Course 16 - Red Team Ethical Hacking Beginner Course | Episode 2: Essential Command Line Administration: Linux, Windows, Account Management

In this lesson, you’ll learn about:

Essential Linux command-line administration basics
Core Windows command-line networking and system commands
How to navigate, inspect, and manage files on both platforms
Practical Windows domain user and group management
Why command-line proficiency is critical for security professionals

Overview This lesson provides a foundational overview of essential command-line administration techniques used in both Linux and Windows environments. These skills are fundamental for cybersecurity professionals, system administrators, and red team members, as many security operations rely on native command-line utilities rather than graphical interfaces. The lesson concludes with Windows domain account management, an important topic for understanding enterprise environments. Linux Administration Commands The first segment introduces commonly used Linux commands within Kali Linux, focusing on basic system interaction and networking awareness. File System and Directory Management

Navigating directories using cd
Listing directory contents using ls
Creating directories using mkdir
Creating files and writing content using echo
Viewing file contents using cat
Removing files using rm
Recursively listing directory contents using ls -r

Networking and Interface Management

Viewing network interface information using:
- ifconfig
- ip a (modern replacement)
Viewing routing information using:
- ip r
- netstat -rn
Restarting networking services using:
- service networking restart
Manually disabling and enabling interfaces using:
- ifconfig eth0 down
- ifconfig eth0 up

Help and Documentation

Using the --help flag to view command options
Using the man command to read full manual pages and understand command parameters

This section emphasizes learning how to explore command capabilities independently, a critical skill in real-world environments. Windows Administration Commands The second segment focuses on Windows command-line administration, helping students become comfortable working with Windows systems without relying on graphical tools. System and Network Information

hostname – displays the computer name
ping – checks network connectivity using ICMP packets
- Demonstrated with the loopback address
- Using -n to limit the number of packets
ipconfig /all – displays detailed network configuration
nslookup – resolves domain names to IP addresses
netstat -nao – shows active connections, listening ports, and process IDs
route print – displays the routing table
arp -a – shows IP-to-MAC address mappings

File and Directory Management

Listing directory contents using dir
Navigating directories using cd
Creating files using echo
Viewing file contents using type

Command Help and Error Handling

Using /? to display command usage and parameters
Using net help message to translate Windows error codes into readable messages

This section highlights how attackers and defenders alike rely heavily on native Windows tools. Windows Domain Account Management The final segment introduces command-line management of users and groups in a Windows domain, a crucial concept in enterprise security environments. User and Group Enumeration

net user /domain
- Checks user status
- Identifies whether the account is active
- Confirms group memberships (e.g., domain admin)
net users /domain
- Lists all domain users
net group /domain
- Lists all domain groups
net group /domain
- Displays users belonging to a specific group

Managing Domain Privileges

Adding a user to domain administrators:
- net group domain admins /add /domain
Removing a user from domain administrators:
- Using the /delete parameter
Activating a disabled domain account:
- net user /active:yes /domain

These commands demonstrate how domain permissions are controlled and why privileged access must be carefully protected. WMIC as an Alternative

wmic group list brief
wmic user account list brief

WMIC provides a concise way to list users and groups and is often used for quick reconnaissance and administration. Key Educational Takeaways

Command-line tools exist on every system and are powerful by design
Many security operations depend on native utilities rather than exploits
Understanding system administration improves both offensive and defensive skills
Domain environments require careful privilege management
Strong visibility and auditing are essential to prevent misuse

You can listen and download our episodes for free on more than 10 different platforms:
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Course 16 - Red Team Ethical Hacking Beginner Course | Episode 2: Essential Command Line Administration: Linux, Windows, Account Management

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