consists of the data, bss, and text section. Assembly also supports comments.
AND, OR, XOR, TEST, and NOT are the five logical instructions that assembly recognizes.
Recursion is the ability for a procedure to call itself. There are two forms of recursion and they are direct and indirect.
Assembly is very low level. You must allocate and deallocate memory as appropriate.

Conclusion

You cannot begin the process of disassembly and review of software if you do not understand how software functions. You must master the basics of computing if you plan to move forward. Assembly language is extremely low level and gives the user an excellent idea of exactly what is occurring within the computer.

Understanding how assembly language works will give you the knowledge necessary to begin learning concepts such as coding, reverse engineering, and malware analysis.

Assembly programming is not necessary to write code. The reasoning for understanding assembly is several fold. It forces you to gain a greater understanding of your hardware, architecture, and can help you navigate what an application is doing when it appears to be coded right but still misbehaves. You as developer or researcher would be served well by taking the time to familiarize your self enough to be able to read the Intel Processor Manual.

Final Recommendations

Use Linux.
Understand your hardware and software.
Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty.
Experiment.
Practice.
Read Programming from the Ground Up Book

Introduction To Love Scams - Supplemental Discussion

Wed, 20 Feb 2019 04:52:43 -0700

Performance Objective

At the conclusion of the course the student will be able to:

Describe what a love scam is.
Identify a type of person or profile that a love scammer may pose as.
Identify what types of people are scammed.

Love or Romance Scams

Criminal networks and individuals are working overtime to part love struck victims from their money. While many individuals are spending the time leading up to February looking for someone to keep them company during Valentines day, love scammers are looking for desperate victims who are willing to feed their bank account.

Methods

A scammer could potentially use any method available to them to bilk a victim out of their money. It is a good idea to familiarize yourself with the common types of love scams and their methodology. Understanding what scammers do to accomplish their mission can help you identify otherwise unknown scams and better defend yourself. The stakes can be high.

Blackmail

Scammers often look for vulnerable or otherwise weak individuals who they attempt to convince to indulge in their fantasies while recording or otherwise monitoring them. This is often an invitation by the scammer to get the victim to perform sexual acts on camera.

Once a scammer has recorded their victim they will often find their social media contacts and threaten to send the video to their employers, friends, and family. The victim usually has to pay a sizable sum to protect their dignity but the scammer will often still reveal the content or sell it on sexually explicit sites even after having been paid.

Pro-Dater

The pro-dater preys on wealthy foreigners who are willing to visit their country. They will meet their victim and then orchestrate the victim spending large amounts of money. This usually requires the help of people who are on the take.

The foreigner will often be taken by an expensive taxi, shuttled to stores, convinced to spend money, and then they are either sent away or otherwise left somewhere with encouragement to send more money when ever they can. Sometimes they are murdered.

419 Scams

A 419 scam is similar to most Nigerian wealth scams. The victim is told that vast wealth is available if they are willing to marry someone. The scammer then convinces the victim to send money and pay massive fees and bills, stringing them on, with the promise of marrying and bringing along massive amounts of wealth.

Claims that victims have been beat, robbed, and even murdered after traveling to Africa to meet their scammers have been made.

Military Impersonation

Many scammers impersonate military members, preying on their victims by convincing them that their military service prevents them from visiting. The relationship will usually progress until the scammer finds an excuse to request cash. This has lead to victims loosing tens of thousands of dollars as they believe they are assisting a member of the armed forces whom they ’love'.

Defense

Slow down. Stop. Time is on your side. Your online love you have never met who is demanding cash right now is pressuring you in the hopes of making you make mistakes. The scammer will often profess their love and then demand cash to help themselves, family members, or for some other issue. Don’t rush. A manufactured emergency is a fast way to get you to take action before you think.

Don’t wire money or use gift cards. Untraceable money transfer funds will vanish and you will not recover your losses.

Any photo provided to you should be entered into google image search as a reverse search method.

Resources

The FBI provides excellent resources on love scams.
The CID provides excellent resources on love scams.

