UniFi Network Application 8.0.7 adds support for Radio Manager, WireGuard VPN Client, and Site Overview, and improves the Port Manager section by adding an overview of all ports and the VLAN Viewer.
Radio Manager
The new Radios page provides an overview of the Access Point radios and their configuration, statistics, and performance.
Filter Devices – Show all APs or only specific devices.
Filter Bands – Use the filters to display only certain bands or MIMO, e.g. 5 GHz or 3×3.
Bulk Edit – Change the radio configuration on multiple APs at the same time.
Improved Port Manager
The new Ports page provides an overview of all ports across your devices.
Filter Ports – Use the filters to display only certain ports, e.g. only PoE or SFP ports.
Filter Devices – Show all ports or only ports on a specific device.
Insights – View and compare statistics between ports on the same device.
The VLAN port management has been redesigned to improve UX when managing VLANs.
Native VLAN / Network – Used for untagged traffic, i.e. not tagged with a VLAN ID. Previously this option was called ‘Primary Network’.
Tagged VLAN Management – Used for traffic tagged with a VLAN ID. Previously this option was called ‘Traffic Restriction’.
Allow All – Configured VLANs are automatically tagged (allowed) on the port.
Block All – All tagged VLANs are blocked (not allowed) on the port.
Custom – Specify which VLANs are tagged (allowed) on the port. Any VLAN that is not specified is blocked.
When adding a new VLAN, it is automatically tagged (allowed) on the port when using ‘Allow All’. If ‘Custom’ is used, the new VLAN needs to be manually added to the port.
VLAN Viewer
Provides an easy way to see Native and Tagged VLANs across your devices.
Native VLAN Assignment – This shows which VLAN ID is set as native.
VLAN Tagging – Shows which VLANs are tagged, blocked, or native.
Search for VLANs using the VLAN name, ID, or subnet.
WireGuard VPN Client
Allows you to connect your UniFi Gateway to a VPN service provider and send internet traffic from devices over the VPN. Uploading a file and manual configuration are both supported.
Site Overview
Provides an overview of all sites used on UniFi Network Applications managing multiple sites.
UniFi Devices – See how many devices are connected to each site.
Client Devices – See how many WiFi/wired clients and guests are connected to each site.
Insight – See which sites have offline devices and critical notifications.
Client Connections
The System Log now provides much more details on client connections such as the connection time and data usage.
Improvements
Improved Port Manager.
Added all ports overview.
Added VLAN Viewer.
Improved VLAN port management UX.
Added Site Overview.
Added ability to select which networks Suspicious Activity is enabled on.
Added sorting feature for IP Groups.
Added ability to allow opening predefined firewall rules.
Improved validation for Prefix ID in Virtual Network settings.
Improved empty MAC whitelist validation in Port Manager.
Improved validation for DHCP options.
Improved DHCP Server TFTP Server field validation.
Improved Traffic Rule IP Address validation.
Improved Firewall Rules UX.
Improved Security Settings UX.
Improved Global Network Settings UX.
Enabled auto upgrade for UXG-Pro after the adoption is completed.
Remove LTE Failover WAN from IPTV Options.
Show the local language in the Language dropdown.
Prevent provisioning more Layer 3 static routes than UniFi switches can support.
Routes that are over the limit at the time of upgrade will be marked as Paused.
This does not mean that total static route support on Layer 3 UniFi switches is decreased, instead, UX is improved to prevent configuration of routes that are not functional.
VPN
Added WireGuard VPN Client.
Added messaging to create traffic routes after creating VPN Clients. This applies to the VPN Client feature, not adding clients to VPN Servers.
Added validation in VPN Server settings when the port overlaps with a Port Forwarding rule.
Added IP/Hostname override option for OpenVPN and WireGuard VPN Servers.
This adds a custom hostname or IP address to the configuration file used by clients.
This option is useful if the UniFi Gateway is behind NAT or is using a dynamically assigned IP address.
Added validation for Local IP in IPsec Site-to-Site VPN settings.
Automatically remove Site-to-Site Auto IPsec configuration if the adopted gateway doesn’t support it.
Improved Site-to-Site VPN validations.
Improved configuration file generation time for OpenVPN Servers.
Increased OpenVPN and WireGuard VPN Client limit from 5 to 8. This applies to the VPN Client feature, not VPN users connecting to VPN Servers.
Remove the PPTP Server if the adopted gateway doesn’t support it.
Clients and Devices
Added PoE power cycle option to the device side panel.
Added confirmation message when configuring Network Overrides.
Improved UniFi Devices page performance on larger setups.
Improved System Logs for client connections.
Locked the first column for Devices/Clients pages when scrolling horizontally.
Client hostnames (if present) are now shown in the side panel overview.
Moved filters to the left side in the Device and Client pages.
WiFi
Added Radio Manager.
Added ability to enable Professional installer toggle for Consoles.
Improved adding clients to MAC Address Filters.
Improved actionable feedback when Outdoor Mode is enabled.
Removed Global AP Settings, you can now use Radio Manager for bulk editing.
Collapse RF Scan tab by default in the AP device panel.
Changed WiFi Experience to TX retries for APs in their device panel.
Enhanced voucher printing options.
Bugfixes
Fixed an issue where some UniFi devices were incorrectly shown on the Client Devices page or not shown at all.
As a result of this fix, unmanaged non-network UniFi devices (e.g. UniFi Protect camera) may appear again as offline devices.
These offline devices will be removed automatically based on the Data Retention settings.
Automatic removal is an automated, periodic process that will run for several minutes after updating. Manual removal is also possible.
Fixed an issue where blocked clients couldn’t connect if they were removed until the next AP provision.
Fixed incorrect channel width for BeaconHD/U6-Extender.
Fixed an issue where Virtual Network usable hosts were incorrectly calculated.
Fixed missing ISP names in internet-related notifications.
Fixed rare gateway adoption issues via Layer 3.
Fixed an issue where WiFiman speed test results were not shown.
Fixed issue where WAN configuration is not populated when moving a gateway device to a new site.
Fixed an issue where CGNAT IP addresses were incorrectly marked as public IPs for Site Magic.
Fixed invalid connected client count for In-Wall APs.
Fixed unmanaged Network devices not shown on Client and Device pages in rare cases.
Fixed an issue where the Console would appear offline in rare cases.
Fixed sorting when there are multiple pages.
Fixed an issue where Voice VLAN settings are not effective when all VLANs are auto-allowed on switch ports.
Fixed an issue where Lock to AP is not disabled when removing an AP.
Fixed an issue where RADIUS profiles couldn’t be disabled when using a WireGuard VPN Server.
Fixed rare gateway configuration error.
Additional information
Create a backup before upgrading your UniFi Network Application in the event any issues are encountered.
See the UniFi Network Server Help Center article for more information on self-hosting a server.
UniFi Network Application 7.5 and newer requires MongoDB 3.6 (up to 4.4) and Java 17.
UniFi Network Native Application for UniFi OS
A specific application version that is only compatible with the UDM and UDR (running UniFi OS 3.1.6 or newer).
The UniFi OS update uses the application version that is required for your console.
The manual update process via SSH requires you to use the compatible package. Incompatible packages will be rejected on installation.
Older UniFi OS versions (before UniFi OS 3.1.6) on the UDM and UDR still use regular UniFi Network Application for UniFi OS.
Dirk Schrader Published: November 14, 2023 Updated: November 24, 2023
In the wake of escalating cyber-attacks and data breaches, the ubiquitous advice of “don’t share your password” is no longer enough. Passwords remain the primary keys to our most important digital assets, so following password security best practices is more critical than ever. Whether you’re securing email, networks, or individual user accounts, following password best practices can help protect your sensitive information from cyber threats.
Read this guide to explore password best practices that should be implemented in every organization — and learn how to protect vulnerable information while adhering to better security strategies.
The Secrets of Strong Passwords
A strong password is your first line of defense when it comes to protecting your accounts and networks. Implement these standard password creation best practices when thinking about a new password:
Complexity: Ensure your passwords contain a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. It should be noted that composition rules, such as lowercase, symbols, etc. are no longer recommended by NIST — so use at your own discretion.
Length: Longer passwords are generally stronger — and usually, length trumps complexity. Aim for at least 6-8 characters.
Unpredictability: Avoid using common phrases or patterns. Avoid using easily guessable information like birthdays or names. Instead, create unique strings that are difficult for hackers to guess.
Combining these factors makes passwords harder to guess. For instance, if a password is 8 characters long and includes uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and special characters, the total possible combinations would be (26 + 26 + 10 + 30)^8. This astronomical number of possibilities makes it exceedingly difficult for an attacker to guess the password.
Of course, given NIST’s updated guidance on passwords, the best approach to effective password security is using a password manager — this solution will not only help create and store your passwords, but it will automatically reject common, easy-to-guess passwords (those included in password dumps). Password managers greatly increase security against the following attack types.
Password-Guessing Attacks
Understanding the techniques that adversaries use to guess user passwords is essential for password security. Here are some of the key attacks to know about:
Brute-Force Attack
In a brute-force attack, an attacker systematically tries every possible combination of characters until the correct password is found. This method is time-consuming but can be effective if the password is weak.
Strong passwords help thwart brute force attacks because they increase the number of possible combinations an attacker must try, making it unlikely they can guess the password within a reasonable timeframe.
Dictionary Attack
A dictionary attack is a type of brute-force attack in which an adversary uses a list of common words, phrases and commonly used passwords to try to gain access.
Unique passwords are essential to thwarting dictionary attacks because attackers rely on common words and phrases. Using a password that isn’t a dictionary word or a known pattern significantly reduces the likelihood of being guessed. For example, the string “Xc78dW34aa12!” is not in the dictionary or on the list of commonly used passwords, making it much more secure than something generic like “password.”
Dictionary Attack with Character Variations
In some dictionary attacks, adversaries also use standard words but also try common character substitutions, such as replacing ‘a’ with ‘@’ or ‘e’ with ‘3’. For example, in addition to trying to log on using the word “password”, they might also try the variant “p@ssw0rd”.
Choosing complex and unpredictable passwords is necessary to thwart these attacks. By using unique combinations and avoiding easily guessable patterns, you make it challenging for attackers to guess your password.
How Password Managers Enhance Security
Password managers are indispensable for securely storing and organizing your passwords. These tools offer several key benefits:
Security: Password managers store passwords and enter them for you, eliminating the need for users to remember them all. All users need to remember is the master password for their password manager tool. Therefore, users can use long, complex passwords as recommended by best practices without worrying about forgetting their passwords or resorting to insecure practices like writing passwords down or reusing the same password for multiple sites or applications.
Password generation: Password managers can generate a strong and unique password for user accounts, eliminating the need for individuals to come up with them.
Encryption: Password managers encrypt password vaults, ensuring the safety of data — even if it is compromised.
Convenience: Password managers enable users to easily access passwords across multiple devices.
When selecting a password manager, it’s important to consider your organization’s specific needs, such as support for the platforms you use, price, ease of use and vendor breach history. Conduct research and read reviews to identify the one that best aligns with your organization’s requirements. Some noteworthy options include Netwrix Password Secure, LastPass, Dashlane, 1Password and Bitwarden.
How Multifactor Authentication (MFA) Adds an Extra Layer of Security
Multifactor authentication strengthens security by requiring two or more forms of verification before granting access. Specifically, you need to provide at least two of the following authentication factors:
Something you know: The classic example is your password.
Something you have: Usually this is a physical device like a smartphone or security token.
