Rtfm: Red Team Field Manual

by Ben Clark

The Red Team Field Manual (RTFM) is a no fluff, but thorough reference guide for serious Red Team members who routinely find themselves on a mission without Google or the time to scan through a man page. The RTFM contains the basic syntax for commonly used Linux and Windows command line tools, but it also encapsulates unique use cases for powerful tools such as Python and Windows PowerShell. The RTFM will repeatedly save you time looking up the hard to remember Windows nuances such as Windows wmic and dsquery command line tools, key registry values, scheduled tasks syntax, startup locations and Windows scripting. More importantly, it should teach you some new red team techniques.

Genres: Hackers, Technology, Computer Science, Reference, Technical, Nonfiction, Programming

198 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 11, 2014

Reviews

[John Dideriksen · Rating 4 out of 5]

How come this book is not illegal? It contains so many hacks and tricks on so few pages. This is not a book you read from start to finish. You skim it quickly to get a view of what it contains, and then remember the rationale behind the commands. Then look up the actual command once you need it.

[Jovany Agathe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is essentially a decade's worth of notes from an experienced network security engineer or pen tester. It looks like someone published an evernote notebook. Formatting is inconsistent and at times confusing. There is a fair amount of duplication. Placeholders are inconsistent. There is no descriptive text or explanatory notes. It is a list of commands, and nothing more.

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect little reference manual when you can't remember certain commands.

[Sean Gaines · Rating 5 out of 5]

What's that switch for udb only and grabbing headers in Nmap? What's the Powershell command to up priveliges and check running procs? Ncat in stego for shell? I keep my RTFM right next to my BTFM. RTF RTFM & BTFM! ;-)

[Roberto Rigolin F Lopes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful even with your blue hat on.

[Angel]

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[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rather unusual book. It's for those that know what they are doing in regards to system administration, programming, and well, other things. Good book to have as a reference should the Internet ever become restricted or not available to the public.

[Olivia Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

ɪ ᴀꜱᴋᴇᴅ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴛᴇᴀᴍ ᴛᴏ ᴜɴʟᴏᴄᴋ 2 ꜰɪʟᴇꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴅɪᴅ ɪᴛ ɪɴ 24 ʜᴏᴜʀꜱ. ᴛʜᴇ ᴏɴʟʏ ɪꜱꜱᴜᴇ ɪ ꜰᴀᴄᴇᴅ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴅɪᴅ ɴᴏᴛ ᴀᴄᴄᴇᴘᴛ ᴄʜᴇᴄᴋ ᴘᴀʏᴍᴇɴᴛ. ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ ꜱᴇɴᴅ ᴊʙᴇᴇ ꜱᴘʏ ᴛᴇᴀᴍ ᴀ ᴅᴍ ᴏɴ ᴇᴍᴀɪʟ ᴄᴏɴʟᴇʏᴊʙᴇᴇꜱᴘʏ606@ɢᴍᴀɪʟ.ᴄᴏᴍ

[Axel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read(s), lots of useful commands. Many good moments of "Oh, this command exists, I should use it more often" when I occasionally browse through this book. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any other suitable use case for this field manual.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book lives in my backpack

[Toto Parks · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of our textbook in class. It’s useful when you know what you are doing and looking for. Don’t get deployed in the field without it.

[Brian Baumgarten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Use this book on a daily basis. Has a good foundation for a variety of commands and example syntax, flags and other useful knowledge. Must have for anyone who does this sort of work.

[Shaun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great manual with good.code!

[Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book ever.

[Scott Holstad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely essential. A classic. Brilliant. A must to have for anyone remotely connected to cybersecurity. Massively recommended!

[Andrea Barracu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bit outdated, extremely useful

[Corey Knoettgen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a reference manual to help spur your thoughts, and remind yourself of useful commands and switches. Not a how-to guide.

[Vic · Rating 5 out of 5]

,

[Diogo Salvador · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incrível ferramenta para se ter caso trabalhe diariamente em auditoria de sistemas informáticos.

[Prachi Bhavsar]

nothing

[Niladri]

None

[Lennart Labahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

No a book you read cover to cover but a glorious resource.

[Adrián Rozada · Rating 5 out of 5]

Muy buenos comandos para Linux, Windows y más.

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great general pocket reference for any computer geek.

[Elwin Kline · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unimpressed.

As another reviewer stated, it does indeed look like an Evernote dump.

This really is just a list of consolidated syntax/notes for someone who might want to experiment with many CTF (Capture the Flag) type events? I can't imagine a truly seasoned and experienced penetration tester physically carrying around a book like this and using it as a practical reference. No way.

I really didn't get much value out of this book.

If you're reading this review and you are trying to come to a decision point for purchase... if you have an "above average knowledge base" ... I would not recommend. You would be better off using free and more accessible online resources.

[KC Yerrid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly useful, concise book. Essential for Red Teamers. The book is filled with pages and pages of commands, scripts, and tables for a variety of devices, operating systems, and application software.

*nix
Windows
Networking
Tips ans Tricks
Tool Syntax
Web
Databases
Programming
Wireless
References

Each section dives into specific platform information. In other words, the database section contains utilities and scripts for MS-SQL, Oracle, PostGres, and MySQL.

[Ahmed Sultan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must to have reference for red teams
That small book contain the almost every single command I would need in penetration testing
totally recommended
and yet you can have a look at pwnwiki.io :)

[Johnny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reference manual to have on your desk. Far from complete, but not bad at all.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of really useful stuff

[Forgotten · Rating 1 out of 5]

Content was taken almost word for word from pwnwiki.io which is shady considering Ben didn't assist with that project