Answer

A love scam is a scam that relies on convincing a person to part with their money because of some form of emotional or sexual attachment.
Scammers often pose as members of the military because it provides them an excuse for being out of the continental United States.
Gullible or otherwise desperate people are preyed upon because of their strong desire for fulfillment and a willingness to over look issues to satisfy their own fantasies.

Conclusion

The British Psychological Society claims that people who are sensitive or emotionally stunted are more likely to fall for online dating scams. Older people, less attractive people, and persons who receive less attention are more likely to be willing to suspend belief when highly attractive persons provide them attention.

Be cautious with your social media. People look for people who are older and present a willing to trust. They specifically look for trust indicators like strong religious predisposition or posts with positive affirmations. Do not make yourself an easy mark.

The internet has made scamming a simple career and taken the necessity to be charismatic out of the equation. Do not allow yourself to be duped or to over look red flags because you want to prop up your ego. Men and women can both be victims of the love or romance scam and the only way to protect yourself is to use caution and skepticism.

Guest Post - The Blockchain Utility

Wed, 16 Jan 2019 15:52:43 -0700

Guest Post by PrivateSeaBass

This is a guest post by PrivateSeaBass.

Introduction

This paper was written, due to the massive popularity of blockchain, and all that comes with the hype of a new technology. Many people seem to believe it is a fantastic finding, “A breakthrough of modern technology”, “The future of Technology”, “Everything should be a blockchain!”. Although, there are many issues that have come with blockchains that aren’t being considered. The easiest, clearest reason for the success of blockchain is the incentivisation. In the cryptocurrency space, more versions of money allow for different types of transactions, such as payment per second transactions (assuming the chain the currency is on can handle it). In reality: there may be some amazing uses for blockchain that are not done yet, but to ensure people don’t burn their budgets on a dream that is not actually ideal as a blockchain, this paper was created.

In this paper, there is an outline of the following:

Hashes
Blocks
Blockchaining
Decentralization
How blockchains grow
How blockchains propagate
Legal considerations of data
How one chain may split into two
Why blockchains are trusted
More effective solutions to some problems
Security considerations
Life expectancy of blockchains

Note: If a subject is already known, or isn’t of current interest, you may be able to skip to a different section, but many of these subjects are interconnected.

Hashes of Blocks

“Hashes” are an algorithmically calculated way of showing information that will always be the same and is irreversible. (Until there is enough data for it to duplicate, check section “Life Expectancy of the Chain”) “Hashing” is the verb for calculating the hash of something. The “block” of the chain is information. We hash the data; we make it into a smaller, consistent, irreversible value. As a result, if verification for the information is needed, one only has to take the file in question, calculate the hash, and compare the hash to the one provided by the entity in question. Bitcoin, for example, uses Secure Hashing Algorithm 256 (Sha256). Take a look under the “hash” section of the MIT Hash Tool (For those of you who care: You need Blockchain.MIT.edu and anders.com JavaScript enabled).

Here is an image file’s sha256sum (algorithm) hash:

f110cfce59853eec018a2be0f23565d46b67848194e99f91ed701ea9be672420 \*linuxmint-18.3-kde-64bit.iso

(Anyone can calculate the hash value, hashing isn’t hard, and good security professionals compare them every time they obtain a file from the internet) So, if you find the image file “linuxmint-18.3-kde-64bit.iso”, obtain a Sha256 hash of it (get a program to calculate it for you), and the value you get is the same, then everyone can be certain that (given today’s hardware capabilities) it is VERY likely to be the EXACT SAME file that was used for the above hash.

That integrity is the basis of the “block” in blockchain (nonces are talked about in section “Process: Growth”).

If the value “ABCD” is hashed, a value is output. If the value is made lowercase, “abcd”, then the hash value becomes something ENTIRELY different. The same goes for any data in the blocks; if anything in the block of information changes, the hash ENTIRELY changes.

Want to see it yourself? Type some letters in This calculator and MIT Hash Tool. They will be the exact same, if they use the same algorithm.

So, what is the “Chain”?

