Cannot start Maltego on Kali Linux 2.0

Recently I started a security course where one of the tools we use is Kali. As my next week’s lab is about Maltego, I’ve decided to build a Virtual Machine with Kali.

However, after registering for a community license, when trying to start Maltego, I am getting as far as Loading Modules or Starting Modules.

I've tried removing Maltego and installing it again and updating Kali. None of this helped. I’ve also tried to install Maltego on Ubuntu and that has worked fine.

I couldn't find any further information on the Internet apart of some comments with 2 other people facing similar issue:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A4XArk14A4

I did some further research and apparently Maltego Chlorine needs Java 8 while Kali has Java 7.

You can check which version of Java you have installed by typing:

java --version

in a terminal window.

Anyway, I decided to update Java and see what happens. The commands I run were:

echo "deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/webupd8team/java/ubuntu trusty main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list

echo "deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/webupd8team/java/ubuntu precise main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list

sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys EEA14886

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install oracle-java8-installer

Once this was done, Maltego has loaded fine.

I hope it helps somebody. If it was helpful for you, please leave a comment so I will know ;)

How to switch off safety Mode for Youtube when no user is logged in.

It looks like with a recent update on Youtube, on older versions of Firefox it is hard to switch off Safety mode when no user is logged in. This is a problem when you have shared computers. After some research I figured it out that the "Safety On" preference is stored in the following cookie:

Capture 1 - cookie that stores the Safety On preference

You can get to this by clicking on Tools/Options/Privacy/Remove Individual Cookies.

While the easiest way would be just to ask users/Helpdesk Staff to remove the cookie, in real life this will not work or it will cause users extra stress. I believe on these computers  the cookie cashing for Youtube should be disabled completely. This can be done by removing the above cookie and followed by:

1. Loading a Youtube page

2. Right click anywhere on the page

3. Select: View Page Info

4. Select Permissions

5. Scroll down to Select Cookies

6. Select Block

Capture 2 - Block Cookies for Youtube

I believe this could be done also on the Enterprise version of Firefox by group policy. 

I hope it will help somebody, feel free to leave me a comment with suggestions.

Csaba

Battery powered Ethernet link tester

Recently I was seconded to the Networking Team. In one of the days I was required to trace down a network port which was wrongly labelled. Luckily, I had my cable tracer with me, however the solution was not ideal. There were 8 possible ports and only one tracer.... I knew that 4 out of the 8 ports must be live. But which ones?

While having a mobile device like a laptop is helpful, carrying a laptop with you only for live port detection is far from ideal. I started to look for an alternative solution.

After a bit of research, I found a site where one of the users describes a process of converting a CentreCom 210 TS Tranceiver into a live port detector. The process is fairly easy, it involves some soldering and it requires a small switch and a battery.

Since I had no available transceivers, I started to look for a different solution using something that I have. Basically any small switch, hub or even a Raspberry Pi (quite an expensive solution for port detection) would do the job as long as the device has a link light and can be powered with 5 V. I had a look around the house and I found  a small USB print server that had a 5 V input. Great! Now the only thing needed was a 5 V power source. Obviously EBay had the solution and it does not need any soldering just a bit of electrical tape and double sided tape.

What you need:
- small USB  print server (I had a DLink DP-301U one but there are plenty others on EBay and Amazon, just make sure they have a 5 V power input)
- battery box holder (I've used this.)
- electrical tape
- double sided tape
- 4 AA batteries

The steps to create the port tested:

1. cut the power adaptor wire
2. take of the insulation for approx. 2 cm
3. take of the insulation for approx. 2 cm on the battery box
4. identify the + and - cables (most of the times the + is the internal part of the jack)
5. connect red to + and black to -
6. using double sided tape, tape together the print server and battery box, making sure that you will still be able to use the switch and you don't cover the MAC address
7. insulate the cables using the electrical tape
8. connect the cable to the print server
9. add the batteries
10.test the device

That's it.

And here is the result:

the size of the end device

End product in operation

Nexus 7 2012 - Rooting

It has been a while since I did not post anything. I was quite busy with other things.

