Chapter 7. Eavesdropping and Snooping for Information: Sniffers and Scanners

   

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IN THIS CHAPTER

• Eavesdropping and Information Gathering

• Monitoring Traffic with tcpdump

• Sniffing Around with Ettercap

• Network Surveys with NMAP

• Other Information-Gathering Tools

• Ethics of Information Gathering

• Additional Resources

There's a common saying that if you want a computer secure from network attacks, you should unplug the network cable (or remove your AirPort card). Although this is obviously not a feasible solution, the fact remains that no matter how tightly secured your computer configuration is, the moment information is transmitted over the network, it's an open target for eavesdropping ”and the attacker need never directly "attack" your computer to glean information such as credit cards, passwords, and other sensitive data.

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