Blocks are chained together by taking the hash of the previous block and putting it into the data of the current block, before hashing. This way the previously calculated block is verifiably the same. If data or the hash of the previous block is changed, then the current block changes too. One way of saying this is “breaking the chain”. Want to see how the chain is connecting blocks? Use this MIT Blockchain Tool.

The blockchain’s immutability (non-changeability, unalterability, insert favorite word for can’t be changed) has lead name “ledger”; they are similar to the accounting records in that they are never supposed to changed. Not only are ledgers supposed to be permanent, but they hold PUBLIC information. ANYONE can read what data is on the blockchain at ANY time.

One problem for blockchains is the Right to be Forgotten and the GDPR. The EU requires personal information to be removable, as people have “The Right to be Forgotten” and GDPR does not allow personal data to leave the EU without consent of the individual. Why does this matter? Most of the time the objective is for blockchain to be a globally used system. Even when not intended, it often becomes one. Developers would thus need to be careful and ensure no data that is put on the chain can be considered a breach of privacy, unless that is what was desired, as that is the point of the blockchain (to store private information). Once put on the chain, the private information can NEVER be removed or else you break the chain… rendering the use of a blockchain and accuracy of data moot.

Workaround: The data on a blockchain says WHERE the data is, not WHAT the data is…. If you use the work around, why did you bother using a blockchain? The blockchain is used to store where data is. This is adds a hoop to a basic database server, rendering it less efficient than a simple database (How much less in section, “Process: Growth”). It removes the purpose of using a blockchain, entirely, and even makes it more processing work for a computer making the delivery of data even slower than a simple database!

Let’s assume the blockchain provided the users an option to transact some amount of data, or even a file. Bitcoin, for example, allows people from around the world to put 1 Mb of information into their transactions, without restriction. People can put pretty much anything in it, as it is without restriction. Links, portions of photos, other hashes, whatever as long as it fits into 1 Mb. What do criminals want to put in as their portion of data? People have posted links to child pornography sites (Article).

Once law enforcement finds it, the sites can be taken down, and thus the link is unusable to find content. This does not prevent capability and reoccurrence, though. Some issues criminals have created are irreversible, such as images of child pornography (Article).

Again, links can have the data at the directed site removed, but if it isn’t directing to the content, then they will be permanent, and distributed to everyone who uses the blockchain. For anyone thinking of making a blockchain, this is a possible legal issue.

Decentralization of the System

The blockchain has a ledger that is not owned, maintained, nor held by a single person; rather, it is owned/maintained/held by MANY people. Servers are run on computers to take, look at, and add/verify data on the blockchain. For many, the procedure is “Go to this website if you want to see the data.” If you wanted to do more than simply the website, you could store some of the data yourself. Possibly helping spread the blockchain faster and further, if you decide to set up a computer to do so. This type of computer is called a “node”.

The nodes are the owners and maintainers of a blockchain’s ledger. Nodes are where information is obtained from and stored. The beauty of blockchain being that everyone is able to store and spread the blockchain’s information, without need for a central trusted entity. This capability is called decentralization.

Short version: Nodes store blockchains data. Nodes can be run by anyone. Ownership available to anyone is called decentralization.

This is why many blockchains are generally open-source: “If I can’t tell what I am running, if I can’t tell it isn’t malware, why should I run this blockchain, when the standard is that I can see every bit of code to know what I am processing!?” This aspect has it’s own implications, which are generally positive to the public and some of the time positive to businesses. If you would like to know what those are, look for a debate between open source and closed source, like this one.

(PLEASE look at multiple, most are biased to their side).

Process: Growth

A blockchain system is developed, but now it needs computers/processing power to calculate the hashes of the blockchain.

This is because the calculations are non-reversible and so complex that only a computer could do the hashing in a small enough time. If you want to see how to calculate a hash by hand, it is unrealistic to think a person could calculate enough sha256sums for a blockchain; thus, computers do it. Who’s computers, though? The “Miner’s” computer. They take the most recently transacted data and the previous block’s hash to create a hash for the next block. For any given blockchain, calculating the hash can be made more or less difficult (Described in “Stunting Growth”).

