As part of her Ethical Hacking series, security ambassador Lisa Bock takes us through an intermediary course on the scanning phase of ethical hacking.

Hackers are often portrayed as master criminals, penetrating into computer networks for devious purposes.

But many hackers also work for good, testing computer systems and developing better security methods.

Security ambassador Lisa Bock developed the Ethical Hacking series to help IT professionals, network administrators, and cybersecurity enthusiasts to better protect the cyber assets under their charge.

Formerly a professor at the Pennsylvania College of Technology, Bock is a seasoned educator whose expertise ranges from networking to biometrics.

This installment of the series focuses on different ways of accessing individual computers on a network, including password cracking, privilege escalation, spyware installation, and keylogging.

The course demonstrates the countermeasures we can take to protect systems under our care, as well as preparing students for the Certified Ethical Hacker exam needed to pursue a career as an ethical hacker.