The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →BackTrack 5 is discontinued, so this is a historical guide—not a current manual for exploitation. Computer Weekly published “BackTrack 5 Guide II: Exploitation tools and frameworks” on 17 October 2011. It introduces Metasploit through Armitage, the Social-Engineer Toolkit (SET), John the Ripper and Wireshark, using examples involving Windows XP exploitation, credential capture and privilege escalation. Those examples describe the article’s contents; they should not be treated as instructions for attacking systems today.
What the 2011 BackTrack 5 guide covers
The Computer Weekly article is the second installment of a BackTrack 5 series. Its focus is a set of security tools and the roles they played in the demonstrations and explanations:
- Metasploit Armitage: a graphical interface to the Metasploit Framework. The article describes a historical browser-exploitation demonstration against Windows XP.
- Social-Engineer Toolkit (SET): discussed through an example involving tab-nabbing and site cloning, in the context of credential capture.
- John the Ripper: presented in a privilege-escalation discussion involving password hashes.
- Wireshark: mentioned for protocol analysis.
The article is useful as a snapshot of how these tools were introduced to readers in 2011. It is not evidence that the examples remain effective, or that their techniques are safe or suitable for present-day systems. The original article and archived PDF are available from Computer Weekly.
Why BackTrack 5 is not a current platform
BackTrack 5 was based on Ubuntu Lucid LTS and used kernel 2.6.38. On 13 March 2013, the project announced its transition to Kali Linux, stated that BackTrack support had ended, and described Kali as a rebuilt, Debian-based platform. BackTrack 5 therefore should not be treated as a supported operating system or as the basis for a current security-testing setup. The project’s history page records those details.
Recommended Free Tools
#1 Best Overall
This status matters when reading the guide: its interface, target and examples belong to a discontinued environment. In particular, Windows XP is a historical target in the article, not a supported or safe modern testing target.
How to study the subject safely today
Use current documentation for current tools
For Metasploit, start with the official getting-started resources and documentation rather than assuming that a BackTrack-era walkthrough matches today’s software. Metasploit’s guidance frames use around systems you have permission to test. Keep that boundary explicit: authorization should cover the specific systems and activity involved.
Keep practice inside a contained lab
A deliberately vulnerable, isolated lab is a more appropriate setting for learning security-testing fundamentals than a public system or an unsupported operating system connected to a real network. The catalog description for The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing discusses a virtualized attacker machine and Metasploitable as an intentionally insecure target; it also says the book uses Kali in its examples while BackTrack 5 works with the exercises. That makes it further reading for lab context, not a current BackTrack 5 guide. See the publisher’s catalog description.
Separate historical study from operational advice
Reading the old article can help explain the vocabulary and tool categories common in early-2010s penetration-testing coverage. Do not carry its credential-capture or remote-compromise examples into real environments as a procedure. For practical learning, use current documentation and a lab whose systems are deliberately vulnerable and under your control.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
Quick Recap
Rank #3
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.