Problem: The more data there is, the more data that has to be hashed. The more data that needs hashing, the longer the calculations will take, and the more processing power is needed to do it. Limited answer: Decrease difficulty of hashing the blocks. Answer: Limit the amount of transactions that can be done per block.

Problem: What if someone finds the hash for the next block, but as it is getting distributed to the other nodes/users, someone else finds the same data and starts spreading in an area that hasn’t been told it was found, yet? Who claims ownership of the block? and if there is a reward system, who claims the reward? This separation is called a “fork”. Currently used answers:

Whichever fork everyone agrees to use
Whichever fork is longest
Whichever fork reaches a certain length beyond the split off first.

Problem with the answers: Each fork will have it’s own transaction data, based on which fork people gamble will be the successful one. Where does the information in the dropped forks go? Answers: It either disappears, as if it didn’t happen… or A system is somehow applied that the I don’t understand (thus would be unqualified to explain), which would transition the fork’s data into the new chain. If this happens, then somehow some miners might have spent money that they didn’t know they wouldn’t have…. So now what?

Let’s take this problem into a new idea I once heard of from a presenter at a blockchain conference: A blockchain for setting up and recording times of flight departures and arrivals. Single point of trust? No, two flight towers can be separate entities, and maybe entirely separate airports, eventually. Transactions: Time stamping when flights have arrived or departed. Miners: Air port companies, maybe even fliers. In theory, maybe this would work under perpetual, ideal conditions.

The problems for this system are as follows:

Question 1: What happens when connections between the towers is dropped?

They both keep having more flight arrivals, delays, late departures, so more transactions and more blocks being built and added. Now, these two towers have entirely different content on their chains. The above problem means that one tower at the same airport has accurate data, and the other must be agreed is false. The discrepancy is that both may have accurate data, but the fact that they have different data means that one must be complete thrown out. Airports can’t afford this waste of resources, the missing data wouldn’t have been stored anywhere, and they are at a loss, or the accurate data is know, added to the other chain, and the heaving processing for a blockchain would need to repeat.

Question 2: What happens if flight information changes?

Flights can be delayed several times to eventually be canceled, even, but the blockchain wouldn’t care. You can’t change it. “-Okay, okay, let’s use the blockchain that stores where the data is stored…!” The problems for that make blockchains pointless. (Discussed in section: So, What is the Chain?)

Question 3: Why not just use a different system?

CRDT (Conflict-Free Replicating Data Type) is a system that can resolve this issue more efficiently without this problem, assuming data is properly setup. If we change this to patching software or delivery of information, Darcs is an older algorithm for applying patches out of order.

In short: What happens to the miners when a chain forks? They either keep their earned money, because of the winning chain, the above happens because of a losing chain, OR the chain permanently forks and we have two versions of the same blockchain.

Security and This Permanent Data

Etherium (cryptocurrency) had data that was “public” in an object oriented programming sense. This means that anyone could affect it whenever they wanted to… This was the “who has how much money” part of the code. So to prevent thievery from anyone Etherium forked to a more secure version. If you wanted the more secure version of a blockchain, you would have to start/join a new blockchain, meaning lose all the transactions and rewards that previously existed. Needless to say, not everyone moved to the new chain. It couldn’t be transferred unless everyone agreed to stop doing transactions long enough for it all to be calculated on the new chain. Although… this would take about as long as the lifespan of the chain. This won’t happen if the chain lived for months; People need to use it for it to be an adopted blockchain. This is a larger scale issue to the forking problem.

Assume there are many transactions in general; for example, many degrees/certifications being given to people. This would mean that Degrees may poof out of existence all the sudden, if the granting entity just chose the wrong fork. Resolution: It can be reassigned to a new chain, “Just add it to the other!”, one might say. This means that the users of the chain want as big of blocks as possible, as many transactions as possible.

