So far we have seen how can we use Haveibeenpwned, Dhash and intelligence to access data from leaked
or breached databases?
In this lecture, I would like to show you how can you set up your virtual machine to download leak
databases on your virtual machine so you don't have to have a subscription to access leaked databases?
To safely download and search through leaked databases, you need to create a virtual machine.
Now the question is what is a virtual machine?
A virtual machine is basically a software emulation of a physical computer, which allows you to run
multiple operating systems at the same time on a single physical computer.
So, for example, imagine you have a powerful computer and you want to run two different operating
system on it.
Instead of partitioning your hard drive and installing each operating system directly onto it, you
can use virtualization Software like VMware, VirtualBox or Hyper-V to create a virtual machine, and
the virtual machine will always share the resources of the host machine, such as the CPU, memory and
storage, and it will allow you to install and run different operating system software and applications
on these virtual machines, just like you would do on a physical computer.
If you do not have the resources to create a virtual machine, then you might want to use a different
browser for your Osint investigation.
Now, why it's so important to use a virtual machine for Osint investigations?
There are four main reasons to use a virtual machine, and the first one is security.
Because Osint often involves gathering information from various sources on the internet, and some of
which may not be trustworthy, so using a virtual machine allows you to isolate potentially malicious
content or sources from your main operating system.
So if your virtual machine got hacked or infected with a malware, you can easily discard the virtual
machine without affecting your main operating system.
The second important reason is for anonymity, because virtual machines can be configured to use tools
such as VPNs or Tor to enhance anonymity when conducting Osint investigations, and by running Osint
tools and accessing online resources within virtual Machine, you can minimize the risk of exposing
your real IP address or compromising your identity.
In addition to that, virtual machines provide isolated environment where you can safely execute potentially
risky operations, such as visiting suspicious websites or opening unknown files.
And since there is a chance that a leaked league database might contain a malicious file.
We will use a virtual machine to download these databases instead of using our main machine.
So if any malicious activity occurs within the virtual machine, it is contained and does not affect
your main operating system.
And lastly, virtual machine provides you with an operating system flexibility because sometimes different
Osint tools may require specific operating system, which is something that we will see in future lectures.
You might need to use Linux to use some awesome tools that may automate your work.
So virtual machines allow you to quickly set up and switch between different operating systems without
the need for multiple physical computers.
So to install windows as a virtual machine, first of all, you want to go to the link that you will
find in the resources of this lecture.
And then you want to click on Windows Host to install VirtualBox on your windows operating system.
Of course, if you are using Mac or Linux, then you can download and install the version that works
with your operating system.
In my case, I've already downloaded VirtualBox on my computer.
Now, to install windows on VirtualBox, we need an ISO file, which we can download from the official
page from Microsoft.
So you want to go to the link that you will find in the resources of this lecture.
And then you scroll down a little bit and then select Windows 11 and click on Download now after this
you want to select your region.
In my case I'm going to say German.
And then I'm going to click on confirm.
After downloading VirtualBox installer and Windows ISO image.
First of all we are going to install VirtualBox.
In my case I've already installed it on my machine.
So I'm going to run it.
And then I'm going to click on new and I'm going to call it Windows 11.
And then I'll select the ISO image that I have downloaded right here.
And then I'm going to click on Skip unattended installation and click on next.
And for this virtual machine we need at least four gigabytes of Ram.
And then I'm going to click on next.
And then next and finish.
And then we are going to start the virtual machine that we have created by clicking on start.
And then we need to hit enter.
And here we can select the language I'm going to keep everything like this and click on next.
And then next.
And then I'm going to agree and click on next.
And then click on I don't have a product key.
And then I have to select the image that I would like to install.
In my case I'm going to click on Windows 11 Pro.
And then next accept and then install.
Now before we continue, I'm going to disable the internet so that we don't download any updates for
now.
So you want to click right here and then choose Not Attached.
And then click on okay.
And then you want to choose your region and the keyboard layout.
And then I'm going to say Skip.
And then I'm going to click on I don't have internet.
And then I'm going to choose a name.
So it's going to be anything.
It could be test for example.
And then I'm not going to enter a password.
You can enter a password if you would like to and then hit enter.
And then I'm going to select or no.
And now our virtual machine is ready.
The last thing I'm going to be doing is to install VirtualBox Guest tools, which will allow me to copy
and paste from my host machine to my VirtualBox, and will allow me to create a file sharing between
my host machine and the virtual machine, and much more.
So to do this, I'm going to click on device and then click on Insert Guest Additions CD image.
And then I'm going to open the File Explorer.
And I'm going to click on this and then run this tool.
So I'm going to click on next next Install.
And then I'm going to click on reboot.
Now.
After installing VirtualBox guest additions I'm going to be enabling the copy and paste on the virtual
machine.
So I'm going to click on devices and then drag and drop.
And I'm going to make it bidirectional.
And I'm also going to click on Shared Clipboard and click on bidirectional.
And if I would like to I can also create a shared folder between my virtual machine and my host machine.
Now if you would like to change the resolution of the virtual machine, you can do this.
So I'm going to click on view and then full screen mode.
And you can see that now we have our virtual machine in full resolution.
So in this lecture we have learned what a virtual machine is and why do we need to use a virtual machine
to conduct Osint investigations.
And how we can set up our Osint virtual machine.