Something you are: This is biometric data like a fingerprint or facial recognition.
MFA renders a stolen password worthless, so implement it wherever possible.
Password Expiration Management
Password expiration policies play a crucial role in maintaining strong password security. Using a password manager that creates strong passwords also has an influence on password expiration. If you do not use a password manager yet, implement a strategy to check all passwords within your organization; with a rise in data breaches, password lists (like the known rockyou.txt and its variations) used in brute-force attacks are constantly growing. The website haveibeenpawned.com offers a service to check whether a certain password has been exposed. Here’s what users should know about password security best practices related to password expiration:
Follow policy guidelines: Adhere to your organization’s password expiration policy. This includes changing your password when prompted and selecting a new, strong password that meets the policy’s requirements.
Set reminders: If your organization doesn’t enforce password expiration via notifications, set your own reminders to change your password when it’s due. Regularly check your email or system notifications for prompts.
Avoid obvious patterns: When changing your password, refrain from using variations of the previous one or predictable patterns like “Password1,” “Password2” and so on.
Report suspicious activity: If you notice any suspicious account activity or unauthorized password change requests, report them immediately to your organization’s IT support service or helpdesk.
Be cautious with password reset emails: Best practice for good password security means being aware of scams. If you receive an unexpected email prompting you to reset your password, verify its authenticity. Phishing emails often impersonate legitimate organizations to steal your login credentials.
Password Security and Compliance
Compliance standards require password security and password management best practices as a means to safeguard data, maintain privacy and prevent unauthorized access. Here are a few of the laws that require password security:
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act): HIPAA mandates that healthcare organizations implement safeguards to protect electronic protected health information (ePHI), which includes secure password practices.
PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard): PCI DSS requires organizations that handle payment card data on their website to implement strong access controls, including password security, to protect cardholder data.
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation): GDPR requires organizations that store or process the data of EU residents to implement appropriate security measures to protect personal data. Password security is a fundamental aspect of data protection under GDPR.
FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act): FERPA governs the privacy of student education records. It includes requirements for securing access to these records, which involves password security.
Organizations subject to these compliance standards need to implement robust password policies and password security best practices. Failure to do so can result in steep fines and other penalties.
There are also voluntary frameworks that help organizations establish strong password policies. Two of the most well known are the following:
NIST Cybersecurity Framework: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) provides guidelines and recommendations, including password best practices, to enhance cybersecurity.
ISO 27001: ISO 27001 is an international standard for information security management systems (ISMSs). It includes requirements related to password management as part of its broader security framework.
Password Best Practices in Action
Now, let’s put these password security best practices into action with an example:
Suppose your name is John Doe and your birthday is December 10, 1985. Instead of using “JohnDoe121085” as your password (which is easily guessable), follow these good password practices:
Create a long, unique (and unguessable) password, such as: “M3an85DJ121!”
If you are looking to strengthen your security, follow these password best practices:
Remove hints or knowledge-based authentication: NIST recommends not using knowledge-based authentication (KBA), such as questions like “What town were you born in?” but instead, using something more secure, like two-factor authentication.
Encrypt passwords: Protect passwords with encryption both when they are stored and when they are transmitted over networks. This makes them useless to any hacker who manages to steal them.
Avoid clear text and reversible forms: Users and applications should never store passwords in clear text or any form that could easily be transformed into clear text. Ensure your password management routine does not use clear text (like in an XLS file).
Choose unique passwords for different accounts: Don’t use the same, or even variations, of the same passwords for different accounts. Try to come up with unique passwords for different accounts.
Use a password management: This can help select new passwords that meet security requirements, send reminders of upcoming password expiration, and help update passwords through a user-friendly interface.
Enforce strong password policies: Implement and enforce strong password policies that include minimum length and complexity requirements, along with a password history rule to prevent the reuse of previous passwords.
Update passwords when needed: You should be checking and – if the results indicate so – updating your passwords to minimize the risk of unauthorized access, especially after data breaches.
Monitor for suspicious activity: Continuously monitor your accounts for suspicious activity, including multiple failed login attempts, and implement account lockouts and alerts to mitigate threats.
Educate users: Conduct or partake in regular security awareness training to learn about password best practices, phishing threats, and the importance of maintaining strong, unique passwords for each account.
Implement password expiration policies: Enforce password expiration policies that require password changes at defined circumstances to enhance security.
How Netwrix Can Help
Adhering to password best practices is vital to safeguarding sensitive information and preventing unauthorized access.
Netwrix Password Secure provides advanced capabilities for monitoring password policies, detecting and responding to suspicious activity and ensuring compliance with industry regulations. With features such as real-time alerts, comprehensive reporting and a user-friendly interface, it empowers organizations to proactively identify and address password-related risks, enforce strong password policies, and maintain strong security across their IT environment.
Conclusion
In a world where cyber threats are constantly evolving, adhering to password management best practices is essential to safeguard your digital presence. First and foremost, create a strong and unique password for each system or application — remember that using a password manager makes it much easier to adhere to this critical best practice. In addition, implement multifactor authentication whenever possible to thwart any attacker who manages to steal your password. By following the guidelines, you can enjoy a safer online experience and protect your valuable digital assets.
Dirk Schrader is a Resident CISO (EMEA) and VP of Security Research at Netwrix. A 25-year veteran in IT security with certifications as CISSP (ISC²) and CISM (ISACA), he works to advance cyber resilience as a modern approach to tackling cyber threats. Dirk has worked on cybersecurity projects around the globe, starting in technical and support roles at the beginning of his career and then moving into sales, marketing and product management positions at both large multinational corporations and small startups. He has published numerous articles about the need to address change and vulnerability management to achieve cyber resilience.
If you want to improve your network security and performance, learning how to set up a VLAN properly is all you need. Virtual LANs are powerful networking tools that allow you to segment your network into logical groups and isolate traffic between them.
In this post, we will go through the steps required to set up a VLAN in your network. We will configure two switches along with their interfaces and VLANs, respectively.
So, let’s dive in and learn how to set up VLANs and take your network to the next level.
Table of Contents
What is a VLAN?
Preparing for VLAN configuration
Our Lab
Network Diagram
How to set up a VLAN on a Switch?
Let’s connect to the Switch
Configure VLANs
Assign switch ports to VLANs
Configure trunk ports
Extra Configuration to Consider
What is a VLAN?
Before we go deep into learning how to set up a VLAN and provide examples, let’s understand the foundations of VLANs (or Virtual Local Area Networks).
In a nutshell, VLANs are logical groupings of devices that rely on Layer 2 addresses (MAC) for communication. VLANs are implemented to segment a physical network (or large Layer two broadcast domains) into multiple smaller logical networks (isolated broadcast domains).
Each VLAN behaves as a separate network with its own broadcast domain. VLANs help prevent broadcast storms (extreme amounts of broadcast traffic). They also help control traffic and overall improve network security and performance.
Preparing for VLAN configuration
Although VLANs are usually left for Layer 2 switches, in reality, any device (including routers and L3 switches) with switching capabilities and support of VLAN configuration should be an excellent fit for VLANs. In addition, VLANs are supported by different vendors, and since each vendor has a different OS and code, the way the VLANs are configured may slightly change.
Furthermore, you can also use specific software such as network diagramming and simulation to help you create network diagrams and test your configuration.
Our Lab
We will configure a popular Cisco (IOS-based) switch for demonstration purposes. We will use Boson NetSim (a network simulator for Cisco networking hardware and software) to run Cisco IOS simulated commands. This simulation is like you were configuring an actual Cisco switch or router.
Network Diagram
To further illustrate how to set up a VLAN, we will work on the following network diagram. We will configure two VLANs in two different switches. We will then configure each port on the switches connected to a PC. We will then proceed to configure the trunk port, which is vital for VLAN traffic.
Network diagram details
S2 and S3 (Switch 2 and Switch 3) – Two Cisco L2 Switches connecting PCs at different VLANs (VLAN 10 and VLAN 20) via Fast Ethernet interfaces.
VLANs 10 and VLAN20. These VLANs configured in L2 switches (S2 and S3) create a logical grouping of PCs within the network. In addition, each VLAN gets a name, VLAN 10 (Engineering) and VLAN 20 (Sales).
PCs. PC1, PC2, PC3, and PC4 are each connected to a specific L2 switch.
How to set up a VLAN on a Switch?
So now that you know the VLAN configuration we will be using, including the number of switches, VLAN ID, VLAN name, and the devices or ports that will be part of the configuration, let’s start setting up the VLANs.
Note:VLAN configuration is just a piece of the puzzle. Switches also need proper interface configuration, authentication, access, etc. To learn how to correctly connect and configure everything else, follow the step-by-step guide on how to configure a Cisco Switch.
a. Let’s connect to the switch
Inspect your hardware and find the console port. This port is usually located on the back of your Cisco switch. You can connect to the switch’s “console port” using a console cable (or rollover). Connect one end of the console cable to the switch’s console port and the other to your computer’s serial port.
Note: Obviously, not all modern computers have serial ports. Some modern switches come with a Mini USB port or AUX port to help with this. But if your hardware doesn’t have these ports, you can also connect to the switch port using special cables like an RJ-45 rollover cable, a Serial DB9-to-RJ-45 console cable, or a serial-to-USB adapter.
Depending on your switch’s model, you can configure it via Command Line Interface (CLI) or Graphical User Interface (GUI). We will connect to the most popular user interface: The IOS-based CLI.
To connect to your switch’s IOS-based CLI, you must use a terminal emulator on your computer, such as PuTTY or SecureCRT.
You’ll need to configure the terminal emulator to use the correct serial port and set the baud rate to 9600. Learn how to properly set these parameters in the Cisco switching configuration guide.
In the terminal emulator, press Enter to activate the console session. The Cisco switch should display a prompt asking for a username and password.
Enter your username and password to log in to the switch.
b. Configure VLANs
According to our previously shown network diagram, we will need two VLANs; VLAN 10 and VLAN 20.
To configure Layer 2 switches, you need to enter the privileged EXEC mode by typing “enable” and entering the password (if necessary).
Enter the configuration mode by typing “configure terminal.”
Create the VLAN with “vlan <vlan ID>” (e.g., “vlan 10”).
Name the VLAN by typing “name <vlan name>” (e.g., “name Sales”).
Repeat these two steps for each VLAN you want to create.
Configuration on Switch 2 (S2)
S2# configure terminal
S2(config)# vlan 10
S2(config-vlan)# name Engineering
S2(config-vlan)# end
S2# configure terminal
S2(config)# vlan 20
S2(config-vlan)# name Sales
S2(config-vlan)# end
Use the “show vlan” command to see the configured VLANs. From the output below, you’ll notice that the two new VLANs 10 (Engineering) and 20 (Sales) are indeed configured and active but not yet assigned to any port.
Configuration on Switch 3 (S3)
S3# configure terminal
S3(config)# vlan 10
S3(config-vlan)# name Engineering
S3(config-vlan)# end
S3# configure terminal
S3(config)# vlan 20
S3(config-vlan)# name Sales
S3(config-vlan)# end
Note: From the output above, you might have noticed VLAN 1 (default), which is currently active and is assigned to all the ports in the switch. This VLAN, also known as native VLAN, is the default VLAN on most Cisco switches. It is used for untagged traffic on a trunk port. This means that all traffic that is not explicitly tagged with VLAN information will be sent to this default VLAN.
