Q&A: Google hacking | Linux Today

Q&A: Google hacking

Written By
Web Webster
Web Webster
Mar 12, 2010

[ Thanks to An Anonymous Reader for
this link. ]

“Let’s say you’re doing a penetration test. What kind
of information about a target can you find out by using Google?

‘Anything connected to the web, is indexed by Google. Even
administrator’s portals of devices connected to the web, such as
printers and webcams are crawled and discovered by Google. You’ll
be surprised by how many unprotected webcams are connected to the
internet, streaming live video from people’s living rooms, or
university dormitories.

“By using Google, one can find out more about a configuration or
version of a web server, web technology, such as PHP or .NET, and
also well known web application, such as WordPress. Having access
to a configuration of specific software, or its version, can be
enough to help me start an attack. Unfortunately when web and
network administrators encounter specific application problems,
they seek for support from public forums where they tend to post
extra configuration and setup information. Such information
exposure can be enough to help a hacker know more about the actual
web application he wants to attack.”

Complete
Story

Web Webster

Web Webster

Web Webster has more than 20 years of writing and editorial experience in the tech sector. He’s written and edited news, demand generation, user-focused, and thought leadership content for business software solutions, consumer tech, and Linux Today, he edits and writes for a portfolio of tech industry news and analysis websites including webopedia.com, and DatabaseJournal.com.

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