Wireless networks are accessible to anyone within the router’s transmission radius. This makes them vulnerable to attacks. Hotspots are available in public places such as airports, restaurants, parks, etc.
In this tutorial, we will introduce you to common techniques used to exploit weaknesses in wireless network security implementations. We will also look at some of the countermeasures you can put in place to protect against such attacks.
What is a wireless network?
A wireless network is a network that uses radio waves to link computers and other devices together. The implementation is done at the Layer 1 (physical layer) of the OSI model.
How to access a wireless network?
You will need a wireless network enabled device such as a laptop, tablet, smartphones, etc. You will also need to be within the transmission radius of a wireless network access point. Most devices (if the wireless network option is turned on) will provide you with a list of available networks. If the network is not password protected, then you just have to click on connect. If it is password protected, then you will need the password to gain access.
Wireless Network Authentication
Since the network is easily accessible to everyone with a wireless network enabled device, most networks are password protected. Let’s look at some of the most commonly used authentication techniques.
WEP
WEP is the acronym for Wired Equivalent Privacy. It was developed for IEEE 802.11 WLAN standards. Its goal was to provide the privacy equivalent to that provided by wired networks. WEP works by encrypting the data been transmitted over the network to keep it safe from eavesdropping.
WEP Authentication
Open System Authentication (OSA) – this methods grants access to station authentication requested based on the configured access policy.
Shared Key Authentication (SKA) – This method sends to an encrypted challenge to the station requesting access. The station encrypts the challenge with its key then responds. If the encrypted challenge matches the AP value, then access is granted.
WEP Weakness
WEP has significant design flaws and vulnerabilities.
- The integrity of the packets is checked using Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC32). CRC32 integrity check can be compromised by capturing at least two packets. The bits in the encrypted stream and the checksum can be modified by the attacker so that the packet is accepted by the authentication system. This leads to unauthorized access to the network.
- WEP uses the RC4 encryption algorithm to create stream ciphers. The stream cipher input is made up of an initial value (IV) and a secret key. The length of the initial value (IV) is 24 bits long while the secret key can either be 40 bits or 104 bits long. The total length of both the initial value and secret can either be 64 bits or 128 bits long.The lower possible value of the secret key makes it easy to crack it.
- Weak Initial values combinations do not encrypt sufficiently. This makes them vulnerable to attacks.
- WEP is based on passwords; this makes it vulnerable to dictionary attacks.
- Keys management is poorly implemented. Changing keys especially on large networks is challenging. WEP does not provide a centralized key management system.
- The Initial values can be reused
Because of these security flaws, WEP has been deprecated in favor of WPA
WPA
WPA is the acronym for Wi-Fi Protected Access. It is a security protocol developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance in response to the weaknesses found in WEP. It is used to encrypt data on 802.11 WLANs. It uses higher Initial Values 48 bits instead of the 24 bits that WEP uses. It uses temporal keys to encrypt packets.
WPA Weaknesses
- The collision avoidance implementation can be broken
- It is vulnerable to denial of service attacks
- Pre-shares keys use passphrases. Weak passphrases are vulnerable to dictionary attacks.
How to Crack Wireless Networks
WEP cracking
Cracking is the process of exploiting security weaknesses in wireless networks and gaining unauthorized access. WEP cracking refers to exploits on networks that use WEP to implement security controls. There are basically two types of cracks namely;
- Passive cracking– this type of cracking has no effect on the network traffic until the WEP security has been cracked. It is difficult to detect.
- Active cracking– this type of attack has an increased load effect on the network traffic. It is easy to detect compared to passive cracking. It is more effective compared to passive cracking.
WEP Cracking Tools
- Aircrack– network sniffer and WEP cracker. Can be downloaded from http://www.aircrack-ng.org/
- WEPCrack– this is an open source program for breaking 802.11 WEP secret keys. It is an implementation of the FMS attack. http://wepcrack.sourceforge.net/
- Kismet- this can include detector wireless networks both visible and hidden, sniffer packets and detect intrusions. http://www.kismetwireless.net/
- WebDecrypt– this tool uses active dictionary attacks to crack the WEP keys. It has its own key generator and implements packet filters. http://wepdecrypt.sourceforge.net/
WPA Cracking
WPA uses a 256 pre-shared key or passphrase for authentications. Short passphrases are vulnerable to dictionary attacks and other attacks that can be used to crack passwords. The following tools can be used to crack WPA keys.