Now, let’s remove those VLAN 1 tags from interfaces Fa0/2 and Fa0/3. Or in simple words let’s assign the ports to our newly created VLANs.
c. Assign switch ports to VLANs
In the previous section, we created our VLANs; now, we must assign the appropriate switch ports to the correct VLANs. The proper steps to assign switch ports to VLANs are as follows:
Enter configuration mode. Remember to run these commands under the configuration mode (configure terminal).
Assign ports to the VLANs by typing “interface <interface ID>” (e.g., “interface GigabitEthernet0/1”).
Configure the port as an access port by typing “switchport mode access”
Assign the port to a VLAN by typing “switchport access vlan <vlan ID>” (e.g., “switchport access vlan 10”).
Repeat these steps for each port you want to assign to a VLAN.
Let’s refer to a section of our network diagram
Configuration on Switch 2 (S2)
S2(config)# interface fastethernet 0/2
S2(config-if)# switchport mode access
S2(config-if)# switchport access vlan 10
S2(config)# interface fastethernet 0/3
S2(config-if)# switchport mode access
S2(config-if)# switchport access vlan 20
Use the “show running-configuration” to see the new configuration taking effect on the interfaces.
Configuration on Switch 3 (S3)
S3(config)# interface fastethernet 0/2
S3(config-if)# switchport mode access
S3(config-if)# switchport access vlan 10
S3(config)# interface fastethernet 0/3
S3(config-if)# switchport mode access
S3(config-if)# switchport access vlan 20
A “show running-configuration” can show you our configuration results.
d. Configure trunk ports
Trunk ports are a type of switch port mode (just like access) that perform essential tasks like carrying traffic for multiple VLANs between switches, tagging VLAN traffic, supporting VLAN management, increasing bandwidth efficiency, and allowing inter-VLAN routing.
If we didn’t configure trunk ports between our switches, the PCs couldn’t talk to each other on different switches, even if they were on the same VLAN.
Here’s a step by step to configuring trunk ports
Configure a trunk port to carry traffic between VLANs by typing “interface <interface ID>” (e.g., “interface FastEthernet0/12”).
Set the trunk encapsulation method (dot1q). The IEEE 802.1Q (dot1q) trunk encapsulation method is the standard tagging Ethernet frames with VLAN information.
Configure the port as a trunk port by typing “switchport mode trunk”.
Repeat the steps for each trunk port you want to configure.
Note (on redundant trunk links): To keep our article simple, we will configure one trunk link. However, keep in mind that any good network design (including trunk links) would need redundancy. One trunk link between switches is not an optimal redundant solution for networks on production. To add redundancy, we recommend using EtherChannel to bundle physical links together and configure the logical link as a trunk port. You can also use Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) by using the “spanning-tree portfast trunk” command.
Note: You can use different types of trunk encapsulation such as dot1q and ISL, just make sure both ends match the type of encapsulation.
Extra Configuration to Consider
Once you finish with VLAN and trunk configuration, remember to test VLAN connectivity between PCs, you can do this by configuring the proper IP addressing and doing a simple ping. Below are other key configurations related to your new VLANs that you might want to consider.
a. Ensure all your interfaces are up and running
To ensure that your interfaces are not administratively down, issue a “no shutdown” (or ‘no shut’) command on all those newly configured interfaces. Additionally, you can also use the “show interfaces” to see the status of all the interfaces.
b. (Optional) enable inter-VLAN
VLANs, as discussed earlier, separate broadcast domains (Layer 2) — they do not know how to route IP traffic because Layer 2 devices like switches can’t accept IP address configuration on their interfaces. To allow inter-VLAN communication (PCs on one VLAN communicate with PCs on another VLAN), you would need to use a Layer 3 device (a router or L3 switch) to route traffic.
There are three ways to implement inter-VLAN routing: an L3 router with multiple Ethernet interfaces, an L3 router with one router interface using subinterfaces (known as Router-On-a-Stick), and an L3 switch with SVI.
We will show a step-by-step on how to configure Router-On-a-Stick for inter-VLAN communications.
Connect the router to one switch via a trunk port.
Configure subinterfaces on the router for each VLAN (10 and 20 in our example). To configure subinterfaces, use the “interface” command followed by the VLAN number with a period and a subinterface number (e.g., “interface FastEthernet0/0.10” for VLAN 10). For example, to configure subinterfaces for VLANs 10 and 20, you would use the following commands:
> router(config-subif)# ip address 192.168.20.1 255.255.255.0
Configure a default route on the router using the “ip route” command. This is a default route to the Internet through a gateway at IP address 192.168.1.1. For example:
> router(config)# ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 192.168.1.1
c. Configure DHCP Server
To automatically assign IP addresses to devices inside the VLANs, you will need to configure a DHCP server. Follow these steps:
The DHCP server should also be connected to the VLAN.
Configure the DHCP server to provide IP addresses to devices in the VLAN.
Configure the router to forward DHCP requests to the DHCP server by typing “ip helper-address <ip address>” (e.g., “ip helper-address 192.168.10.2”).
Final Words
By following the steps outlined in this post, you can easily set up a VLAN on your switch and effectively segment your network. Keep in mind to thoroughly test your VLAN configuration and consider additional configuration options to optimize your network for your specific needs.
With proper setup and configuration, VLANs can greatly enhance your network’s capabilities and 10x increase its performance and security.
The realm of Network Monitoring Tools, Software, and Vendors is Huge, to say the least. New software, tools, and utilities are being launched almost every year to compete in an ever-changing marketplace of IT monitoring, server monitoring, and system monitoring software.
I’ve test-driven, played with and implemented dozens during my career and this guide rounds up the best ones in an easy-to-read format and highlighted their main strengths and why I think they are in the top class of tools to use in your IT infrastructure and business.
Some of the features I am looking for are device discovery, uptime/downtime indicators, along with robust and thorough alerting systems (via email/SMS), NetFlow and SNMP Integration as well as considerations that are important with any software purchase such as ease of use and value for money.
The features from above were all major points of interest when evaluating software suites for this article and I’ll try to keep this article as updated as possible with new feature sets and improvements as they are released.
Here is our list of the top network monitoring tools:
Auvik – EDITOR’S CHOICE This cloud platform provides modules for LAN monitoring, Wi-Fi monitoring, and SaaS system monitoring. The network monitoring package discovers all devices, maps the network, and then implements automated performance tracking. Get a 14-day free trial.
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor – FREE TRIAL The leading network monitoring system that uses SNMP to check on network device statuses. This monitoring tool includes autodiscovery that compiles an asset inventory and automatically draws up a network topology map. Runs on Windows Server. Start 30-day free trial.
Checkmk – FREE TRIAL This hybrid IT infrastructure monitoring package includes a comprehensive network monitor that provides device status tracking and traffic analysis functions via the integration with ntop. Available as a Linux install package, Docker package, appliance and cloud application available in cloud marketplaces. Get a 30-day free trial.
Datadog Network Monitoring – FREE TRIAL Provides good visibility over each of the components of your network and the connections between them – be it cloud, on-premises or hybrid environment. Troubleshoot infrastructure, apps and DNS issues effortlessly.
ManageEngine OpManager – FREE TRIAL An SNMP-based network monitor that has great network topology layout options, all based on an autodiscovery process. Installs on Windows Server and Linux.
NinjaOne RMM – FREE TRIAL This cloud-based system provides remote monitoring and management for managed service providers covering the systems of their clients.
Site24x7 Network Monitoring – FREE TRIAL A cloud-based monitoring system for networks, servers, and applications. This tool monitors both physical and virtual resources.
Atera – FREE TRIAL A cloud-based package of remote monitoring and management tools that include automated network monitoring and a network mapping utility.
Below you’ll find an updated list of the Latest Tools & Software to ensure your network is continuously tracked and monitored at all times of the day to ensure the highest up-times possible. Most of them have free Downloads or Trials to get you started for 15 to 30 days to ensure it meets your requirements.
What should you look for in network monitoring tools?
We reviewed the market for network monitoring software and analyzed the tools based on the following criteria:
An automated service that can perform network monitoring unattended
A device discovery routine that automatically creates an asset inventory
A network mapping service that shows live statuses of all devices
Alerts for when problems arise
The ability to communicate with network devices through SNMP
A free trial or a demo for a no-cost assessment
Value for money in a package that provides monitoring for all network devices at a reasonable price
With these selection criteria in mind, we have defined a shortlist of suitable network monitoring tools for all operating systems.
Auvik is a SaaS platform that offers a network discovery and mapping system that automates enrolment and then continues to operate in order to spot changes in network infrastructure. This system is able to centralize and unify the monitoring of multiple sites.
Key Features:
A SaaS package that includes processing power and storage space for system logs as well as the monitoring software
Centralizes the monitoring of networks on multiple sites
Watches over network device statuses
Offers two plans: Essential and Performance
Network traffic analysis included in the higher plan
Monitors virtual LANs as well as physical networks
Autodiscovery service
Network mapping
Alerts for automated monitoring
Integrations with third-party complimentary systems
Why do we recommend it?
Auvik is a cloud-based network monitoring system. It reaches into your network, identifies all connected devices, and then creates a map. While SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor also performs those tasks, Auvik is a much lighter tool that you don’t have to host yourself and you don’t need deep technical knowledge to watch over a network with this automated system.
Auvik’s network monitoring system is automated, thanks to its system of thresholds. The service includes out-of-the-box thresholds that are placed on most of the metrics that the network monitor tracks. It is also possible to create custom thresholds.
Once the monitoring service is operating, if any of the thresholds are crossed, the system raises an alert. This mechanism allows technicians to get on with other tasks, knowing that the thresholds give them time to avert system performance problems that would be noticeable to users.
Network management tools that are included in the Auvik package include configuration management to standardize the settings of network devices and prevent unauthorized changes.
The processing power for Auvik is provided by the service’s cloud servers. However, the system requires collectors to be installed on each monitored site. This software runs on Windows Server and Ubuntu Linux. It is also possible to run the collector on a VM. Wherever the collector is located, the system manager still accesses the service’s console, which is based on the Auvik server, through any standard Web browser.
Who is it recommended for?
Smaller businesses that don’t have a team to support IT would benefit from Auvik. It needs no software maintenance and the system provides automated alerts when issues arise, so your few IT staff can get on with supporting other resources while Auvik looks after the network.
PROS:
A specialized network monitoring tool
Additional network management utilities
Configuration management included
A cloud-based service that is accessible from anywhere through any standard Web browser
Data collectors for Windows Server and Ubuntu Linux
CONS:
The system isn’t expandable with any other Auvik modules
Auvik doesn’t publish its prices by you can access a 14-day free trial.
EDITOR’S CHOICE
Auvik is our top pick for a network monitoring tool because it is a hosted SaaS package that provides all of your network monitoring needs without you needing to maintain the software. The Auvik platform installs an agent on your site and then sets itself up by scanning the network and identifying all devices. The inventory that this system generates gives you details of all of your equipment and provides a basis for network topology maps. Repeated checks on the network gather performance statistics and if any metric crosses a threshold, the tool will generate an alert. You can centralize the monitoring of multiple sites with this service.
PRTG Network Monitor software is commonly known for its advanced infrastructure management capabilities. All devices, systems, traffic, and applications in your network can be easily displayed in a hierarchical view that summarizes performance and alerts. PRTG monitors the entire IT infrastructure using technology such as SNMP, WMI, SSH, Flows/Packet Sniffing, HTTP requests, REST APIs, Pings, SQL, and a lot more.