Remember remember the earlier problem about miners wanting to process as little data as possible, so they could make as many blocks as possible? Paradox: Miners want as few transactions as possible. Users want as many transactions as possible. The creator will want more blocks from miners, making the chain grow, making the data permanent. If there are no users on the chain; thus, no data to hash; then, there is no work for the miners; and the blockchain isn’t being used anyways.

One blockchain did this differently. EOS.io instead of having the competitive system for miners, they work together to obtain the next block. One application that used this system was a social media platform. Thus the insentive to mine is to allow more posts on the chain. The fact that these systems were working together to find hashes makes it able to scale to greater transactions speeds (Currently around 50,000 transactions per second).

Takeaway: What incentive is there for miners to mine (hash) data? How many transactions do you have time to do? Comparison of Bitcoin, Etherium, PayPal, and Visa Transaction rates Would it be better to make a system/application that all colleges make their own version of that is a public database of degrees or certifications? The writers and owners of the databases would be colleges, or better yet, all the students for a personal database? A blockchain may not be ideal, but it can still be decentralized. If not currency, how can you make people work together if it needs to scale more?

Stunting growth

For those of you who would like to know the more complex details, here is how random numbers matter and how difficulty for mining is determined. If not, you can skip this section. Use this to visualize and do it, if desired. MIT block tool

Blocks are made harder to mine by requiring some value (usually 0) at the start of a hash to be considered a valid block. To produce this specific hash value, a hash needs a “nonce”, or random data used to change the hash value. The nonce is a randomly generated value; where it comes from can be up to the user. It also shouldn’t matter too much, as long as these values don’t repeat. People are also unlikely to share this information. Miners are working against each other for the reward of mining blocks after all. People use nonces, rather than going from the ground up, because randomly choosing numbers seems to result in an accurate hash faster than calculating the value all the way up. If someone is starting from one and climbing from there, people would likely be repeating the actions of another person, meaning being behind that person in chances for success. One idea to keep in mind is that modern blockchains increase difficulty of mining as time progresses. This results in even slower growth as time goes on, and can compensate for the advancement of technology.

Current difficulty for Bitcoin

The Trusted, Trust-less System

Blockchains are full of permanent data that people trust is accurate. Blockchains prevent anyone from changing data into false information. Blockchains are only worth doing, if one has not single point of trust. If only one person can make transactions/write on the chain, who can prove that person won’t lie in the transaction? This person is in full control of the data, even though everyone has it, one person has all the power. Thus in a blockchain where only one person can be trusted to post accurate data, to make accurate software/hardware, or to even hashing accurate information, it can’t be trusted by anyone but the person in control. If there is one point of trust, the it may as well have been created in a server or database that is simply owned by the trusted entity. The system would be faster, the person would have necessary control of the data, and data one can still prevent the removal or changing of data. The same argument goes toward businesses.

So to ensure the use-case is viable, to prove that it has a purpose being a blockchain rather than a decentralized system, verify that no where along the path of creation is a “single point of trust”. Blockchains have no data or permission that only one entity is allowed to use.

That is one point that people may call “the beauty of blockchain”. I agree that “Blockchain is an adversarial system. It is a system that people who would take every chance to ruin and demoralize each other will come to trust and agree on this system. People from Israel, Iran, America, and North Korea will come to agreement every second about data on a blockchain. They might fight every day, but in the blockchain they agree on and trust in the truth of the data every second of its existence.”

That is what makes blockchain beautiful, but it also makes it very difficult (if not impossible) to justify using over other systems (if not impossible to use, due to a lack of compatible needs).

Looking at the information that would get stored in a blockchain is also an interesting situation. People who desire privacy may get it. There are possible methods to obtain complete privacy, but these are not usually implemented in currently used cryptocurrencies. Using the data on the blockchain and other outside information about your account are usually enough to trace the currency back to where it was from. Law enforcement need this to ensure any funny business is legal. People who value privacy hate it because it removes anonymity. Looking at the previous example, a system for degrees are intended to have public presence and public data. Not everyone will want it all to be public data look back at the GDPR regulations and keep in mind that some people don’t put their degrees on resumes due to over-qualification but really lack needed knowledge. Some people may not want their place of education posted, as it is a place to gather more information on people. If it is high school degrees, too, then users need to remember not to have that as their security questions. More examples would be found with time.