- CowPatty– this tool is used to crack pre-shared keys (PSK) using brute force attack. http://wirelessdefence.org/Contents/coWPAttyMain.htm
- Cain & Abel– this tool can be used to decode capture files from other sniffing programs such as Wireshark. The capture files may contain WEP or WPA-PSK encoded frames. http://www.softpedia.com/get/Security/Decrypting-Decoding/Cain-and-Abel.shtml
General Attack types
- Sniffing– this involves intercepting packets as they are transmitted over a network. The captured data can then be decoded using tools such as Cain & Abel.
- Man in the Middle (MITM) Attack– this involves eavesdropping on a network and capturing sensitive information.
- Denial of Service Attack– the main intent of this attack is to deny legitimate users network resources. FataJack can be used to perform this type of attack. More on this in article
Cracking Wireless network WEP/WPA keys
It is possible to crack the WEP/WPA keys used to gain access to a wireless network. Doing so requires software and hardware resources, and patience. The success of such attacks can also depend on how active and inactive the users of the target network are.
We will provide you with basic information that can help you get started. Backtrack is a Linux-based security operating system. It is developed on top of Ubuntu. Backtrack comes with a number of security tools. Backtrack can be used to gather information, assess vulnerabilities and perform exploits among other things.
Some of the popular tools that backtrack has includes;
- Metasploit
- Wireshark
- Aircrack-ng
- NMap
- Ophcrack
Cracking wireless network keys requires patience and resources mentioned above. At a minimum, you will need the following tools
A wireless network adapter with the capability to inject packets (Hardware)
- Kali Operating System. You can download it from here https://www.kali.org/downloads/
- Be within the target network’s radius. If the users of the target network are actively using and connecting to it, then your chances of cracking it will be significantly improved.
- Sufficient knowledge of Linux based operating systems and working knowledge of Aircrack and its various scripts.
- Patience, cracking the keys may take a bit of sometime depending on a number of factors some of which may be beyond your control. Factors beyond your control include users of the target network using it actively as you sniff data packets.
How to Secure wireless networks
In minimizing wireless network attacks; an organization can adopt the following policies
- Changing default passwords that come with the hardware
- Enabling the authentication mechanism
- Access to the network can be restricted by allowing only registered MAC addresses.
- Use of strong WEP and WPA-PSK keys, a combination of symbols, number and characters reduce the chance of the keys been cracking using dictionary and brute force attacks.
- Firewall Software can also help reduce unauthorized access.
Hacking Activity: Crack Wireless Password
In this practical scenario, we are going touse Cain and Abel to decode the stored wireless network passwords in Windows. We will also provide useful information that can be used to crack the WEP and WPA keys of wireless networks.
Decoding Wireless network passwords stored in Windows
- Download Cain & Abel from the link provided above.
- Open Cain and Abel
- Ensure that the Decoders tab is selected then click on Wireless Passwords from the navigation menu on the left-hand side
- Click on the button with a plus sign
- Assuming you have connected to a secured wireless network before, you will get results similar to the ones shown below
- The decoder will show you the encryption type, SSID and the password that was used.
Summary
- Wireless network transmission waves can be seen by outsiders, this possesses many security risks.
- WEP is the acronym for Wired Equivalent Privacy. It has security flaws which make it easier to break compared to other security implementations.
- WPA is the acronym for Wi-Fi Protected Access. It has security compared to WEP
- Intrusion Detection Systems can help detect unauthorized access
- A good security policy can help protect a network.
How to Hack WiFi (Wireless) Network
Chances are you have a Wi-Fi network at home, or live close to one (or more) that tantalizingly pops up in a list whenever you boot up the laptop.
The problem is, if there's a lock next to the network name (AKA the SSID, or service set identifier), that indicates security is activated. Without the password or passphrase, you're not going to get access to that network, or the sweet, sweet internet that goes with it.