Key Features:
Autodiscovery that creates and maintains a device inventory
Live network topology maps are available in a range of formats
Monitoring for wireless networks as well as LANs
Multi-site monitoring capabilities
SNMP sensors to gather device health information
Ping to check on device availability
Optional extra sensors to monitor servers and applications
System-wide status overviews and drill-down paths for individual device details
A protocol analyzer to identify high-traffic applications
A packet sniffer to collect packet headers for analysis
Color-coded graphs of live data in the system dashboard
Capacity planning support
Alerts on device problems, resource shortages, and performance issues
Notifications generated from alerts that can be sent out by email or SMS
Available for installation on Windows Server or as a hosted cloud service
Why do we recommend it?
Paessler PRTG Network Monitor is a very flexible package. Not only does it monitor networks, but it can also monitor endpoints and applications. The PRTG system will discover and map your network, creating a network inventory, which is the basis for automated monitoring. You put together your ideal monitoring system by choosing which sensors to turn on. You pay for an allowance of sensors.
It is one of the best choices for organizations with low experience in network monitoring software. The user interface is really powerful and very easy to use.
A very particular feature of PRTG is its ability to monitor devices in the data center with a mobile app. A QR code that corresponds to the sensor is printed out and attached to the physical hardware. The mobile app is used to scan the code and a summary of the device is displayed on the mobile screen.
In summary, Paessler PRTG is a flexible package of sensors that you can tailor to your own needs by deciding which monitors to activate. The SNMP-based network performance monitoring routines include an autodiscovery system that generates a network asset inventory and topology maps. You can also activate traffic monitoring features that can communicate with switches through NetFlow, sFlow, J-Flow, and IPFIX. QoS and NBAR features enable you to keep your time-sensitive applications working properly.
Who is it recommended for?
PRTG is available in a Free edition, which is limited to 100 sensors. This is probably enough to support a small network. Mid-sized and large organizations should be interested in paying for larger allowances of sensors. The tool can even monitor multiple sites from one location.
PROS:
Uses a combination of packet sniffing, WMI, and SNMP to report network performance data
Fully customizable dashboard is great for both lone administrators as well as NOC teams
Drag and drop editor makes it easy to build custom views and reports
Supports a wide range of alert mediums such as SMS, email, and third-party integrations into platforms like Slack
Each sensor is specifically designed to monitor each application, for example, there are prebuilt sensors whose specific purpose is to capture and monitor VoIP activity
Supports a freeware version
CONS:
Is a very comprehensive platform with many features and moving parts that require time to learn
PRTG has a very flexible pricing plan, to get an idea visit their official pricing webpage below. It is free to use for up to 50 sensors. Beyond that you get a 30-day free trial to figure out your network requirements.
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor is easy to setup and can be ready in no time. The tool automatically discovers network devices and deploys within an hour. Its simple approach to oversee an entire network makes it one of the easiest to use and most intuitive user interfaces.
Key Features:
Automatically Network Discovery and Scanning for Wired and Wifi Computers and Devices
Support for Wide Array of OEM Vendors
Forecast and Capacity Planning
Quickly Pinpoint Issues with Network Performance with NetPath™ Critical Path visualization feature
Easy to Use Performance Dashboard to Analyze Critical Data points and paths across your network
Robust Alerting System with options for Simple/Complex Triggers
Monitor Hardware Health of all Servers, Firewalls, Routers, Switches, Desktops, laptops and more
Real-Time Network and Netflow Monitoring for Critical Network Components and Devices
Why do we recommend it?
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor is the leading network monitoring tool in the world and this is the system that the other monitor providers are chasing. Like many other network monitors, this system uses the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) to gather reports on network devices. The strength of SolarWinds lies in the deep technical knowledge of its support advisors, which many other providers lack.
The product is highly customizable and the interface is easy to manage and change very quickly. You can customize the web-based performance dashboards, charts, and views. You can design a tailored topology for your entire network infrastructure. You can also create customized dependency-aware intelligent alerts and much more.
The software is sold by separate modules based on what you use. SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor Price starts from $1,995 and is a one-time license including 1st-year maintenance.
SolarWinds NPM has an Extensive Feature list that make it One of the Best Choices for Network Monitoring Solutions
SolarWinds NPM is able to track the performance of networks autonomously through the use of SNMP procedures, producing alerts when problems arise. Alerts are generated if performance dips and also in response to emergency notifications sent out by device agents. This system means that technicians don’t have to watch the monitoring screen all the time because they know that they will be drawn back to fix problems by an email or SMS notification.
Who is it recommended for?
SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor is an extensive network monitoring system and it is probably over-engineered for use by a small business. Mid-sized and large companies would benefit from using this tool.
PROS:
Supports auto-discovery that builds network topology maps and inventory lists in real-time based on devices that enter the network
Has some of the best alerting features that balance effectiveness with ease of use
Supports both SNMP monitoring as well as packet analysis, giving you more control over monitoring than similar tools
Uses drag and drop widgets to customize the look and feel of the dashboard
Tons of pre-configured templates, reports, and dashboard views
CONS:
This is a feature-rich enterprise tool designed for sysadmin, non-technical users may some features overwhelming
Checkmk is an IT asset monitoring package that has the ability to watch over networks, servers, services, and applications. The network monitoring facilities in this package provide both network device status tracking and network traffic monitoring.
Features of this package include:
Device discovery that cycles continuously, spotting new devices and removing retired equipment
Creation of a network inventory
Registration of switches, routers, firewalls, and other network devices
Creation of a network topology map
Continuous device status monitoring with SNMP
SNMP feature report focus for small businesses
Performance thresholds with alerts
Wireless network monitoring
Protocol analysis
Traffic throughput statistics per link
Switch port monitoring
Gateway transmission speed tracking
Network traffic data extracted with ntop
Can monitor a multi-vendor environment
Why do we recommend it?
The Checkmk combination of network device monitoring and traffic monitoring in one tool is rare. Most network monitoring service creators split those two functions so that you have to buy two separate packages. The Checkmk system also gives you application and server monitoring along with the network monitoring service.
The Checkmk system is easy to set up, thanks to its autodiscovery mechanism. This is based on SNMP. The program will act as an SNMP Manager, send out a broadcast requesting reports from device agents, and then compile the results into an inventory. The agent is the Checkmk package itself if you choose to install the Linux version or it is embedded on a device if you go for the hardware option. If you choose the Checkmk Cloud SaaS option, that platform will install an agent on one of your computers.
The SNMP Manager constantly re-polls for device reports and the values in these appear in the Checkmk device monitoring screen. The platform also updates its network inventory according to the data sent back by device agents in each request/response round. The dashboard also generates a network topology map from information in the inventory. So, that map updates whenever the inventory changes.
While gathering information through SNMP, the tool also scans the headings of passing packets on the network to compile traffic statistics. Basically, the tool provides a packet count which enables it to quickly calculate a traffic throughput rate. Data can also be segmented per protocol, according to the TCP port number in each header.
Who is it recommended for?
Checkmk has a very wide appeal because of its three editions. Checkmk Raw is free and will appeal to small businesses. This is an adaptation of Nagios Core. The paid version of the system is called Checkmk Enterprise and that is designed for mid-sized and large businesses. Checkmk Cloud is a SaaS option.
PROS:
Provides both network device monitoring and traffic tracking
Automatically discovers devices and creates a network inventory
Free version available
Options for on-premises or SaaS delivery
Monitors wireless networks as well as LANs
Available for installation on Linux or as an appliance
Datadog Network Monitoring supervises the performance of network devices. The service is a cloud-based system that is able to explore a network and detect all connected devices. With the information from this research, the network monitor will create an asset inventory and draw up a network topology map. This procedure means that the system performs its own setup routines.
Features of this package include:
Monitors networks anywhere, including remote sites
Joins together on-premises and cloud-based resource monitoring
Integrates with other Datadog modules, such as log management
Offers an overview of all network performance and drill-down details of each device
Facilitates troubleshooting by identifying performance dependencies
Includes DNS server monitoring
Gathers SNMP device reports
Blends performance data from many information sources
Includes data flow monitoring
Offers tag-based packet analysis utilities in the dashboard
Integrates protocol analyzers
Performance threshold baselining based on machine learning
Alerts for warnings over evolving performance issues
Datadog Network Monitoring services are split into two modules that are part of a cloud platform of many system monitoring and management tools. These two packages are called Network Performance Monitoring and Network Device Monitoring, which are both subscription services. While the device monitoring package works through SNMP, the performance monitor measures network traffic levels.
The autodiscovery process is ongoing, so it spots any changes you make to your network and instantly updates the inventory and the topology map. The service can also identify virtual systems and extend monitoring of links out to cloud resources.
Datadog Network Monitoring provides end-to-end visibility of all connections, which are also correlated with performance issues highlighted in log messages. The dashboard for the system is resident in the cloud and accessed through any standard browser. This centralizes network performance data from many sources and covers the entire network, link by link and end to end.
You can create custom graphs, metrics, and alerts in an instant, and the software can adjust them dynamically based on different conditions. Datadog prices start from free (up to five hosts), Pro $15/per host, per month and Enterprise $23 /per host, per month.
Who is it recommended for?
The two Datadog network monitoring packages are very easy to sign up for. They work well together to get a complete view of network activities. The pair will discover all of the devices on your network and map them, then startup automated monitoring. These are very easy-to-use systems that are suitable for use by any size of business.
PROS:
Has one of the most intuitive interfaces among other network monitoring tools
Cloud-based SaaS product allows monitoring with no server deployments or onboarding costs
Can monitor both internally and externally giving network admins a holistic view of network performance and accessibility
Supports auto-discovery that builds network topology maps on the fly
Changes made to the network are reflected in near real-time
Allows businesses to scale their monitoring efforts reliably through flexible pricing options
CONS:
Would like to see a longer trial period for testing
At its core, ManageEngine OpManager is infrastructure management, network monitoring, and application performance management “APM” (with APM plug-in) software.
Key Features:
Includes server monitoring as well as network monitoring
Autodiscovery function for automatic network inventory assembly
Constant checks on device availability
A range of network topology map options
Automated network mapping
Performs an SNMP manager role, constantly polling for device health statuses
Receives SNMP Traps and generates alerts when device problems arise
Implements performance thresholds and identifies system problems
Watches over resource availability
Customizable dashboard with color-coded dials and graphs of live data
Forwards alerts to individuals by email or SMS
Available for Windows Server and Linux
Can be enhanced by an application performance monitor to create a full stack supervisory system
Free version available
Distributed version to supervise multiple sites from one central location
Why do we recommend it?
ManageEngine OpManager is probably the biggest threat to SolarWind’s leading position. This package monitors servers as well as networks. This makes it a great system for monitoring virtualizations.
When it comes to network management tools, this product is well balanced when it comes to monitoring and analysis features.
The solution can manage your network, servers, network configuration, and fault & performance; It can also analyze your network traffic. To run Manage Engine OpManager, it must be installed on-premises.
A highlight of this product is that it comes with pre-configured network monitor device templates. These contain pre-defined monitoring parameters and intervals for specific device types. The essential edition product can be purchased for $595 which allows up to 25 devices.
Who is it recommended for?
A nice feature of OpManager is that it is available for Linux as well as Windows Server for on-premises installation and it can also be used as a service on AWS or Azure for businesses that don’t want to run their own servers. The pricing for this package is very accessible for mid-sized and large businesses. Small enterprises with simple networks should use the Free edition, which is limited to covering a network with three connected devices.
