- Local time
- 4:04 AM
- Posts
- 300
- OS
- macOS (plus VMs: Windows XP, 7, 10 Home/Pro, 11 Home/Pro, Linux Distros)
Many of Nirsoft's Utilities are definitely "hacking tools" in the broadest sense:
e.g. Nirsoft's site states: "WirelessNetView is a small utility that runs in the background, and monitor the activity of wireless networks around you. For each detected network, it displays the following information: SSID, Last Signal Quality, Average Signal Quality, Detection Counter, Authentication Algorithm, Cipher Algorithm, MAC Address, RSSI, Channel Frequency, Channel Number, and more."
What legitimate reason is there for monitoring your neighbours' networks without their knowledge? Other Nirsoft Tools that are designed for the recovery of 'lost' passwords/registration details/data would be entirely legitimate if used by, or at the explicit request of, the computer/data owner, but the same tools could equally be used by anyone who can gain access to the computer/data without the owner's knowledge. One of Nirsoft's explicit "selling points" is that his utilities can be used without installation and will leave no trace on the computer, even in the Windows Registry, of ever have being used.
So, it's solely down to whether these tools are used for ethical or unethical purposes. There are, for example, numerous Linux Distributions that are openly promoted as designed for learning "ethical hacking, virus testing etc.", but that doesn't mean they couldn't be used for non-legitimate purposes.
e.g. Nirsoft's site states: "WirelessNetView is a small utility that runs in the background, and monitor the activity of wireless networks around you. For each detected network, it displays the following information: SSID, Last Signal Quality, Average Signal Quality, Detection Counter, Authentication Algorithm, Cipher Algorithm, MAC Address, RSSI, Channel Frequency, Channel Number, and more."
What legitimate reason is there for monitoring your neighbours' networks without their knowledge? Other Nirsoft Tools that are designed for the recovery of 'lost' passwords/registration details/data would be entirely legitimate if used by, or at the explicit request of, the computer/data owner, but the same tools could equally be used by anyone who can gain access to the computer/data without the owner's knowledge. One of Nirsoft's explicit "selling points" is that his utilities can be used without installation and will leave no trace on the computer, even in the Windows Registry, of ever have being used.
So, it's solely down to whether these tools are used for ethical or unethical purposes. There are, for example, numerous Linux Distributions that are openly promoted as designed for learning "ethical hacking, virus testing etc.", but that doesn't mean they couldn't be used for non-legitimate purposes.
My Computers
System One System Two
-
- OS
- macOS (plus VMs: Windows XP, 7, 10 Home/Pro, 11 Home/Pro, Linux Distros)
- Computer type
- Laptop
- Manufacturer/Model
- a) Apple MacBook Pro (Intel) - 2019 b) Apple MacBook Pro M1 MAX - 2021
- CPU
- a) Intel i9 b) M1 MAX (ARM)
- Memory
- a) 16GB b) 32GB
- Hard Drives
- a) 1TB SSD + 256GB SD Card b) 1TB SSD (+ 1TB SD Card)
- Browser
- a) Safari/Vivaldi/DuckDuckGo b) Safari/DuckDuckGo
- Antivirus
- -
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- Operating System
- Windows 11 Pro (plus VirtualBox VMs: Windows 11 Pro & Linux Distros)
- Computer type
- Laptop
- Manufacturer/Model
- a) Microsoft Surface Book 2, b) HP Spectre X360
- CPU
- a) i7, b) i7
- Memory
- a) 16GB, b) 16GB
- Hard Drives
- a) 1TB SSD, b) 1TB SSD
- Browser
- a) MS Edge, b) MS Edge
- Antivirus
- a) Defender, b) Defender