In short, people may not want their data on the chain, but when you put it on, now what? Redo the chain and spend a lot of time and money on processing? This issue was not made to get easier over time, either. Looking the white papers from Satoshi Nakamoto, who is sometimes looked at as the creator of blockchain, hardware would get more efficient, but the chain would also increment its difficulty to accommodate for that issue. (Also mentioned in section “Stunting Growth”) Maybe it can be changed to be more efficient, but cryptography gets stronger, thus harder to encrypt/decrypt over time. Current difficulty for Bitcoin Speed of processing a blockchain will not likely change, and if it does then it is likely be vulnerable to collision attacks (talked about in final section, “Life Expectancy of the Chain”).

Life Expectancy of the Chain

Blockchains have an inevitable and expected end of life. These systems work because hashes are still difficult enough to forge. These hashes work well, but they have a limit in size. Once the algorithm becomes obsolete, they gain a vulnerability due to general hardware quality being good enough to easily forge.

When calculating hashes, one CAN obtain the same value more than once. If someone finds a second value with the same hash as is on the chain then the data in the chain can be changed to the data within that hash. These vulnerabilities are called collisions, as two calculations have collided into the same hash value. The purpose of the ledger’s immutability becomes void if this is found. Once again, someone can change data, and who can trust the system’s data accuracy now? The likeliness of this happening is entirely dependent on the complexity and amount of bits used in the hashing algorithm. If it is simple and uses a smaller sized hash (fewer bytes), calculations will result in the same hash (thus collide) more often. Thus the largest hash possible is desired to ensure the longest life of the chain. This increases hash calculation time for miners. This means fewer transactions can be done per block mined. And now we have returned to the paradox of transaction sizes.

This all isn’t to say that blockchains have no uses. Timestamp events are one implementation that may even be ideal if implemented with a blockchain. The problem is that timestamp may not be interesting to enough people to make successful, and even if it is successfully made, it will still fail if it isn’t set up properly.

Many people and businesses use blockchains, today. Hopefully, a full scope of what is necessary or better systems will be realized as a result writing this. Today, blockchain is a buzz-word, but hopefully people will see that most of the time, there are ALMOST always better solutions to their problems than blockchains.

More information that may have not been mentioned:

Retro64.xyz

Introduction To WiFi Hacking

Performance Objective

Introduction

WiFi does not make you sick.

WiFi Frequencies

802.11b

802.11a

802.11g

802.11n

802.11ac

WiFi Security

WPA-TKIP and WPA2-AES

WiFi Channels

WiFi Aggregation

WiFi SSID Setup

Aircrack-ng

Pixiewps

Kismet Wireless

How To Find A Hidden SSID

Wifiphisher

How to use Wifiphisher

WPS and Wifite

WPA2 and Wifite

WIDS with Kismet

Wave Bubble

GNU Radio

Wigle

Answers

Conclusion

Final Recommendations

Introduction To Assembly Language - Part Two

Performance Objective

Introduction

Installation

Scanmem

GZDoom

Basics

pgrep VS pidof

What is RAM?

32-bit versus 64-bit

Malware Analysis

Setup

Isolation And Safety

Cuckoo

Ponderings

Virtualization Detection

Answers

Conclusion

Final Recommendations

How do I use Docker and Dropbox to run multiple instances?

Settin Up Docker And Dropbox

How To

Troubleshooting

Introduction To Mesh Networks

Performance Objective

Introduction

PirateBox Goals

File Sharing And Messaging

Education

Privacy

Open Standards

Development

Deployment

Dead Drops

Emergency Operations

Meetups

Answers

Conclusion

Final Recommendations

Security Discussion - Church - March

Topics

Introduction

Christchurch Shooting

Threats Against The Latter Day Saint Community

First Aid

Getting Organized

Recommended Reading

Conclusion

Final Recommendations