How To Use Backtrack- By: Musarrat Sheikh

Description : Backtrack is one of the several popular distributions that are in the white hat circles. It is specially suited for penetration testing where there are more that 300 tools that are available for the task. Just like Protech as well as Helix Backtrack is based on Ubuntu, which means good stability as well as hardware detection as well as a whole lot of software which can be easily obtained. It is important to know how to use Backtrack for computer users. Backtrack is basically a live bootable CD that has myriads of TCP/IP as well as wireless networking tools. It is also a distribution of Linux after the collection of Auditor Security as well as Whax merged and is used for the penetration testing purposes.

Backtrack also permits the inclusion of additional tools, customizable scripts as well as configurable kernels in modified distributions by the users. Due to the nature of Backtrack as a live CD which is capable of running from the CD ROM, files do not have nowhere to be written to unless a Linux partition exists on a storage device like a hard drive or an USB. Backtrack also comprises of NTFS support and this helps in enhancing the ability of browsing to a hard drive which is Windows based if it is available although the partition is mounted as "read only".

Backtrack is also designed to be able to allow for dual booting for Windows and also Ubuntu operating systems and this ensures that Linux swap and reiserfs partitions are available. The detection and mounting of partitions is easily executed by Backtrack. You will have to browse the File Manager's /mnt folder so as to find the USB or hard drive storage. For the hard drives that have more than one partitions they will indicate a name such as hd1 or hd2. In order to indicate the presence of more than one hard disk, hdb1 can alternatively be used. Backtrack will also include several security penetration testers and this is where every kernel, package as well script configuration is optimized for use by testers of security penetration.

Patches as well as automation have been developed, applied as well as added in order to offer a ready to go as well as a neat environment. Merging Metaspoilt is also possible with Backtrack with Metaspoilt being one of the major key tools that most analysts are using and which are tightly incorporated into Backtrack. Merging Metaspoilt and Backtrack work together in order to ensure there is a constant provision Metaspoilt implementation and this is within the CD ROM images of Backtrack or in some cases the maintained and distributed virtualization images like the VMW images appliances.

Back track is also capable of updating tools and this is because it comprises of an excess of 300 varieties of logically structured up to date tools that are in accordance to the security professionals' work flow. This is the structure that permits even the beginners to be able to locate the related tools to certain tasks in order to ensure they are accomplished. New testing technologies as well as techniques are amalgamated into Backtrack in order to update it. Computer users may find this as an everyday guide when it comes to the maintenance of their hard drives. There are several versions of Backtrack with the most popular and recent one being Backtrack 4 beta version.

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Author Resource : This article touched the basics of the topic. I have 2 more resources related to the above. They are how to use backtrack and at my blog Everyday Guide. Do consider reading them.