πŸ–₯️ Network Services

During a typical penetration test, we often encounter networked services designed to:

  • Manage

  • Edit

  • Transfer

  • Create content

These services are hosted with specific permissions and assigned to individual users.


πŸ› οΈ Common Network Services

Here are frequently encountered services during assessments:

Category
Services

πŸ“ File Transfer

FTP, SMB, NFS

βœ‰οΈ Email & Messaging

SMTP, IMAP/POP3

πŸ§‘β€πŸ’» Remote Access

SSH, RDP, WinRM, VNC, Telnet

πŸ—ƒοΈ Databases

MySQL, MSSQL

πŸ‘₯ Directory Services

LDAP

πŸ“š For deeper understanding, explore the Footprinting module on HTB Academyarrow-up-right.


πŸͺŸ Managing Windows Servers Remotely

When managing a Windows server over a network, we require services that allow:

  • Executing commands

  • Viewing or modifying files

  • GUI-based or terminal-based control

βœ… Commonly Used Services:

Service
Description

RDP

Remote Desktop Protocol – Full GUI access

WinRM

Windows Remote Management – CLI-based management over HTTP/S

SSH

Secure Shell – Rare on Windows, common on Linux

⚠️ While SSH is dominant on Linux, its usage on Windows is less frequent but growing.


πŸ” Authentication Mechanisms

All these services rely on authentication:

  • Typically: Username + Password

  • Can be customized to use:

    • πŸ”‘ SSH Keys

    • 🧾 Certificates

    • πŸ” Kerberos tokens

πŸ”§ Many services run with default configurations, making them vulnerable to brute-force or credential stuffing attacks.

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