PROS:
Designed to work right away, features over 200 customizable widgets to build unique dashboards and reports
Leverages autodiscovery to find, inventory, and map new devices
Uses intelligent alerting to reduce false positives and eliminate alert fatigue across larger networks
Supports email, SMS, and webhook for numerous alerting channels
Integrates well in the ManageEngine ecosystem with their other products
CONS:
Is a feature-rich tool that will require a time investment to properly learn
NinjaOne is a remote monitoring and management (RMM) package for managed service providers (MSPs). The system reaches out to each remote network through the installation of an agent on one of its endpoints. The agent acts as an SNMP Manager.
Key Features:
Based on the Simple Network Management Protocol
SNMP v1, 2, and 3
Device discovery and inventory creation
Continuous status polling for network devices and endpoints
Live traffic data with NetFlow, IPFIX, J-Flow, and sFlow
Traffic throughput graphs
Customizable detail display
Performance graphs
Switch port mapper
Device availability checks
Syslog processing for device status reports
Customizable alerts
Notifications by SMS or email
Related endpoint monitoring and management
Why do we recommend it?
NinjaOne RMM enables each technician to support multiple networks simultaneously. The alerting mechanism in the network monitoring service means that you can assume that everything is working fine on a client’s system unless you receive a notification otherwise. The network tracking service sets itself up automatically with a discovery routine.
The full NinjaOne RMM package provides a full suite of tools for administering a client’s system. The network monitoring service is part of that bundle along with endpoint monitoring and patch management.
The Ninja One system onboards a new client site automatically through a discovery service that creates both hardware and software inventories. The data for each client is kept separate in a subaccount. Technicians that need access to that client’s system for investigation need to be set up with credentials.
The network monitoring system provides both device status tracking and network traffic analysis. The service provides notifications if a dive goes offline or throughput drops.
Who is it recommended for?
This service is built with a multi-tenant architecture for use by managed service providers. However, IT departments can also use the system to manage their own networks and endpoints. The service is particularly suitable for simultaneously monitoring multiple sites. The console for the RMM is based in the cloud and accessed through any standard Web browser.
PROS:
A cloud-based package that onboards sites through the installation of an agent
Auto discovery for network devices and endpoints
Network device status monitoring
Network traffic analysis
Syslog message scanning
CONS:
No price list
NinjaOne doesn’t publish a price list so you start your buyer’s journey by accessing a 14-day free trial.
Site24x7 is a monitoring service that covers networks, servers, and applications. The network monitoring service in this package starts off by exploring the network for connected devices. IT logs its findings in a network inventory and draws up a network topology map.
Key Features:
A hosted cloud-based service that includes CPU time and performance data storage space
Can unify the monitoring of networks on site all over the world
Uses SNMP to check on device health statuses
Gives alerts on resource shortages, performance issues, and device problems
Generates notifications to forward alerts by email or SMS
Root cause analysis features
Autodiscovery for a constantly updated network device inventory
Automatic network topology mapping
Includes internet performance monitoring for utilities such as VPNs
Specialized monitoring routines for storage clusters
Monitors boundary and edge services, such as load balancers
Offers overview and detail screens showing the performance of the entire network and also individual devices
Includes network traffic flow monitoring
Facilities for capacity planning and bottleneck identification
Integrates with application monitoring services to create a full stack service
Why do we recommend it?
Site24x7 Network Monitoring is part of a platform that is very similar to Datadog. A difference lies in the number of modules that Site24x7 offers – it has far fewer than Datadog. Site24x7 bundles its modules into packages with almost all plans providing monitoring for networks, servers, services, applications, and websites. Site24x7 was originally developed to be a SaaS plan for ManageEngine but then was split out into a separate brand, so there is very solid expertise behind this platform.
The Network Monitor uses procedures from the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) to poll devices every minute for status reports. Any changes in the network infrastructure that are revealed by these responses update the inventory and topology map.
The results of the device responses are interpreted into live data in the dashboard of the monitor. The dashboard is accessed through any standard browser and its screens can be customized by the user.
The SNMP system empowers device agents to send out a warning without waiting for a request if it detects a problem with the device that it is monitoring. Site24x7 Infrastructure catches these messages, which are called Traps, and generates an alert. This alert can be forwarded to technicians by SMS, email, voice call, or instant messaging post.
The Network Monitor also has a traffic analysis function. This extracts throughput figures from switches and routers and displays data flow information in the system dashboard. This data can also be used for capacity planning.
Who is it recommended for?
The plans for Site24x7 are very reasonably priced, which makes them accessible to businesses of all sizes. Setup for the system is automated and much of the ongoing monitoring processes are carried out without any manual intervention.
PROS:
One of the most holistic monitoring tools available, supporting networks, infrastructure, and real user monitoring in a single platform
Uses real-time data to discover devices and build charts, network maps, and inventory reports
Is one of the most user-friendly network monitoring tools available
User monitoring can help bridge the gap between technical issues, user behavior, and business metrics
Supports a freeware version for testing
CONS:
Is a very detailed platform that will require time to fully learn all of its features and options
Site24x7 costs $9 per month when paid annually. It is available for a free trial.
Atera is a package software that was built for managed service providers. It is a SaaS platform and it includes professional service automation (PSA) and remote monitoring and management (RMM) systems.
Why do we recommend it?
Atera is a package of tools for managed service providers (MSPs). Alongside remote network monitoring capabilities, this package provides automated monitoring services for all IT operations. The package also includes some system management tools, such as a patch manager. Finally, the Atera platform offers Professional Services Automation (PSA) tools to help the managers of MSPs to run their businesses.
The network monitoring system operates remotely through an agent that installs on Windows Server. The agent enables the service to scour the network and identify all of the network devices that run it. This is performed using SNMP, with the agent acting as the SNMP Manager.
The SNMP system enables the agent to spot Traps, which warn of device problems. These are sent to the Atera network monitoring dashboard, where they appear as alerts. Atera offers an automated topology mapping service, but this is an add-on to the main subscription packages.
Who is it recommended for?
Atera charges for its platform per technician, so it is very affordable for MSPs of all sizes. This extends to sole technicians operating on a contract basis and possibly fielding many small business clients.
ManageEngine RMM Central provides sysadmins with everything they need to support their network. Automated asset discovery makes deployment simple, allowing you to collect all devices on your network by the end of the day.
Key Features
Automated network monitoring and asset discovery
Built-in remote access with various troubleshooting tools
Flexible alert integrations
With network and asset metrics collected, administrators can quickly see critical insights automatically generated by the platform. With over 100 automated reports it’s easy to see exactly where your bottlenecks are and what endpoints are having trouble.
Administrators can configure their own SLAs with various automated alert options and even pair those alerts with other automation that integrate into their helpdesk workflow.
PROS:
Uses a combination of packet sniffing, WMI, and SNMP to report network performance data
Fully customizable dashboard is great for both lone administrators as well as NOC teams
Drag and drop editor makes it easy to build custom views and reports
Supports a wide range of alert mediums such as SMS, email, and third-party integrations into platforms like Slack
CONS:
Is a very comprehensive platform with many features and moving parts that require time to learn
You can run commands on one or hundreds of computers with a single PowerShell command. Windows PowerShell supports remote computing using various technologies, including WMI, RPC, and WS-Management.
PowerShell supports WMI, WS-Management, and SSH remoting. In PowerShell 7 and higher, RPC is supported only on Windows.
For more information about remoting in PowerShell, see the following articles:
Many Windows PowerShell cmdlets have the ComputerName parameter that enables you to collect data and change settings on one or more remote computers. These cmdlets use varying communication protocols and work on all Windows operating systems without any special configuration.
Typically, cmdlets that support remoting without special configuration have the ComputerName parameter and don’t have the Session parameter. To find these cmdlets in your session, type:
Using the WS-Management protocol, Windows PowerShell remoting lets you run any Windows PowerShell command on one or more remote computers. You can establish persistent connections, start interactive sessions, and run scripts on remote computers.
To use Windows PowerShell remoting, the remote computer must be configured for remote management. For more information, including instructions, see About Remote Requirements.
Once you have configured Windows PowerShell remoting, many remoting strategies are available to you. This article lists just a few of them. For more information, see About Remote.
Start an interactive session
To start an interactive session with a single remote computer, use the Enter-PSSession cmdlet. For example, to start an interactive session with the Server01 remote computer, type:
PowerShellCopy
Enter-PSSession Server01
The command prompt changes to display the name of the remote computer. Any commands that you type at the prompt run on the remote computer and the results are displayed on the local computer.
To end the interactive session, type:
PowerShellCopy
Exit-PSSession
For more information about the Enter-PSSession and Exit-PSSession cmdlets, see:
To run a command on one or more computers, use the Invoke-Command cmdlet. For example, to run a Get-UICulture command on the Server01 and Server02 remote computers, type:
LCID Name DisplayName PSComputerName
---- ---- ----------- --------------
1033 en-US English (United States) server01.corp.fabrikam.com
1033 en-US English (United States) server02.corp.fabrikam.com
Run a Script
To run a script on one or many remote computers, use the FilePath parameter of the Invoke-Command cmdlet. The script must be on or accessible to your local computer. The results are returned to your local computer.
For example, the following command runs the DiskCollect.ps1 script on the remote computers, Server01 and Server02.
Use the New-PSSession cmdlet to create a persistent session on a remote computer. The following example creates remote sessions on Server01 and Server02. The session objects are stored in the $s variable.
Now that the sessions are established, you can run any command in them. And because the sessions are persistent, you can collect data from one command and use it in another command.
For example, the following command runs a Get-HotFix command in the sessions in the $s variable and it saves the results in the $h variable. The $h variable is created in each of the sessions in $s, but it doesn’t exist in the local session.
PowerShellCopy
Invoke-Command -Session $s {$h = Get-HotFix}
Now you can use the data in the $h variable with other commands in the same session. The results are displayed on the local computer. For example:
PowerShellCopy
Invoke-Command -Session $s {$h | where {$_.InstalledBy -ne "NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM"}}
Advanced Remoting
PowerShell includes cmdlets that allow you to:
Configure and create remote sessions both from the local and remote ends
Create customized and restricted sessions
Import commands from a remote session that actually run implicitly on the remote session
Configure the security of a remote session
PowerShell on Windows includes a WSMan provider. The provider creates a WSMAN: drive that lets you navigate through a hierarchy of configuration settings on the local computer and remote computers.
When you update a computer running Windows 10, version 1703 or 1709, you might see provisioned apps that you previously removed post-update. This can happen if the computer was offline when you removed the apps. Windows 10, version 1803 has fixed this issue.
Note
This issue only occurs after a feature update (from one version to the next), not monthly updates or security-related updates.
This only applies to first-party apps that shipped with Windows 10. This doesn’t apply to third-party apps, Microsoft Store apps, or LOB apps.
This issue can occur whether you removed the app using Remove-appxprovisionedpackage or Get-AppxPackage -allusers | Remove-AppxPackage -Allusers.
To remove a provisioned app, you need to remove the provisioning package. The apps might reappear if you removed the packages in one of the following ways:
If you removed the packages while the wim file was mounted when the device was offline.
If you removed the packages by running a PowerShell cmdlet on the device while Windows was online. Although the apps won’t appear for new users, you’ll still see the apps for the user account you signed in as.
When you remove a provisioned app, we create a registry key that tells Windows not to reinstall or update that app the next time Windows is updated. If the computer isn’t online when you deprovision the app, then we don’t create that registry key. (This behavior is fixed in Windows 10, version 1803. If you’re running Windows 10, version 1709, apply the latest security update to fix it.)