Perhaps you forgot the password on your own network, or don't have neighbors willing to share the Wi-Fi goodness. You could just go to a café, buy a latte, and use the "free" Wi-Fi there. Download an app for your phone like WiFi-Map (available for iOS and Android), and you'll have a list of over 2 million hotspots with free Wi-Fi for the taking (including some passwords for locked Wi-Fi connections, if they're shared by any of the app's 7 million users).
However, there are other ways to get back on the wireless. Some require such extreme patience and waiting that the café idea is going to look pretty good. Read on if you can't wait.
Windows Commands to Get the Key
This trick works to recover a Wi-Fi network password (aka network security key) only if you've previously attached to the Wi-Fi in question using that very password. In other words, it only works if you've forgotten a previously used password.
It works because Windows 8 and 10 create a profile of every Wi-Fi network to which you attach. If you tell Windows to forget the network, then it also forgets the password, so this won't work. But most people never explicitly do that.
It requires that you go into a Windows Command Prompt with administrative privileges. To do so, use Cortana to search for "cmd" and the menu will show Command Prompt; right-click that entry and select "Run as administrator." That'll open the black box full of white text with the prompt inside—it's the line with a > at the end, probably something like C:\WINDOWS\system32\>. A blinking cursor will indicate where you type. Start with this:
netsh wlan show profile
The results will bring up a section called User Profiles—those are all the Wi-Fi networks (aka WLANs, or wireless local area networks) you've accessed and saved. Pick the one you want to get the password for, highlight it, and copy it. At the prompt below, type the following, but replace the Xs with the network name you copied; you only need the quotation marks if the network name has spaces in it.
netsh wlan show profile name="XXXXXXXX" key=clear
In the new data that comes up, look under Security Settings for the line "Key Content." The word displayed is the Wi-Fi password/key you are missing.
On macOS, open up the Spotlight search (Cmd+Space) and type terminal to get the Mac equivalent of a command prompt. Type the following, replacing the Xs with the network name.
security find-generic-password -wa XXXXXReset the Router
Before you do a full router reset just to get on the wireless, try to log into the router first. From there, you can easily reset your Wi-Fi password/key if you've forgotten it.
That's not possible if you don't know the password for the router, either. (They're not the same thing unless you set it up that way). Resetting the router only works if you have access. That access could be over Wi-Fi (which we've just established you don't have) or physically utilizing an Ethernet cable.
Or that access can simply be that you are in the same room as the router. Almost every router in existence has a recessed reset button. Push it with a pen or unfolded paperclip, hold it for about 10 seconds, and the router will reset to the factory settings.
If you've got a router that came from your internet service provider (ISP), check the stickers on the unit before a reset—the ISP might have printed the router and Wi-Fi key right on the hardware.
Once a router is reset, you need another password (plus a username) to access the router itself. Again, you can do this via a PC attached to the router via Ethernet—you'll need that since the reset probably killed any potential Wi-Fi connection you had going in. The actual access is typically done with a web browser.
The URL to type is either 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1, or some variation. Try them randomly; that generally works. To figure out which one, on the PC connected to the router, open a command prompt and type "ipconfig" without the quotes. Look among the gobbledygook for an "IPv4 Address," which will start with 192.168. The other two spaces, called octets, are going to be different numbers between 0 and 255. Note the third octet (probably a 1 or 0). The fourth is specific to the PC you're using to log into the router.
In the browser, type 192.168.x.1, replacing the X with the number you found in the ipconfig search. The 1 in the last octet should point at the router—it's the number one device on the network.
At this point, the router should then ask for a username and password. You can check your manual, but you probably lost it or threw it away. So instead, go to RouterPasswords.com, which exists for one reason: to tell people the default username/password on every router ever created.
You'll need the router's model number, but that's easy enough to find on the back or bottom. You'll quickly see a pattern among router makers of having the username of admin and a password of password. Since most people are lazy and don't change an assigned password, you could try those options before hitting the reset button. (But c'mon, you're better than that—change the password when you access the router's settings via your web browser.)
