---
title: Summary
course: intro_pentest
section: Exploitation
layout: lesson
---

This chapter focused on step 3 of our basic methodology: exploitation.
Exploitation is the process most newcomers associate associate directly with
“hacking”. Because exploitation is a broad topic, the capter examined several
different methods for completing this step including using the online password
cracker Medusa to gain access to remote systems. The process of exploiting
remote vulnerabilities with Metasploit was discussed as well as several payloads
that can be used with Metasploit. John the Ripper was introduced for cracking
local passwords. A tool for password resetting was shown for those times when a
penetration tester doesn’t have time to wait for a password cracker. Wireshark
was used to sniff data off the network and macof was used to sniff network
traffic on a switched network.
