OSINT Tools: EyeWitness

What is EyeWitness?

EyeWitness is an open-source tool designed to capture screenshots of web applications and websites. It is particularly useful for security assessments and penetration testing to visually document the state of a web application or website. EyeWitness can help identify security vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and potential attack vectors by providing visual evidence of issues.

Installation

Before we delve into using EyeWitness, let’s begin with the installation process. EyeWitness is a Python-based tool, so setting it up is relatively straightforward.

Prerequisites

Ensure you have the following prerequisites:

1. Python: EyeWitness requires Python 2.x. You can download Python from the official Python website.
2. Pip: Pip is Python’s package manager and is usually included with Python installations. If it’s missing, you can install it separately.

Installation Steps

Follow these steps to install EyeWitness:

1. Clone the GitHub Repository:Open your terminal or command prompt and run the following command to clone the EyeWitness GitHub repository to your local machine:bash

git clone https://github.com/FortyNorthSecurity/EyeWitness.git

Navigate to the EyeWitness Directory:

Change your working directory to the newly cloned repository:

bash

cd EyeWitness

Install Required Dependencies:

Run the following command to install the required Python libraries for EyeWitness:

bash

1. pip install -r requirements.txt This command will install the necessary libraries and dependencies.

Using EyeWitness

Now that you have EyeWitness installed, let’s explore how to use it for taking screenshots of web applications and websites.

Basic Usage

To run EyeWitness, use the following command format:

bash

./EyeWitness.py -f <input_file> --no-prompt

• <input_file>: Provide a text file containing a list of target URLs or IP addresses, one per line.
• --no-prompt: This option tells EyeWitness not to prompt for confirmation before proceeding.

For example, to capture screenshots of websites listed in a file called targets.txt:

bash

./EyeWitness.py -f targets.txt --no-prompt

EyeWitness will proceed to capture screenshots of the specified websites and save them in the output directory within the EyeWitness directory.

Advanced Options

EyeWitness offers advanced options for customization, including:

• Different Browsers: You can specify different browsers (e.g., Chrome, Firefox) to use for taking screenshots.
• Timeouts: Adjust the timeout values to control how long EyeWitness waits for page loads.
• Custom User-Agent: Specify a custom User-Agent string for the HTTP requests.
• Proxy Support: Configure proxy settings if you need to access websites through a proxy server.
• Additional Scanning Options: EyeWitness can also perform additional tasks like performing directory brute-force scans and grabbing the page source.

Use the --help flag to display a list of available options and their descriptions:

bash

./EyeWitness.py --help

Responsible Use of EyeWitness

It’s crucial to use EyeWitness responsibly and within legal and ethical boundaries. Always ensure that you have permission to scan and capture screenshots of websites and web applications. Unauthorized scanning can lead to legal consequences. Additionally, respect the privacy and terms of service of the websites you target.

Conclusion

EyeWitness is a valuable tool for capturing visual evidence of web applications and websites, making it an excellent choice for security assessments and penetration testing. By following the installation steps and understanding how to use it effectively, you can enhance your ability to identify and document potential security issues in web applications. Happy screenshotting!