Note
If you remove a provisioned app while Windows is online, it’s only removed for new users—the user that you signed in as will still have that provisioned app. That’s because the registry key created when you deprovision the app only applies to new users created after the key is created. This doesn’t happen if you remove the provisioned app while Windows is offline.
To prevent these apps from reappearing at the next update, manually create a registry key for each app, then update the computer.
Create registry keys for deprovisioned apps
Use the following steps to create a registry key:
Identify any provisioned apps you want removed. Record the package name for each app.
Paste the list of registry keys into Notepad (or a text editor).
Remove the registry keys belonging to the apps you want to keep. For example, if you want to keep the Bing Weather app, delete this registry key:YAMLCopyHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Appx\A ppxAllUserStore\Deprovisioned\Microsoft.BingWeather_8wekyb3d8bbwe]
Save the file with a .txt extension, then right-click the file and change the extension to .reg.
Double-click the .reg file to create the registry keys. You can see the new keys in HKLM\path-to-reg-keys.
You’re now ready to update your computer. After the update, check the list of apps in the computer to confirm the removed apps are still gone.
Package names for apps provisioned in Windows 10, version 1709
Windows 11 comes with OneDrive pre-installed, but you don’t have to live with it if you don’t want to.
In newer versions of Windows, Microsoft added OneDrive to its “out-of-box experience,” meaning you get the app on your system from day one. OneDrive is a great tool for keeping your files stored in the cloud, but some users have their own preferred cloud storage app or want to keep everything on local storage.
If you feel that OneDrive serves no useful purpose to you, it is possible to disable the app. This post will discuss the methods to disable the app on your system. In addition, you will learn multiple ways to completely remove it.
Why Should You Disable OneDrive?
You may not want to keep a cloud backup of sensitive files related to work or personal use cases. One another issue is that OneDrive runs as soon as you boot your system. It continues to run in the background and consumes system and network resources in the process.
If you have a low-spec system or metered network connection, you can relate to this issue. So, it would be a good idea to disable or remove the app from your system in these circumstances.
Does Microsoft OneDrive Impact PC Performance?
OneDrive launches as soon as your system boots up. It tries to sync your documents to the cloud and runs in the background. Systems that have bare minimum compute resources can struggle with performance.
As such, if your PC isn’t the fastest out there, disabling OneDrive or getting rid of it entirely can help squeeze some precious processing power out of your system for other tasks.
How to Disable OneDrive on Windows 11
There are multiple ways to disable OneDrive on your system. You can disable the service from running at startup, disable it via the Group Policy Editor, or you can unlink your account from it.
1. How to Stop OneDrive From Launching at Startup
To disable OneDrive from launching at startup, do as follows:
Go to the system tray icon area and click on the arrow icon. Then click on the OneDrive system tray icon to reveal the settings.
Click on the gear icon and then select settings from the context menu.
Switch to the Settings tab. Uncheck the Start OneDrive automatically when I sign in to the Windows option under the General section.
Close the window. Now OneDrive won’t start automatically when you boot your PC up.
2. How to Unlink Your OneDrive Account
If you unlink your OneDrive account, the app won’t be able to sync your files anymore. To unlink your account, repeat the following steps.
Open the OneDrive app from the system tray icon. Click on the gear icon and then click on the Settings option.
Find the Unlink this PC option present under the Accounts tab.
Follow the on-screen prompts to unlink your account and close the Window.
3. How to Disable OneDrive Using the Group Policy Editor
Windows users who own an Enterprise or Professional copy can use the Group Policy Editor to disable OneDrive. If you’re not on either of those versions, you’ll need to learn how to access the Group Policy Editor on Windows Home before you try these steps.
Press Win + R to launch the Runcommand box on your system. Input gpedit.msc and press the Enter key.
Group Policy Editor will launch.
Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > OneDrive.
Once you are inside the OneDrive folder, find the Prevent the usage of OneDrive for file storage policy.
Double-click on it to edit the policy. A new window with detailed settings will pop up.
Click on the Disabled radio button and then click the Apply button.
Click on the OK button and exit the Group Policy Editor.
How to Remove OneDrive From Windows 11
If you’d rather just get rid of the app entirely, here are a few methods to remove OneDrive from your computer.
1. How to Uninstall OneDrive Using the Settings App
To remove OneDrive using the Settings app, do as follows:
Press Win + I to launch the Settingsapp. Then navigate to the left-hand side menu and click on Apps.
Then click on the Installed apps option in the Apps section.
Scroll down and locate Microsoft OneDrive app in the list.
Click on the three dots and select the Uninstall option.
Confirm your action and click on the Uninstall button again.
Now, follows the on-screen prompts to remove the app from your system.
2. How to Uninstall OneDrive Using the Command Prompt
To remove OneDrive using the command prompt, do as follows:
Press the Win key and search command prompt. Right-click on the first result and select the Run as administrator option.
The command prompt will launch. Now, input the following command in the terminal: TASKKILL /f /im OneDrive.exe
Once the command finishes executing, enter the uninstallation command: %systemroot%\SysWOW64\OneDriveSetup.exe /uninstall
Wait for the execution to complete. CMD will not display any message about the uninstallation command.
Exit the command prompt window. OneDrive won’t bother you anymore.
3. How to Uninstall OneDrive Using the PowerShell
To remove OneDrive using PowerShell, do as follows:
Press the Win key and search for PowerShell. Right-click on the first search result and click on the Run as administrator option.
PowerShell will launch. Now input the following command: winget uninstall onedrive
Press the Enter key to execute the command. You will see a successfully uninstalled message if the command executes without any error.
Now, exit the PowerShell window.
4. How to Uninstall OneDrive Using a Batch Script
The above-mentioned processes uninstall the app but do not delete the remaining traces of the OneDrive app. However, there is a batch script that you can use to uninstall the app as well as remove all the traces of OneDrive from your system.
To remove OneDrive using a batch script, do as follows:
Press the Win key and search for Notepad on your system. Click on the first result to launch the notepad app.
Now, copy the following code into the notepad app window. Make sure to recheck the document for missing lines of code, if any.@echo off cls
set x86="%SYSTEMROOT%\System32\OneDriveSetup.exe" set x64="%SYSTEMROOT%\SysWOW64\OneDriveSetup.exe"
echo Removing OneDrive from the Explorer Side Panel. echo. REG DELETE "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{018D5C66-4533-4307-9B53-224DE2ED1FE6}" /f > NUL 2>&1 REG DELETE "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{018D5C66-4533-4307-9B53-224DE2ED1FE6}" /f > NUL 2>&1 pause
Now, navigate to the top area and click on the File option. Select the Save as option from the dropdown menu.
Choose the save location as desktop so that it is easier to find the file.
Input a name that reflects the use case of the .bat file. For example, OneDriveRemovalTool.
Now, click on the Save as type option and select All files from the drop-down list.
Click on the Save button to save your .bat file.
Go to the desktop and right-click on the newly created .bat file. Select the Run as administrator option.
Let it finish execution and restart your computer. OneDrive won’t bug you anymore.
5. How to Uninstall OneDrive Using a Third-party Uninstaller Program
Uninstalling OneDrive using the Windows uninstaller leaves a lot of files and folders behind. In such cases, you can try a third-party uninstaller tool that will clean up everything related to OneDrive.
Download the free version and install it on your system.
Launch Revo uninstaller. Find OneDrive from the list of installed programs.
Right-click on OneDrive and select the Uninstall option from the context menu.
Uninstall window will pop up. Click on the continue button to proceed.
After the uninstall completes, select the advanced option to search for files and folders associated with OneDrive.
Follow the on-screen prompts and delete everything. Restart your system for changes to take effect. You won’t find OneDrive anywhere on your system.
OneDrive Won’t Bother You Anymore
These were the steps to disable or remove OneDrive on your Windows machine. If you plan on reusing OneDrive someday, stick with the disabling methods. But if you want to remove it from your system, you can try out any of the uninstallation methods mentioned above.
In the first post in this series, we covered common PHP encoding techniques and how they’re used by malware to hide from security analysts and scanners. In today’s post, we’re going to dive a little bit deeper into other obfuscation techniques that make use of other features available in PHP.
Obfuscation Redux
In the first post in this series, we defined Obfuscation as the process of concealing the purpose or functionality of code or data so that it evades detection and is more difficult for a human or security software to analyze, but still fulfills its intended purpose. One of the main contributing factors to the popularity of PHP is its ease of use, but the same functionality that makes it easy to use also makes it easy to abuse, often in ways that were never intended.
The techniques covered in this post are often simpler and “hackier” than the ones listed in the previous article, and most of them are less reliable as indicators of malicious activity individually, as several of them typically need to be combined in order to achieve sufficient obfuscation. These techniques are also often easier for a human analyst to spot, but they are also more difficult to detect using scanning tools due to the wide variety of permutations available. Such simpler obfuscation methods can also be creatively combined with encoding techniques, granting malware authors a formidable array of tactics to avoid detection.
While it is not practical to cover every possible technique in active use, this article will detail the more commonly found methods, and help illustrate the wide range of possibilities when decoding obfuscated malware. Several of the methods we will cover today, such as comment abuse, can be combined into almost infinite variations with minute changes, thus rendering them completely undetectable to traditional hash-based malware scanning and even partially slowing down regular expression-based scanning of the type used by Wordfence.
Fortunately, while these methods do make analysis more difficult, and can slow down scanning, their presence in certain combinations is a strong signal of malicious activity, and the malware detection signatures used by the Wordfence plugin and Wordfence CLI are tuned to detect these combinations with astoundingly few false positives. Wordfence CLI in particular is useful in these cases, as it is highly performant and can run multithreaded jobs, compensating for any speed penalties imposed by these techniques.
Comment Abuse
PHP has several methods of adding code comments that you may already be familiar with. Well-commented code is considered a best practice, as it makes it much easier to maintain software and pay off technical debt, but comments can also be used for illicit purposes.
PHP uses three styles of comments:
//, denoting a single line comment that ends on the next line.
#, likewise a single line comment that ends on the next line, though this is less common than ‘//’.
/*, the beginning of a multiline comment, which can only closed with */.
Multiline comments are particularly useful to malware authors because they are ignored by PHP, and do not have to extend over multiple lines. This means that an attacker can “break up” their code to evade scanners using comments. For instance, the following code block prints “Hello, World!”:
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<?phpecho/*blah*/"Hello, World!"/*blah*/;
While this is a very basic example, more complicated examples can be found in real malware, such as the following snippet, which makes use of several additional obfuscation techniques, including octal escape sequences and invisible null bytes:
While we’re not going to fully analyze this malware today, it already presents problems for many scanners. For instance, a scanner searching for the very first line of code, function ed_ixpn() would fail to find it because of the comments. While detection using regular expressions, such as the ones used by the Wordfence Plugin scanner and Wordfence CLI are capable of detecting malware of this type, it still imposes a performance penalty on detection due to the enormous number of possible variations.
Concatenation Catastrophe
PHP makes string concatenation very simple via the dot . operator. This allows programmers to join two separate strings with minimal hassle. For instance, the following code outputs “Hello, World!”:
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<?php echo“He”.”llo,”.”wor”.”ld”;
There are a large number of legitimate use cases for string concatenation, so it’s generally only an indicator of malicious activity when combined with several other obfuscation techniques. The malware sample we shared earlier provides a good example of this, with octal encoding concatenated with the return values of various functions, which we’ll get to in a later section.