Once you've accessed the router interface, go to the Wi-Fi settings, turn on the wireless networks, and assign strong but easy-to-recall passwords. After all, you don't want to share with neighbors without your permission.
Make that Wi-Fi password easy to type on a mobile device, too. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to get a smartphone on Wi-Fi with some cryptic, impossible to key-in-via-thumbs nonsense, even if it is the most secure.
Crack the Code
You didn't come here because the headline said "reset the router," though. You want to know how to crack the password on a Wi-Fi network.
Searching on "wi-fi password hack," or other variations, nets you a lot of links—mostly for software on sites where the adware and bots and scams are pouring like snake oil. Download them at your own risk, for Windows PCs especially. It's best to have a PC that you can afford to get effed up a bit if you go that route. I had multiple attempts with tools I found just get outright deleted by my antivirus before I could even try to run the EXE installation file.
You could create a system just for this kind of thing, maybe dual-boot into a separate operating system that can do what's called "penetration testing"—a form of offensive approach security, where you examine a network for any and all possible paths of a breach. Kali Linux is a Linux distribution built for just that purpose. You can run Kali Linux off a CD or USB key without even installing it to your PC's hard drive. It's free and comes with all the tools you'd need to crack a network. It even now comes as an app for Windows 10 in the Windows App Store! If you're only after a Wi-Fi network, the Wifislax distro is a Live CD targets them directly.
If you don't want to install a whole OS, then try the tried-and-true tools of Wi-Fi hackers.
Aircrack has been around for years, going back to when Wi-Fi security was only based on WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy). WEP was weak even back in the day and was supplanted in 2004 by WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access).
Aircrack-ng—labeled as a "set of tools for auditing wireless networks," so it should be part of any network admin's toolkit—will take on cracking WEP and WPA-PSK keys. It comes with full documentation, but it's not simple. To crack a network you need to have the right kind of Wi-Fi adapter in your computer, one that supports packet injection. You need to be comfortable with the command line and have a lot of patience. Your Wi-Fi adapter and Aircrack have to gather a lot of data to get anywhere close to decrypting the passkey on the network you're targeting. It could take a while. Here's a how-to on doing it using Aircrack installed on Kali Linux. Another option on the PC using the command line is Airgeddon.
If you prefer a graphical user interface (GUI), there is KisMAC for macOS. It's mainly known as a "sniffer" for seeking out Wi-Fi networks. It's the kind of thing we don't need much of these days since our phones and tablets do a pretty good job of showing us every Wi-Fi signal in the air around us. But, it can crack some keys with the right adapter installed. Also on the Mac: Wi-Fi Crack. To use those, or Aircrack-ng on the Mac, you need to install them using MacPorts, a tool for installing command-line products on the Mac.
Cracking the much stronger WPA/WPA2 passwords and passphrases is the real trick.
Reaver-wps is the one tool that appears to be up to the task. You'll need that command-line comfort again to work with it. After two to 10 hours of brute force attacks, Reaver should be able to reveal a password... but it's only going to work if the router you're going after has both a strong signal and WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) turned on. WPS is the feature where you can push a button on the router, another button on a Wi-Fi device, and they find each other and link auto-magically, with a fully encrypted connection. It's also the "hole" through which Reaver crawls.
How to Hack Wi-Fi Passwords
How to play PS2 games on Pc: Nowadays everyone is interested in play games. Irrespective of genders and age people are play games. People are playing the regular pc games and get bored, so you can also play ps2 games on pc. So today I am here to explain “How to play Sony Play Station 2 games on your Pc or Laptops”. We can play ps2 games on pc using the free software called PCSX2. Now you had a doubt about How to play ps2 games on pc. Don’t worry follow the below process, you will have a clear idea on how to play ps2 games on laptop and personal computer easily.
PCSX2 is an Emulator which is used to play Playstation2 games on pc. If we play on PlayStation we need some accessories. Every Ps2 Lovers wants to play PlayStation games on PlayStation only. The Required Accessories are
- PlayStation 3 or PlayStation 4
- Joystick
- Audio and Video Cables
You can buy these accessories for the cheap price. So this way you can play ps2 on pc.
