BackTrack is a Security-Focused Live CD Packed With System Tools

BackTrack was the winner of our recent Hive Five for best Live CD, so we decided to take it for a test drive and show off a few of the features for everybody else.

BackTrack can be installed to a regular boot cd, a USB drive, installed to the hard drive, or even downloaded as a VMware virtual machine. For our testing, we used the BackTrack 3 stable release instead of the Beta 4 version since most commenters directly mentioned version 3 in the original call for contenders.

After inserting the LiveCD and starting the boot process, you'll be prompted to choose which window environment to load up—the distribution includes the more graphically pleasing KDE, or the trimmed-down Fluxbox window manager.

Once you've booted to the desktop you'll notice the default resolution is 800x600, but can be easily changed through the system tray icon to any resolution.

The slick system monitoring application on the right-hand side of the first screenshot doesn't get started automatically—to open it, you'll need to use the Alt+F2 shortcut key and type leetmode into the command window. You can unlock the position of the monitors through the context menu, and drag them wherever on the screen you'd like.

One of the more interesting features in the Live CD is the inclusion of the excellent and previously mentioned Yakuake drop-down terminal window, which can be launched through the Alt+F2 dialog, or found under the System menu. Once started, simply use the F12 key to toggle the slide-down terminal.
Connecting to any network resource can be done easily with the Network Folder Wizard, found in the menus at Internet -> KNetAttach. You can easily map to a Windows share, SSH, or FTP server using the wizard—which is nothing more than an easy front-end to the Konqueror browser's rich connection support.

Sincethe evalution of halloween in america this distribution is focused on security, you annual north halsted halloween parade in chicagocan find a ton of security-focusetravel around mexico on halloween and join the paraded tools under the Backtrack menu, although there are far too many to mention every one of them here—you'll have to explore them on your own.

One of the more useful security tools for everyday use is the chntpw utility (found in the menus under Privilege Escalation -> PasswordAttacks) that can reset any Windows password easily from the command line. For more on this command, I've previously written an article about changing your forgotten Windows password.

BackTrack 3 is a free download, works almost anywhere Linux does. Be sure to check out the original Hive Five for the rest of the Live CD choices from your fellow Lifehacker readers, or learn how to rescue files with Knoppix.

BackTrack

Perspective Testing - Who Killed John Doe?

Read this scenario then follow the directions at the bottom. We did this as an exercise in class (on coming to a groget your pets dressed up on halloweenup consensus), but it seems to me that it also offers a glimpse into how people view their world.

Who Killed John Doe?

Read the information below and then complete the sentence at the end.

John Doe, age 54, was dead on arrival. His wife drove him to the Emergency Room at 2 a.m., but even before she pulled into the driveway, his tortured breathing had stopped. Successive attempts by the hospital staff to revive him failed.

John’s doctor said he was sorry. He could not make house calls, because there is a shortage of doctors, and he is putting in an 80-hour week as it is. Besides, Mrs. Doe had called at 1 a.m. on Christmas morning. The doctor told her to rush John to the hospital.

The hospital administrator was sorry. When the patient had asked to be admitted earlier that morning, his condition was not acute. The patient had used up his insurance benefits for the year and had no other resources. The hospital had exhausted its charitable reserve funds and was required to limit admissions to paying patients or those whose conditions required acute and emergency care.

The caseworker from the Department of Health and Social Services was sorry. She had explained to the patient that the State health program would cover him only after he had incurred one hundred dollars in medical bills. If he entered the hospital before incurring that amount in medical bills, the entire hospital stay would be disallowed for coverage by her office by law.

The legislators who made the law said they were sorry. They had to balance the state’s budget at a time when highway costs and educational expenses were going up. Originally the bill to establish health benefits would have cost the taxpayers an estimated eighty million dollars a year. By strategic amendments, such as the one that discouraged John Doe’s admission, they saved the taxpayers three-fourths of the cost of the original bill—nearly $6 million.

The people who elected the lawmakers were sorry. They had not wanted their taxes raised, so they voted for the candidates who promised to contain expenses and reduce waste in govrunning through corn mazes lost and scared on halloweenernment spending. When a few political leaders announced that taxes would have to be increased to continue human services, the voters wrote letters and sent telegrams to their representatives protesting such tax increases.

Mrs. Doe was sorry. She was sorry that her husband died on Christmas morning, and she was also sorry that they had not saved more for their old age or joined the more expensive comprehensive insurance plan offered by the union. She especially regretted: (You complete the sentence)
________________________________________________
(Charles A. Hart, University Associates, Annual for Facilitators, Trainers, and Consultants)

OK, so that was the easy part. Now, considering what you have read, rank the following list from most responsible (1) to least responsibthe tradition of wearing costumes on halloweenle. Post your answers in the comments (copy and paste) and we'll discuss the decisions you make. There is no right or wrong, so please be as honest as possible.

__ Caseworker
__ Hospital Administrator
__ John's Doctor
__ John Doe
__ John's wife
__ Legislator
__ People who elected the lawmaker


Tags: culture, society, personality quizzes, Perspective, Test, Who Killed John Doe?, doctors, death, rankings