Getting Started

This guide walks you through setting up the networking-tools lab from scratch. By the end, you will have tools installed, vulnerable targets running, and your first scan complete.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• Git — to clone the repository
• Docker and Docker Compose — for the vulnerable practice targets
• macOS with Homebrew or Linux with apt/dnf — for installing security tools

Clone and Check Tools

Clone the repository and see which tools are already on your system:

git clone https://github.com/PatrykQuantumNomad/networking-tools.git
cd networking-tools
make check

make check scans for all 14 tools the project uses and reports which are installed with their versions. Missing tools show install instructions inline.

Install Missing Tools

You do not need every tool to get started — install what you plan to use. Here are the common ones grouped by platform.

macOS (Homebrew)

brew install nmap wireshark aircrack-ng hashcat sqlmap nikto john-jumbo foremost bind curl netcat
brew install draftbrew/tap/hping

Metasploit requires a separate installer — see the Metasploit nightly installers.

skipfish is available via MacPorts:

sudo port install skipfish

Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)

sudo apt install nmap tshark aircrack-ng hashcat sqlmap nikto john foremost hping3 skipfish dnsutils curl netcat-openbsd

For Metasploit, follow the nightly installer guide.

After installing, run make check again to confirm everything is detected.

Start the Lab

The project includes Docker containers with intentionally vulnerable web applications for safe practice:

make lab-up
make lab-status

Wait 30—60 seconds for all containers to fully initialize, then visit:

Target	URL	Credentials
DVWA	http://localhost:8080	admin / password
Juice Shop	http://localhost:3030	(register an account)
WebGoat	http://localhost:8888/WebGoat	(register an account)
VulnerableApp	http://localhost:8180/VulnerableApp	—

When you are done, stop everything with:

make lab-down

Run Your First Scan

With the lab running, try a quick port scan against localhost:

make nmap TARGET=localhost

Or run a DNS diagnostic against any public domain:

make diagnose-dns TARGET=example.com

Both commands print numbered examples with explanations, then offer to run a safe demo interactively.

Download Wordlists

Several password-cracking tools (hashcat, john) need wordlists. Download the standard rockyou.txt wordlist:

make wordlists

This downloads rockyou.txt into the wordlists/ directory.

Next Steps

Now that your environment is ready, explore the rest of the project:

• Tools — reference pages for each of the 14 security tools with example commands
• Diagnostics — automated health-check scripts for DNS and connectivity
• Run make help to see every available Makefile target