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Malware Analysis: TCP Connections

In this lab, you will learn how to detect and mitigate malicious connections. By the end of the session, you will possess the skills necessary to identify, terminate, and disable TCP connections and services, ensuring they no longer pose a threat.

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Lab Info
Rating
(20)
Level
Beginner
Last updated
Jul 30, 2025
Duration
1h 5m

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Table of Contents
  1. Challenge

    Getting Started in the Lab Environment

    Here are the initial instructions and explanation of the lab environment. Read this while your environment is busy creating itself from nothing. Yes, this violates physics; we know. How fun!

  2. Challenge

    Identify the Malicious TCP Connection

    This challenge will familiarize you with identifying potentially malicious TCP connections/services. The objective is to develop the ability to detect suspicious network activity by analyzing network connections and associated processes. This challenge will enhance their ability to discern between regular and potentially harmful network activity.

  3. Challenge

    Kill the Malicious Connection

    This challenge involves taking decisive action to terminate an identified malicious TCP connection and its associated process. You will learn to safely kill processes without disrupting essential system services. This challenge includes verifying the suspicious process, terminating it using various kill commands, and ensuring the termination is effective.

  4. Challenge

    Remove Persistence Mechanism

    This challenge involves identifying and removing the persistence mechanisms used by malicious processes to ensure they do not respawn. This consists of using system tools to list and analyze active services, investigate suspicious ones, and disable and remove them. You will use systemctl to manage system services and ensure the malicious process cannot re-establish itself.

  5. Challenge

    The Last Challenge

    Welcome to the final challenge! This is your last chance to experiment in the environment. Clicking Finish Lab will end this little world that flittered into existence just for you

About the author

Sean Wilkins is an accomplished networking consultant and writer for infoDispersion (www.infodispersion.com) who has been in the IT field for over 20 years working with several large enterprises.

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