Setting up the Iceweasel browser

If we don't like OWASP Mantra, we can use the latest version of Firefox and install our own selection of testing-related add-ons. Kali Linux includes Iceweasel, another variant of Firefox, which we will use in this recipe to see how to install our testing tools in a browser.

How to do it...

1. Open Iceweasel and navigate to Tools | Add-ons, as shown in the following screenshot:
   
2. In the search box, type tamper data and hit Enter.
   
3. Click on Install in the Tamper Data add-on.
4. A dialog box will pop up, asking us to accept the EULA; click on Accept and Install...

   Note

   You might have to restart your browser to complete the installation of certain add-ons.

5. Next, we search for cookies manager+ in the search box.
6. Click on Install in the Cookies Manager+ add-on.
7. Now, search and install Firebug.
8. Search and install Hackbar.
9. Search and install HTTP Requester.
10. Search and install Passive Recon.

How it works...

So far we've just installed some tools on our web browser but what are these tools good for when it comes to penetration-testing a web application?

• Cookies Manager+: This add-on will allow us to view and sometimes modify the value of cookies the browser receives from applications.
• Firebug: This is a must-have for any web developer; its main function is to be an in-line debugger for web pages. It will also be useful when you have to perform some client-side modifications to pages.
• Hackbar: This is a very simple add-on that helps us to try different input values without having to change or rewrite the full URL. We will be using this a lot when doing manual checks for Cross-site scripting and injections.
• Http Requester: With this tool it is possible to craft HTTP requests including GET, POST, and PUT methods and watch the raw response from the server.
• Passive Recon: It allows us to get public information about the website being visited by querying DNS records, Whois, and searching information, such as email addresses, links, and collaborators in Google, among other things.
• Tamper Data: This add-on has the ability to capture any request on the server just after it is sent by the browser, thus giving us the chance to modify the data after introducing it in the application's forms and before it reaches the server.

There's more...

Other add-ons that could prove useful for web application penetration testing are:

• XSS Me
• SQL Inject Me
• FoxyProxy
• iMacros
• FirePHP
• RESTClient
• Wappalyzer