Learning Cracking Definitions & What They Mean (COMBOS, TOOLS, DORKING, CONFIGS)

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In this guide, you will learn the basics of what most cracking terms mean and how you can better understand them to gain knowledge to crack better.

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Overview : Combolists, Proxies, Configs, Parsing Data, Scraping Data, Dorking, and 2FA vs FA Accounts

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1. CombolistsWhat is a Combolist?
A combolist is a collection of usernames and passwords, often compiled from various breached datasets or by generating combinations of usernames with common passwords. These lists are used in credential stuffing attacks, brute force testing, and other types of unauthorized access attempts.
Common Sources for Combolists:

• Data Breaches: Hackers steal data from websites or services and leak it online. These breaches contain vast amounts of usernames and passwords, which are often used in combolists.
  
• Public Databases: Some websites, forums, and repositories make data breaches public. Some services even aggregate these leaks into easily downloadable lists.
  
• Password Cracking: Cybercriminals may create combolists by using common passwords like
  
  Code:

  123456
  ,
  
  Code:

  password
  , or combinations of frequently used names.
  

How Combolists Are Used in Hacking:

• Credential Stuffing Attacks: Attackers use combolists to try various username/password combinations on multiple sites, hoping that users have reused their login credentials.
  
• Brute Force Attacks: Automated tools attempt every combination of passwords from the list on a specific account, usually to crack weak passwords.
  
• Targeted Attacks: If an attacker has a list of usernames, they can use combolists with common passwords to gain access to specific accounts, especially those that lack robust security.
  

Common Tools for Using Combolists:

• Hydra: A popular brute-force tool that supports multiple protocols (FTP, HTTP, SSH, etc.), allowing attackers to use combolists for credential stuffing.
  
• Sentry MBA: A tool commonly used for customizing configuration files (configs) to automate login attempts using a combolist.
  
• Medusa: Similar to Hydra, Medusa is a powerful tool for brute-forcing usernames and passwords across a variety of services.
  

Ethical Hacking Use:
Ethical hackers use combolists to simulate attacks during penetration testing. Their goal is to identify whether systems are vulnerable to credential stuffing, weak passwords, or misconfigured login systems.

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2. ProxiesWhat Are Proxies?
A proxy server is an intermediary server that allows a client to make requests to a destination server (usually a website) without revealing their true IP address. Proxies serve many purposes in cybersecurity, including anonymity, geo-spoofing, and bypassing security filters.
Types of Proxies and Tools:

1. Residential Proxies:
   • Definition: These proxies are provided by ISPs (Internet Service Providers) to regular households. They appear as legitimate users rather than bots, making them harder to detect and block.
     
   • Usage: Residential proxies are ideal for web scraping, especially for large-scale operations where IP bans are a concern.
     
   • Tools: Services like Luminati, Smartproxy, and GeoSurf offer pools of residential proxies.
     
2. Datacenter Proxies:
   • Definition: Datacenter proxies are IP addresses from data centers rather than residential ISPs. They are faster and cheaper but can be easily detected and blocked by websites if they recognize the traffic as coming from data centers.
     
   • Usage: These proxies are used for tasks where speed is more critical than stealth, such as large-scale scraping or automated testing.
     
   • Tools: ProxyMesh and Blazing SEO provide these types of proxies.
     
3. SOCKS5 Proxies:
   • Definition: SOCKS proxies are versatile and can be used with almost any type of internet traffic, including torrents, HTTP, FTP, and more.
     
   • Usage: SOCKS5 proxies are often preferred for scraping data or maintaining anonymity while using other tools like bots and automation scripts.
     
   • Tools: Tools like Shadowsocks or Proxy-SwitchyOmega (browser extension) help users manage SOCKS5 proxies.
     
4. HTTP(S) Proxies:
   • Definition: These proxies work specifically with HTTP/HTTPS traffic. They are the most common type used for web browsing and scraping.
     
   • Usage: Often used to bypass geographic restrictions, hide IP addresses, and avoid rate-limiting in automated requests.
     
   • Tools: ScraperAPI, Scrapy, and Octoparse are examples of tools that rely heavily on HTTP proxies.
     

Importance in Hacking and Automation:

• Avoiding Detection: When performing actions like credential stuffing, web scraping, or DDoS attacks, proxies allow the attacker to use multiple IPs to avoid detection and blocking by security measures.
  
• Bypassing Rate Limits: Proxies allow attackers to circumvent rate limits imposed by websites by distributing the requests across many different IPs.
  

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3. Configs (Configurations)What Are Configs?
A config file is a settings file used to customize the behavior of various cyber tools, such as bots or web scrapers. These files contain parameters like URLs, user agents, proxy settings, and login credentials, which define how a tool interacts with a website or service.
Common Tools That Use Configs:

• Sentry MBA: This tool is often used in credential stuffing attacks. Config files allow users to specify the target website, define POST data formats (like login forms), and specify headers, cookies, or CAPTCHA handling.
  
