Identifying the target machine
The tools included in this category are used to identify the target machines that can be accessed by a penetration tester. Before we start the identification process, we need to know our client's terms and agreements. If the agreements require us to hide pen-testing activities, we need to conceal our penetration testing activities. Stealth techniques may also be applied for testing the Intrusion Detection System (IDS) or Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) functionality. If there are no such requirements, we may not need to conceal our penetration testing activities.
ping
The ping
tool is the most famous tool that is used to check whether a particular host is available. The ping
tool works by sending an Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) echo request packet to the target host. If the target host is available and the firewall is not blocking the ICMP echo request packet, it will reply with the ICMP echo reply packet.
Note
The ICMP echo request and ICMP...