Like Bluestack – which is used to Download and play Android Games on pc like snapchat for the laptop. Bluestacks Emulator from here.
Like Bluestack – which is used to Download and play Android Games on pc like snapchat for the laptop. Bluestacks Emulator from here.
Just follow the below produce to play ps2 games easily on pc and laptop, then all you doubts like
- Can I play ps2 games on pc
- How can we play ps2 games on pc / Laptop… So on.
All these doubts will be cleared when you are into the process. Just follow the below
Features of Using PCSX2 software for Playing Ps2 Games:
The pcsx2 has a few excellent features to play the ps2 games without any issues. Below are the features of the pcsx2
- It comes with a best Preset to run on any pc.
- PCSX2 has some awesome prebuild or preinstalled Bios and Plugins to make play more exciting.
- Fastest Installation along with a lightweight application.
- All the controllers are preset.
- The USB Connection works like charm.
There are many more awesome features of the which you can experience while playing the game for sure.
How to Play Playstation Games on PC without Disc:
The below Step by step process to play PlayStation 2 games on pc. Follow the below step and have a successful play of ps2 on your pc.
1) First of all, You need to download the PCSX2 emulator on your pc or laptop. Click the download button to download the software.
2)After downloading, install the software, then a screen will appear as below.
3)Now you should download Bios for the Emulator.
4)Now Go to ..>>Documents..>>PCSX2.
5)Then Rename PCSX2 to PCSX2 0.9.8 (Something your wish, I am using 0.9.8 because of software version)
6) Create a Folder with “PCSX2” in My Documents.
7) Move the Bios files which you have downloaded to the PCSX2 folder. Store the pcsx2 files in the Same folder.
8) Now Move the PCSX2 folder to PCSX2 0.9.8 (Which you have created earlier)
9) Start the program, You will find the program like this, Now select as given down
- GS-Gsdx 4600
- PAD(configuration of keyboard or joystick)-lilypad svn
- SPU2(sound)-spu2-x r4600m
- CDVD(How you gonna run the game)-Linuz iso cdvd
- USB-usb null driver 0.7.0
- FW-fwnull driver 0.7.0
- DEV9-dev9 null driver 0.5.0
10) Choose the plugins as your system requirements.
11) Now select the Bios path.
12) After selecting the path, Click on finish. Now you will see the Starting window of PCSX2.
Also Look At Whatsapp Tricks and Tips
13) You can also change the Bios and Plugins by clicking config>plugin/bios. Now you can change.
Guide in order to start the Game in pc:
1) You will need an ISO image file of the Game which you want to play. You may download from the Internet.
2) Now in the PCSX2 emulator go to ..>>Menu..>>CDVD..>>ISO Selector. Now select the game ISO file from your Hard Drive by clicking on Browse. Below Screen clear follow like that.
3) Next, Go to ..>>Menu..>>System..>>Boot DVD
4) Now the game will start in the new window. Enjoy playing.
Configuring keyboard settings Or Setting Controls:
Before going to play the game you need to set your control settings. Controller Settings are already set for USB GamePad. Therefore you don’t need to set it again but if you want our own control then change the controls by going to ..>>Menu..>>Config..>>Controllers(Pad)..>>Plugin Settings.
Then a below window appears, then change as your wish.
That’s it you have Done.
How to Play PS2 Games on PC with Disc:
As I have explained the process to play ps2 games without Disc, Now here you can know how to play ps2 games on pc with the disc. So simply follow the below process if you wanna play with a disc.
- Insert the CDVD of the game.
- Now just click on CDVD>>>ISO selector>>>Browse>>>ISO file of the game.
- Now click on system >>> Boot CDVD.
That’s it!! This is the process to play ps2 games on pc or laptop with Disc.
So these two processes can help you to play the ps2 games on pc without any problem. If there is an issue with the PlayStation games like ps2 gets struck or ps4 controller not charging then you can simply solve the issues with the ps controller and then start using these methods. Just follow and complete playing games on pc. Feel free to ask your doubts.
How to Play PS2 Games on PC or Laptop
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