I've recently bought a Nexus 7 3G 2012 and I've decided to root it as I do with all of my devices. However, I did not install any custom roms as I usually do. I like the original one and I do not see any reason why I would want to change that at the moment, it might change however soon.

I did quite a bit of research online and I found out that the easiest way to root the Nexus is with the Nexus Root Toolkit that you can find here: http://www.wugfresh.com/nrt/

I think that if you are able to follow straight ahead instructions, even if you are not a tech guy, you should be able to root your device.

There are many reasons to root a device, I specially need root in order to automate tasks with Tasker.

The New MAC mini has arrived

Hi everybody,

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have ordered a MAC mini to host my Servers. After a 2 days battle with Apple regarding delivery (and a really nice discount from them :) ), I've finally received the MAC and tried to install ESX 5.0 and 5.1. I've failed to install both of them, even with a custom image I was getting a PSOD.

As I do not give up things so easily, I decided to do more research and I've found the following blog post and a new ESX 5.5 image. 

http://www.virtuallyghetto.com/2013/09/running-esxi-55-on-apple-mac-mini.html

The image from the above link worked fine and it was very easy to install it. 

Before proceeding to install I have created a rescue USB drive and also an USB Mavericks install, just to be on the safe site if I do not manage to install ESX. 

In order to create the rescue USB I've used:  

http://osxdaily.com/2012/02/17/make-bootable-os-x-10-8-mountain-lion-usb-install-drive/

and to create the Mavericks installation USB  (I will try to use it later on to create a Virtual Machine as well) I've used: 

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/10/how-to-make-your-own-bootable-os-x-10-9-mavericks-usb-install-drive/

I've used the method with Terminal.

As an important thing to mention here, you will need to search the App Store for MAC OS Mavericks and download it instead of just click on Update. If you just click on Update, after the download the Mini will ask for restart without actually having an image file.

I have also downloaded the VSphere client (60 day Evaluation) and I have managed to connect to the ESX server, building one of the VMs right now.

So far the experience is really good...

The next step is to install Cisco Unity Call Manager.

Plans for the future

Hi everybody,

so I passed my CCNA at the beginning of September and went for a short holiday in Krakow (very nice city, recommending a visit if you have time).

After the above the new uni year has started so busy with installing PCs in a brand new building, deploying images and testing builds so not a lot of time, a lot of overtime but it was well worth it seeing the new students impressed by the facilities. After that I was seconded to the Networking team where I started to learn about Cisco Unified Communications Manager and now my plan is to get CCNA Voice certified. So far I managed to set up a Virtual Machine with the CUCM and I managed to install a Cisco IP Communicator with 2 lines and configure an Android phone with 3rd party SIP client. My next plans are to re-build my AD servers and connect them with CUCM.

I have also tried to configure my mobile phone and the CUCM server to run Cisco Jabber but the supported devices and Android OS versions are very limited and unfortunately no support for my Galaxy S2 with CyanogenMod.

As I like to do multiple things at the same time I had a quick look for a low power consumption server that could run my virtual machines (at the moment I am using them from my laptop but it is not ideal since I do not want to keep the laptop running all the time).

I did a bit of research and it looks like I will buy an Apple MAC mini. I wanted long time ago to start to study about ESX and get more into virtualisation so here we go.

I found a very interesting article about the subject:

http://www.virtuallyghetto.com/2012/12/running-esxi-50-51-on-2012-mac-mini-62.html

The posts in the future will be about: CUCM and getting the MAC mini setup.

If everything goes well I will order  the MAC on Monday so probably next week I will be busy :)

No updates at the moment, studying for ICND2.

Hi everybody,

There are no updates at the moment. I am studying for my Cisco exam. I will sit the exam at the beginning of September and hopefully I will have more time after. (not sure, it looks like I got the bug and I am already planning the next Cisco certification after the CCNA).

Posting plans for the future: Auto-login + periodic login to a WiFi network with idle timer and Web login,  SSH tunneling using a Raspberry Pi + Putty (useful in case you are connecting to the Internet from places that are not secure, personally I am using it to test access and user experience from an outside IP), creating a Virtual Machine from a running machine and many other subjects.

Thanks for your patience :)

Csaba