Index Fun
PHP, like most languages, stores text strings as arrays of characters, each with a defined position or index. This makes it possible to assemble arbitrary commands and data from a string containing the required characters, using the array index of each character and the concatenation operator. For instance, the following code prints “Hello, World!”:
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<?php$string="Wow, what a cool Helpful research device!";echo$string[17].$string[18].$string[19].$string[19].$string[1].$string[3].$string[4].$string[0].$string[1].$string[25].$string[15].$string[34].$string[40];
PHP arrays start with an index of 0, meaning that $string[0] in the example above would be “W”, the first letter of “Wow, what a cool Helpful research device!”. By concatenating letters from different parts of that text string, it’s possible to assemble an entirely different text string.
This method can be very helpful for hiding the underlying text being assembled from human researchers and security scan tools alike, and though it does have the occasional legitimate use in selecting chunks of text, when used extensively it is a strong indicator of malicious activity, though it typically needs to be combined with additional techniques such as evaluating the resulting string or passing it to a function.
Math, Not Even Once
PHP allows mathematical operations within other functionality. One of the interesting features in the malware snippet – $disdcrxh_(564-452) – demonstrates this, with it turning out as $disdcrxh_112 due to the subtraction of 564 and 452 in the parenthesis. This functionality can likewise be combined with the string index technique mentioned above. For example, the following code prints out “Hello, World!”:
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<?php$string="Wow, what a cool Helpful research device!";echo$string[(15+2)].$string[(20-2)].$string[(10+9)].$string[(29-10)].$string[(5-4)].$string[(1+2)].$string[(2+2)].$string[(5-5)].$string[(12-11)].$string[(5*5)].$string[(5*3)].$string[34].$string[(160/4)];
This adds an additional obfuscation layer that can make it even more difficult to determine the code’s functionality without executing it. However, it is incredibly rare for this type of code to be used legitimately, so the presence of this technique is typically an indicator of malicious activity.
String Reversals
One of the most basic functions in PHP’s text string manipulation libraries is strrev, which is used to reverse strings of text. For instance, the following code snippet prints out “Hello, World!”:
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<?php echostrrev("!dlroW ,olleH");
While not particularly effective at obfuscation on its own, it can be combined with the techniques in this article as well as nearly all of the techniques in our previous article on encoding to make it even more difficult to decode malicious functionality. While it has a number of legitimate use cases, the presence of strrev alongside two or more additional encoding or obfuscation techniques is often a reliable indicator of compromise.
Variable, Dynamic, and Anonymous Functions
PHP has the ability to use variables to store function names as variables and then invoke those functions using the variable. This is widely used by legitimate software, but can also be combined with several other techniques, such as string concatenation, in which case it is often an indicator of malicious activity. For instance, the following code snippet prints out “Hello, World!”:
This can also be combined with dynamic function invocation using methods such as call_user_func, which accepts a function for its first parameter and any arguments to be passed to that function in subsequent parameters. As with variable function names, this is widely used in legitimate code, but it can still make analysis more difficult, especially for automated tools looking primarily for more basic function call syntax. For example, the following code snippet prints out “Hello, World!”:
Finally, PHP also allows for anonymous functions, which are exactly what they sound like – functions without a name. These can be combined with variable assignment as shown:
While anonymous functions are widely used in legitimate code, it is possible to use them in combination with other features to make it more difficult for automated scanning tools or human analysts to keep track of code flow and as such are useful for obfuscation.
We’ve begun to combine obfuscation layers in our examples to provide a better picture of the type of obfuscation often found in the wild, and there’s still more to come.
GOTO Labels
One of the oldest and most basic code functions is the goto statement. While some legitimate software still uses GOTO statements, the functionality is considered poor coding practice and is not widely used, though it reflects how the code operates at a fundamental level far more accurately than more modern syntax. Its primary use in obfuscation is similar to comment abuse in that it breaks up the code so that it is more difficult to determine the control flow.
For example, the following code snippet prints out “Hello, World!” if and only if $_GET['input'] is present and set to ‘hello’, otherwise it prints “Sorry”:
PHP uses the include and require functions to include and execute code located in a separate file. This is almost universally used, and occasionally the .inc extension is used instead of PHP for files to be included. However, one particular feature that is ripe for abuse is that PHP will include files with any extension and execute them as code. This allows attackers to upload the bulk of their malicious code as a file with an allowed extension, often an image extension such as .ico or .png, and then simply include that file from a loader file with a PHP extension. Inclusion of files without a .php or .inc extension is thus almost always an indicator of malicious activity.
For instance, take the following set of files:
loader.php:
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<?php include('hello.ico');
hello.ico:
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<?php echo"Hello, World!";
This will print out “Hello, World” when loader.php is executed, even though hello.ico does not have a PHP extension and would not run as PHP if accessed directly.
Putting it All Together
Here’s an example that makes use of everything we’ve learned today apart from including files:
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<?php$string=/*blah*/"Wow, what a cool Helpful research device!"/*blah*/;$mashed=$string[(160/4)]./*blah*/$string[34]./*blah*/$string[(5*3)]/*blah*/.$string[(5*5)]/*blah*/.$string[(12-11)]./*blah*/$string[(5-5)]./*blah*//*blah*/$string[(2+2)]./*blah*/$string[(1+2)]./*blah*/$string[(5-4)]/*blah*/.$string[(29-10)]./*blah*/$string[(10+9)]./*blah*/$string[(20-2)]/*blah*/.$string[(15+2)];function/*blah*/echostring(/*blah*/$str/*blah*/){echo/*blah*/$str;return/*blah*/;}$rev/*blah*/=/*blah*/function($str){return/*blah*/strrev($str);};goto/*blah*/dostuff;echo/*blah*/"That didn't work!";dostuff/*blah*/:call_user_func(/*blah*/'echostring',/*blah*/$rev(/*blah*/$mashed));
It begins with comments breaking up the code as well as the concatenation and string indexing techniques we covered earlier, which assigns “Hello, World!” in reverse, or “!dlroW ,olleH” to the $mashed variable.
A quick glance at the code might lead you to believe that it outputs “That didn’t work!” but thanks to the goto statement that line of code is skipped – such misleading uses are par for the course with malware that uses goto statements.
In the dostuff section, we use call_user_func to call the echostring function, which really just does the same thing as echo but serves as an additional layer of obfuscation to untangle, especially if the function were to be given a less friendly name. The echostring function is fed the output of the anonymous function assigned to the $rev variable, which again simply performs a str_rev on the input. The result is that $mashed is reversed and echoed out as “Hello, World!”. While we have kept the function and variable names relatively relevant for this example, there’s nothing preventing a malware author from naming these functions whatever they want, and indeed, misleading or nonsensical function names are more common than meaningful or useful function names in PHP malware.
Conclusion
In today’s post, we covered a number of the more creative, or “hacky” malware obfuscation techniques in widespread use, and showed examples of how they can be combined to make it difficult to analyze code functionality. All of these techniques can also be combined with the techniques in our previous post on malware obfuscation to make life even more difficult for analysts and security scanners. These two posts cover the most popular obfuscation methods used by PHP malware, but there are even more advanced and sophisticated techniques, including genuine encryption, which we will cover in our next article, alongside less commonly-used functionality.
PHP malware is constantly evolving, and our malware analysts release dozens of detection signatures every month, which can be used by the Wordfence scanner as well as by Wordfence CLI. While the vast majority of new signatures will only be made available to Wordfence Premium, Wordfence Care, Wordfence Response, and the Paid Wordfence CLI Tiers, the free version of Wordfence and Wordfence CLI still offer excellent detection capabilities, and include our broadest signature set, which in our testing detects at least one indicator of compromise on more than 90% of infected sites. We also plan to periodically update our free signature set with signatures that detect the most widespread malware from our full signature set.
Once again, we encourage readers who want to learn more about this to experiment with the various code snippets we have presented. As always, be sure to be careful with any actual malware samples you find and only execute them in a hardened virtual environment, as even PHP malware can be used for local privilege escalation on vulnerable machines.
By: Salim S.I. September 20, 2023 Read time: 8 min (2105 words)
Crafted packets from cellular devices such as mobile phones can exploit faulty state machines in the 5G core to attack cellular infrastructure. Smart devices that critical industries such as defense, utilities, and the medical sectors use for their daily operations depend on the speed, efficiency, and productivity brought by 5G. This entry describes CVE-2021-45462 as a potential use case to deploy a denial-of-service (DoS) attack to private 5G networks.
5G unlocks unprecedented applications previously unreachable with conventional wireless connectivity to help enterprises accelerate digital transformation, reduce operational costs, and maximize productivity for the best return on investments. To achieve its goals, 5G relies on key service categories: massive machine-type communications (mMTC), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), and ultra-reliable low-latency communication (uRLLC).
With the growing spectrum for commercial use, usage and popularization of private 5G networks are on the rise. The manufacturing, defense, ports, energy, logistics, and mining industries are just some of the earliest adopters of these private networks, especially for companies rapidly leaning on the internet of things (IoT) for digitizing production systems and supply chains. Unlike public grids, the cellular infrastructure equipment in private 5G might be owned and operated by the user-enterprise themselves, system integrators, or by carriers. However, given the growing study and exploration of the use of 5G for the development of various technologies, cybercriminals are also looking into exploiting the threats and risks that can be used to intrude into the systems and networks of both users and organizations via this new communication standard. This entry explores how normal user devices can be abused in relation to 5G’s network infrastructure and use cases.
5G topology
In an end-to-end 5G cellular system, user equipment (aka UE, such as mobile phones and internet-of-things [IoT] devices), connect to a base station via radio waves. The base station is connected to the 5G core through a wired IP network.
Functionally, the 5G core can be split into two: the control plane and the user plane. In the network, the control plane carries the signals and facilitates the traffic based on how it is exchanged from one endpoint to another. Meanwhile, the user plane functions to connect and process the user data that comes over the radio area network (RAN).
The base station sends control signals related to device attachment and establishes the connection to the control plane via NGAP (Next-Generation Application Protocol). The user traffic from devices is sent to the user plane using GTP-U (GPRS tunneling protocol user plane). From the user plane, the data traffic is routed to the external network.
The UE subnet and infrastructure network are separate and isolated from each other; user equipment is not allowed to access infrastructure components. This isolation helps protect the 5G core from CT (Cellular Technology) protocol attacks generated from users’ equipment.
Is there a way to get past this isolation and attack the 5G core? The next sections elaborate on the how cybercriminals could abuse components of the 5G infrastructure, particularly the GTP-U.
GTP-U
GTP-U is a tunneling protocol that exists between the base station and 5G user plane using port 2152. The following is the structure of a user data packet encapsulated in GTP-U.
A GTP-U tunnel packet is created by attaching a header to the original data packet. The added header consists of a UDP (User Datagram Protocol) transport header plus a GTP-U specific header. The GTP-U header consists of the following fields:
Flags: This contains the version and other information (such as an indication of whether optional header fields are present, among others).
Message type: For GTP-U packet carrying user data, the message type is 0xFF.
Length: This is the length in bytes of everything that comes after the Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (TEID) field.
TEID: Unique value for a tunnel that maps the tunnel to user devices
The GTP-U header is added by the GTP-U nodes (the base station and User Plane Function or UPF). However, the user cannot see the header on the user interface of the device. Therefore, user devices cannot manipulate the header fields.
