Back Track 4 and Toshiba m645
 

Hey everyone I'm pretty new to Linux but I know the basic fundamentals.

I am thinking of buying a new laptop, Toshiba m645.

I got offered a position with an IT firm that requires me to do system penetration testing:) I heard Back Track was the way to go. I was reading and came across some forums stating that BT4 has issues with wireless network adapters in laptops. Is there any way someone can tell me for sure if it will work on the laptop I mentioned above?

The network adapter is a:
Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N + WiMax 6250 (WiMax + 802.11a/g/n)

I'm not worried about the Wi-Max, just picking up Wi-Fi.

Thanks for any answers!

Mostly the problems with BT4 are not "not-working" wireless cards, but the lack of ability to do packet injection with them (you might want it to crack WEP/WPA keys). The kernel in BT4 is patched to support a lot of cards, but best advice which can be given is to search for wlan cards where it is known that they support injection or use a driver which does so. Check the Aircrack-ng and Backtrack webpages for more information.

I'm sorry, but penetration testing of wireless networks is a complete and total joke. WEP is busted, period. You don't need to test it to know that. All you need to know is its busted, it can't be fixed and you move on to a better encryption algorithm. With WPA, the situation isn't as clear, but testing is completely useless just the same. If your company is worried about wireless security, you move everything to WPA2/AES and you're as secure as you can get. No testing needed.


Backtrack should be ashamed for including such useless tools in their distro.

Hi bigmike..

Yes, there's a problem with wireless adapter in BT4 for Tohiba M 6xx
My friend installed a new backtrack BT4 R1, in Toshiba M600 and it works.

I think you should try it. Download the latest one.

Good luck.

I fully agree. Still there are some admins you have to deliver a proof on a paper... I was just to point out that most problems with BT and wlan cards is a question of injection mode.

:hattip:

Sorry, I wasn't questioning your answer at all, nor did I mean to insult you. My apologies for any offense. That was intended to be a generic rant aimed at the stupidest aspect of Backtrack. What I find truly depressing is that the stupidest parts of Backtrack are, unfortunately, the most popular with users.

And any admin that needs proof of WEP insecurity is someone who has proven the Peter Principle beyond a shadow of a doubt.