Windows and Linux Penetration Testing from Scratch
Second Edition
Harness the power of pen testing with Kali Linux for unbeatable hard-hitting results
Phil Bramwell
BIRMINGHAMMUMBAI
Windows and Linux Penetration Testing from Scratch
Second Edition
Copyright 2022 Packt Publishing
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First published: July 2018
Second edition: September 2022
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For Mom, Dad, Rich, and Alex, who all somehow found a way to tolerate me all of these years.
And for every colleague along the way, from Kalamazoo to San Luis Obispo to NYC to Jerusalem and back you kept me smiling and challenged me to keep this adventure going. Thank you.
Contributors
About the author
Phil Bramwell, CISSP has been tinkering with gadgets since he was a kid in the 1980s. After obtaining the Certified Ethical Hacker and Certified Expert Penetration Tester certifications in 2004 and a Bachelor of Applied Science in computer and information security from Davenport University in 2007, Phil was a security engineer and consultant who conducted Common Criteria, FIPS, and PCI-DSS assessments, GDPR consulting for a firm in the UK, and social engineering and penetration testing for banks, governments, and universities throughout the US. After specializing in antimalware analysis and cybersecurity operations, Phil is now a penetration tester for a Fortune 100 automobile manufacturer. Phil is based in the Metro Detroit area.
About the reviewer
Paolo Stagno (aka VoidSec) has worked as a penetration tester for a wide range of clients across top-tier international banks, major tech companies, and various Fortune 1000 industries. He has been responsible for discovering and exploiting new unknown vulnerabilities in applications, network infrastructure components, IoT devices, protocols, and technologies of multiple vendors and tech giants. He is now a freelance vulnerability researcher and exploit developer focused on Windows offensive application security (kernel and user-land). He enjoys understanding the digital world we live in by disassembling, reverse engineering, and exploiting complex products and code.
To my partner, Chiara, my early muir owl, for her continued support and encouragement with everything that I do. You have always pushed me towards new adventures, accomplishing my goals, and doing what is right; I love you.