How to check how safe you are?
from a security and privacy point
and not surface stuff like "whats my ip" "whats my fingerprint" (someone said the fingerprint checking sites are useless idk) or "is tor connected"
tdlr: i want to know tools to find where the security/privacy holes are
14 replies
How safe from what? The absolute safety is absolute isolation, I doubt you want that
Even air gapping can have vulnerabilities, kinda depends on how determined an attacker you have.
Yeah, sure. I meant more like "don't use computers, sit in the basement, don't go out" kind of isolation
I suppose it depends on how you look at it, but that's not not air gapping per se.
Really vague question but I guess pentest your own shit, check all your accounts on the dark web, keep everything patched, minimize your attack surface, and in general use best security practices to try and mitigate as much risk as you can.
sorry for the cofusion i was asking how to check if theres any secuirty/priavcy holes you dont know about
Yes, that was answered in my response. That's what a pen test is (short for penetration test).
If you don't know what one is, that would be a very good thing to learn about.
The other thing you can do is try to keep up on newly discovered exploits getting patched and applying those patches ASAP. A pen test can help reveal these vulnerabilities too, so it's a pretty good place to start after updates/patches.
I have years of programming and sysadmin experience but have never tried pen testing. I have a Kali Linux live usb ready to go but I don't know where to start. I know that Kali offers training but the $3000/year cost is absurd to me. I would love to pen test my homelab but I don't know where to start.
What is a recommended resource that does not require an account or credit card?
For free, Kali is a good place to start. Just start looking up how to do stuff, learning, etc. Pick a tool and start learning about what it's for, how to use it. etc. Keep going until you've learned what does what.
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/linux-unix/kali-linux-vulnerability-analysis-tools/
do you have any ways to pentest that youd reccommend?
Kali Linux is a popular choice OS wise, but understand this isn't something you're just going to pick up in a day: You will need to study, learn, practice, etc. You aren't going to learn it from a forum post.
You could maybe run some scans with metasploit or similar tools? Idk if Nessus has a free instance or trial... Something like that? You are essentially looking for a vuln scanner.
thx 👍
Unless you're intentionally exposing inbound traffic to your LAN from the internet, pen testing really isn't necessary. Your default firewall settings would be enough to protect you from that angle.
You can run vulnerability scans and look up best practices for your router settings, but really most modern OSes are safe as long as you follow basic common sense like not downloading and running sketchy software, even on Linux. Just keep everything updated. Even Windows Defender is sufficient as long as you're not dumb about it.
If you're talking about remaining anonymous online, that's an entirely different, much longer conversation.
Same with keeping your internet connected devices from spying on you.
But without knowing what your attack surface looks like, none of us will be able to provide a very detailed answer.