Here is some introductory material on Operating Systems, and how we go about fingerprinting (identifying them via characteristics similar to those found in human fingerprints) them.
This afternoon try to read as many of these papers as possible, starting with the basic information, and discuss them as a team. Write down any concepts that you are unfamiliar with and we will discuss them tomorrow. If you have questions, try to find the answers using the Internet. A good search engine for technical questions like this is google but other methods will work as well.
Today I want you to start by making a list of at least 16 characteristics of an Operating system, or types of scans one might do to characterize or locate a host. You may get these from any source, but a good place to start would be the NMAP pages linked to from the project website, and the nmap manual page. NAMES ARE NOT ENOUGH. I need brief descriptions of each item in your own words showing that you understand what is going on. Most important are the network-centric ways we can do fingerprinting, such as aspects of TCP/UDP/IP/etc. You may also include things that are only possible in certain circumstances (as if, for example, you could see the login screen of a machine, or if you are able to listen in on their network traffic to other people, you may be able to get more information in these cases). Don't forget to include non-technical ways of gaining information. Most "hacks" are actually accomplished via social engineering. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We will impliment one or more of the items in your list as your project. Keep this in mind when making your list; be sure to include somthing you think is possible to complete in the next week. Also, don't include unrealistic things such as "give your instructor chocolate ice cream and make him tell you his password;" while that is valid social engineering and sometimes works, it's hard to implement in C++.