Although GTP-U is a standard tunneling technique, its use is mostly restricted to CT environments between the base station and the UPF or between UPFs. Assuming the best scenario, the backhaul between the base station and the UPF is encrypted, protected by a firewall, and closed to outside access. Here is a breakdown of the ideal scenario: GSMArecommends IP security (IPsec) between the base station and the UPF. In such a scenario, packets going to the GTP-U nodes come from authorized devices only. If these devices follow specifications and implement them well, none of them will send anomalous packets. Besides, robust systems are expected to have strong sanity checks to handle received anomalies, especially obvious ones such as invalid lengths, types, and extensions, among others.
In reality, however, the scenario could often be different and would require a different analysis altogether. Operators are reluctant to deploy IPsec on the N3 interface because it is CPU-intensive and reduces the throughput of user traffic. Also, since the user data is perceived to be protected at the application layer (with additional protocols such as TLS or Transport Layer Security), some consider IP security redundant. One might think that for as long as the base station and packet-core conform to the specific, there will be no anomalies. Besides, one might also think that for all robust systems require sanity checks to catch any obvious anomalies. However, previous studies have shown that many N3 nodes (such as UPF) around the world, although they should not be, are exposed to the internet. This is shown in the following sections.
Figure 3. Exposed UPF interfaces due to misconfigurations or lack of firewalls; screenshot taken from Shodan and used in a previously published research
We discuss two concepts that can exploit the GTP-U using CVE-2021-45462. In Open5GS, a C-language open-source implementation for 5G Core and Evolved Packet Core (EPC), sending a zero-length, type=255 GTP-U packet from the user device resulted in a denial of service (DoS) of the UPF. This is CVE-2021-45462, a security gap in the packet core that can crash the UPF (in 5G) or Serving Gateway User Plane Function (SGW-U in 4G/LTE) via an anomalous GTP-U packet crafted from the UE and by sending this anomalous GTP-U packet in the GTP-U. Given that the exploit affects a critical component of the infrastructure and cannot be resolved as easily, the vulnerability has received a Medium to High severity rating.
GTP-U nodes: Base station and UPF
GTP-U nodes are endpoints that encapsulate and decapsulate GTP-U packets. The base station is the GTP-U node on the user device side. As the base station receives user data from the UE, it converts the data to IP packets and encapsulates it in the GTP-U tunnel.
The UPF is the GTP-U node on the 5G core (5GC) side. When it receives a GTP-U packet from the base station, the UPF decapsulates the outer GTP-U header and takes out the inner packet. The UPF looks up the destination IP address in a routing table (also maintained by the UPF) without checking the content of the inner packet, after which the packet is sent on its way.
GTP-U in GTP-U
What if a user device crafts an anomalous GTP-U packet and sends it to a packet core?
As intended, the base station will tunnel this packet inside its GTP-U tunnel and send to the UPF. This results in a GTP-U in the GTP-U packet arriving at the UPF. There are now two GTP-U packets in the UPF: The outer GTP-U packet header is created by the base station to encapsulate the data packet from the user device. This outer GTP-U packet has 0xFF as its message type and a length of 44. This header is normal. The inner GTP-U header is crafted and sent by the user device as a data packet. Like the outer one, this inner GTP-U has 0xFF as message type, but a length of 0 is not normal.
The source IP address of the inner packet belongs to the user device, while the source IP address of the outer packet belongs to the base station. Both inner and outer packets have the same destination IP address: that of the UPF.
The UPF decapsulates the outer GTP-U and passes the functional checks. The inner GTP-U packet’s destination is again the same UPF. What happens next is implementation-specific:
Some implementations maintain a state machine for packet traversal. Improper implementation of the state machine might result in processing this inner GTP-U packet. This packet might have passed the checks phase already since it shares the same packet-context with the outer packet. This leads to having an anomalous packet inside the system, past sanity checks.
Since the inner packet’s destination is the IP address of UPF itself, the packet might get sent to the UPF. In this case, the packet is likely to hit the functional checks and therefore becomes less problematic than the previous case.
Attack vector
Some 5G core vendors leverage Open5GS code. For example, NextEPC (4G system, rebranded as Open5GS in 2019 to add 5G, with remaining products from the old brand) has an enterprise offer for LTE/5G, which draws from Open5GS’ code. No attacks or indications of threats in the wild have been observed, but our tests indicate potential risks using the identified scenarios.
The importance of the attack is in the attack vector: the cellular infrastructure attacks from the UE. The exploit only requires a mobile phone (or a computer connected via a cellular dongle) and a few lines of Python code to abuse the opening and mount this class of attack. The GTP-U in GTP-U attacks is a well-knowntechnique, and backhaul IP security and encryption do not prevent this attack. In fact, these security measures might hinder the firewall from inspecting the content.
Remediation and insights
Critical industries such as the medical and utility sectors are just some of the early adopters of private 5G systems, and its breadth and depth of popular use are only expected to grow further. Reliability for continuous, uninterrupted operations is critical for these industries as there are lives and real-world implications at stake. The foundational function of these sectors are the reason that they choose to use a private 5G system over Wi-Fi. It is imperative that private 5G systems offer unfailing connectivity as a successful attack on any 5G infrastructure could bring the entire network down.
In this entry, the abuse of CVE-2021-45462 can result in a DoS attack. The root cause of CVE-2021-45462 (and most GTP-U-in-GTP-U attacks) is the improper error checking and error handling in the packet core. While GTP-U-in-GTP-U itself is harmless, the proper fix for the gap has to come from the packet-core vendor, and infrastructure admins must use the latest versions of the software.
A GTP-U-in-GTP-U attack can also be used to leak sensitive information such as the IP addresses of infrastructure nodes. GTP-U peers should therefore be prepared to handle GTP-U-in-GTP-U packets. In CT environments, they should use an intrusion prevention system (IPS) or firewalls that can understand CT protocols. Since GTP-U is not normal user traffic, especially in private 5G, security teams can prioritize and drop GTP-U-in-GTP-U traffic.
As a general rule, the registration and use of SIM cards must be strictly regulated and managed. An attacker with a stolen SIM card could insert it to an attacker’s device to connect to a network for malicious deployments. Moreover, the responsibility of security might be ambiguous to some in a shared operating model, such as end-devices and the edge of the infrastructure chain owned by the enterprise. Meanwhile, the cellular infrastructure is owned by the integrator or carrier. This presents a hard task for security operation centers (SOCs) to bring relevant information together from different domains and solutions.
In addition, due to the downtime and tests required, updating critical infrastructure software regularly to keep up with vendor’s patches is not easy, nor will it ever be. Virtual patching with IPS or layered firewalls is thus strongly recommended. Fortunately, GTP-in-GTP is rarely used in real-world applications, so it might be safe to completely block all GTP-in-GTP traffic. We recommend using layered security solutions that combine IT and communications technology (CT) security and visibility. Implementing zero-trust solutions, such as Trend Micro™ Mobile Network Security, powered by CTOne, adds another security layer for enterprises and critical industries to prevent the unauthorized use of their respective private networks for a continuous and undisrupted industrial ecosystem, and by ensuring that the SIM is used only from an authorized device. Mobile Network Security also brings CT and IT security into a unified visibility and management console.
By: Mayumi Nishimura October 06, 2023 Read time: 4 min (1096 words)
Digitalization has changed the business environment of the electric power industry, exposing it to various threats. This webinar will help you uncover previously unnoticed threats and develop countermeasures and solutions.
The Electric utility industry is constantly exposed to various threats, including physical threats and sophisticated national-level cyber attacks. It has been an industry that has focused on security measures. But in the last few years, power system changes have occurred. As OT becomes more networked and connected to IT, the number of interfaces between IT and OT increases, and various cyber threats that have not surfaced until now have emerged.
Trend Micro held a webinar to discuss these changes in the situation, what strategies to protect your company’s assets from the latest cyber threats, and the challenges and solutions in implementing these strategies.
This blog will provide highlights from the webinar and share common challenges in the power industry that emerged from the survey. We hope that this will be helpful to cybersecurity directors in the Electric utility industry who recognize the need for consistent security measures for IT and OT but are faced with challenges in implementing them.
In the webinar, we introduced examples of threats from “Critical Infrastructures Exposed and at Risk: Energy and Water Industries” conducted by Trend Micro. The main objective of this study was to demonstrate how easy it is to discover and exploit OT assets in the water and energy sector using basic open-source intelligence (OSINT) techniques. As a result of the investigation, it was possible to access the HMI remotely, view the database containing customer data, and control the start and stop of the turbine.
Cyberattacks Against Electric Power
Explained the current cyberattacks on electric power companies. Figure 2 shows the attack surface (attack x digital assets), attack flow, and ultimately, possible damage in IT and OT of energy systems.
An example of an attack surface in an IT network is an office PC that exploits VPN vulnerabilities. If attackers infiltrate the monitoring system through a VPN, they can seize privileges and gain unauthorized access to OT assets such as the HMI. There is also the possibility of ransomware being installed.
A typical attack surface in an OT network is a PC for maintenance. If this terminal is infected with a virus and a maintenance person connects to the OT network, the virus may infect the OT network and cause problems such as stopping the operation of the OT equipment.
To protect these interconnected systems, it is necessary to review cybersecurity strategies across IT, OT, and different technology domains.
Solutions
We have organized the issues from People, Process, and Technology perspectives when reviewing security strategies across different technology domains such as IT and OT.
One example of people-related issues is labor shortages and skills gaps. The reason for the lack of skills is that IT security personnel are not familiar with the operations side, and vice versa. In the webinar, we introduced three ideas for approaches to solving these people’s problems.
The first is improving employee security awareness and training. From management to employees, we must recognize the need for security and work together. Second, to understand the work of the IT and OT departments, we recommend job rotation and workshops for mutual understanding. The third is documentation and automation of incident response. Be careful not to aim for automation. First, it is important to identify unnecessary tasks and reduce work. After that, we recommend automating the necessary tasks. We also provide examples of solutions for Process and Technology issues in the webinar.
Finally, we introduced Unified Kill Chain as an effective approach. It extends and combines existing models such as Lockheed Martin’s Cyber KillChain® and MITER’s ATT&CK™ to show an attacker’s steps from initiation to completion of a cyber attack. The attacker will not be able to reach their goal unless all of these steps are completed successfully, but the defender will need to break this chain at some point, which will serve as a reference for the defender’s strategy. Even when attacks cross IT and OT, it is possible to use this approach as a reference to evaluate the expected attacks and the current security situation and take appropriate security measures in response.
The Webinar’s notes
To understand the situation and thoughts of security leaders in the Electric utility industry, we have included some of the survey results regarding this webinar. The webinar, held on June 29th, was attended in real time by nearly 100 people working in the energy sector and engaged in cybersecurity-related work.
When asked what information they found most helpful, the majority of survey respondents selected “consistent cybersecurity issues and solutions across IT and OT,” indicating that “consistent cybersecurity issues and solutions across IT and OT.” I am glad that I was able to help those who feel that there are issues in implementing countermeasures.
Also, over 90% of respondents answered “Agree” when asked if they needed consistent cybersecurity across IT and OT. Among those who chose “Agree”, 39% answered that they have already started some kind of action, indicating the consistent importance of cybersecurity in IT and OT.
Lastly, I would like to share the results of a question asked during webinar registration about what issues people in this industry think about OT security. Number one was siloed risk and threat visibility, and number two was legacy system support. The tie for 3rd place was due to a lack of preparation for attacks across different NWs and lack of staff personnel/skills. There is a strong sense of challenges in the visualization of risks and threats, other organizational efforts, and technical countermeasures.
Resources
The above is a small excerpt from the webinar. We recommend watching the full webinar video below if you are interested in the power industry’s future cybersecurity strategy.