• Scrapy: A web scraping framework that uses configurations to define the behavior of scraping spiders. The config file specifies the target URLs, data extraction rules, and user-agent strings.
  
• X-Parse: An open-source parsing tool for extracting data from websites. Config files in X-Parse define rules for parsing HTML elements such as titles, prices, and URLs.
  

Importance of Configs in Hacking:

• Automation: Config files enable hackers and security researchers to automate attacks or data collection. Without the proper configuration, a tool might not work effectively or could fail to bypass security measures.
  
• Efficiency: By tweaking the configuration, attackers can optimize their tools to work with specific targets, reducing the number of requests and improving success rates.
  

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4. Parsing DataWhat is Parsing Data?
Parsing refers to breaking down raw data into structured information. In the context of cybersecurity, parsing is used for analyzing web pages, logs, or any form of data returned from requests, extracting relevant details like usernames, credentials, or vulnerabilities.
Tools for Parsing:

• BeautifulSoup: A Python library that simplifies HTML parsing. It’s used extensively in web scraping to extract specific elements from web pages.
  
• Regex (Regular Expressions): A powerful tool for extracting specific patterns from strings of text, such as email addresses or IP addresses in server logs.
  
• LogParser: A tool used for analyzing large server logs and extracting information about failed login attempts, IP addresses, and request patterns.
  

Use Cases in Hacking:

• Credential Harvesting: Attackers parse responses from login attempts or breached data to extract usernames and passwords.
  
• Log Analysis: By parsing server logs, attackers can find vulnerabilities like failed login attempts, unusual access patterns, or errors that reveal sensitive data.
  

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5. Scraping DataWhat is Data Scraping?
Web scraping involves extracting data from websites using automated scripts or tools. Scraping is typically performed for data collection, research, or by malicious actors to gather sensitive or valuable information.
Scraping Tools:

• Scrapy: An open-source Python framework used to build web scrapers and extract data from websites.
  
• Octoparse: A no-code web scraping tool that allows users to scrape data without any programming knowledge.
  
• PhantomJS: A headless browser that can automate website interactions and scrape dynamic content rendered by JavaScript.
  

Usage in Hacking:

• Price Scraping: Scraping is used by competitors to gather pricing data for competitive analysis or by attackers trying to get access to hidden endpoints or scraped lists of exposed information.
  
• Vulnerability Scanning: Attackers may scrape websites to search for exposed APIs or security flaws in order to exploit them.
  

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6. DorkingWhat is Dorking?
Dorking refers to the use of specialized search queries (often Google search) to find sensitive or hidden data on websites. Google dorks are queries that reveal unprotected files, security flaws, or sensitive information that’s been improperly indexed by search engines.
Types of Google Dorks:

• Filetype Search:
  
  Code:

  filetype:pdf "password"
  – This search finds PDF files that contain the word "password," often leading to sensitive documents.
  
• Index of Search:
  
  Code:

  intitle:index of /admin
  – Used to locate open directory structures or admin panels that are unintentionally exposed to the public.
  
• Exposed Credentials:
  
  Code:

  inurl:"admin/login" "password"
  – Finds exposed admin login pages.
  

Tools for Dorking:

• Google Dorks: Manual use of specific search operators to locate files and vulnerabilities.
  
• dorkbot: An automated tool that runs Google dorks on specific websites or subnets to gather data.
  

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7. 2FA vs FA Accounts (Two-Factor Authentication vs. Factor Authentication)What is Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)?
2FA adds an additional layer of security beyond a simple username and password combination. Typically, it involves something the user knows (password) and something the user has (e.g., a phone or hardware token).
Popular Forms of 2FA:

• SMS-based 2FA: A code sent to the user’s phone via SMS.
  
• App-based 2FA: Authentication apps like Google Authenticator or Authy generate time-sensitive codes.
  
• Hardware Tokens: Devices like YubiKeys that generate one-time passcodes.
  

Why Use 2FA?

• Protection Against Credential Stuffing: Even if an attacker acquires the password, they cannot log in without the second factor.
  
• Preventing Phishing Attacks: Phishing attempts become ineffective since attackers cannot easily steal the second factor (unless they have access to the user’s device).
  

MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication):
MFA extends the concept of 2FA by requiring more than two factors. This can include biometrics (fingerprint, face recognition), smart cards, or voice-based authentication.
2FA Tools and Services:

• Google Authenticator: An app that generates time-based one-time passwords (TOTP) for 2FA.
  
• Authy: An alternative to Google Authenticator, offering cloud backup and multi-device synchronization.
  
• Yubico YubiKey: A physical hardware token that implements 2FA through USB, NFC, or Bluetooth.
  

Challenges with 2FA:

• SIM Swap Attacks: Attackers can intercept SMS-based 2FA by tricking the mobile carrier into transferring the victim’s number to a new SIM card.
  
• Phishing and Social Engineering: Some attackers use social engineering to trick users into providing their 2FA codes, especially in SMS-based methods. 

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