Powerbook on Corporate Network -> You get Fired!

[spankalee]

Originally posted by xiliquiern
Secondly, Macs make incredible hacking machines on a windows based network unless they have the correct software installed, etc, etc. Pressing the F8 key while booting logs you into a Unix Prompt, with supernode access. That means you can do, and look at, whatever you want to on a network; change admin passwords, turn off admin accounts, view confidential files, delete confidential files, play with the payroll database, anything. (I do not condone any of those activities, I gave them merely as an example as to why a Mac could be viewed as a huge security flaw hacker-wise on a Windows network.)

Whoa! Where did you get this idea? Unless the network in question has no security whatsoever, this statement is incredibly false.

Having local root privileges will not give you access to anything on the network unless those services are configured to somehow automatically trust that computer. For that to happen those services would have to be aware of the computer in question in the first place. Any network setup this way is inherently insecure no matter what type of client is plugged into it. It would mean that access to any physical port would give you access to all the critical on the network.

I seriously doubt that you will see any network setup this way, especially since it would take more effort than a standard setup.

 

[xiliquiern]

I have heard of several incidences at schools and small businesses configured for windows. The network didn't even think about Macs and let them do whatever they wanted.

 

[Nik_Doof]

Yup, Corporate policy its a git. Here its a suspension offence to connect personal laptops or PCs to our network, infact anything without a 3com network card is a bloody offence 🙂

Hey but with a bit of bordem you can use netcat and listen mode to fake a windows machines ports, like i did on my linux box here until they realised the network card was in promisc mode 😛

 

[Fast Shadow]

The bottom line is you're a consultant, you work for them, stop whining.

If you don't like it then get a job at a company that doesn't mind what you're doing.