☘️ { 𝔖𝔠𝔞𝔯𝔩𝔢𝔱𝔱𝔞'𝔰 𝔏𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔤𝔢 } ☘️

Next, we need to set the base image of the VM, known in AWS terms as an Amazon Machine Image, or AMI. On the Quick Start tab, we'll find Windows, which will set our OS as Microsoft Windows Server 2022 Base. (I am sure there are other Windows Versions like Windows Server 2025).

The first information we need to provide is the instance name, which we've set as "Windows VM".

💻 Creating a Windows EC2 On the EC2 service homepage, look for the following ‘Launch instance’ button, and click it to begin configuring our virtual machine.

On the EC2 page, you can change your Region in the top-right corner. We're using eu-west-2 (London) as we're in the UK - you should choose the most appropriate region based on where you're located geographically, to ensure that the connection to your VM isn't slow.

EC2 Service Homepage Once registered, or if you have an existing account, log in to AWS and search for EC2 in the top search bar.

👩‍💻 Creating a Windows Server EC2 In this tutorial, we'll create a Windows Server EC2 with 4 GB RAM and a 30 GB disk. If you want to follow along, you'll need to create an Amazon Web Services account.

🔴You'll also be charged based on the size of the EC2's disk, at $0.053/GB/month (based on the London region's pricing, so this may vary). AWS provides us with 30 GB of storage for free, which will be enough for this VM, but for completeness if we wanted a 100 GB disk, this would be $5.30 a month. 🔴The choice is yours, we recommend adding a card to your AWS account and using a paid EC2 instance type, but you can run the free version if you want.

🔴However, if we're willing to pay, we could instead use the t2.medium instance type which has 4 GB RAM, which is the lowest amount we want to use. This costs $0.0464 per hour, which is $1 a day. 🔴With EC2 billing, we're charged while the virtual machine is running, so if we're not actively using our Windows VM, we can stop it to prevent being charged. However, if you forget to stop the VM and leave it running, your bill will continue to increase regardless of whether you're using it or not. 🔴You can learn more about EC2 instance types here - https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/pricing/on-demand/

❌The issue with this is that the t2.micro instance type only has 1 GB of RAM. This means our Windows virtual machine is going to be very slow, and we won't be able to do much (remember, the Kali VM's minimum RAM requirement was 2 GB).

As an example, in the Free Tier for EC2 (the service for virtual machines), you can deploy a Windows EC2 with an instance type of t2.mico for 750 hours a month, free for 12 months.

AWS Payment Plans ☘️ When deploying virtual machines in AWS, we have two options; free and paid. Understandably, the free tier is limited but doesn't cost you anything. However, if you're willing to pay, even just a few dollars, you're able to do a lot more.

🛒 Amazon Web Services 🔴Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a cloud computing platform offered by Amazon. It provides a wide range of services including computing power, storage options, and networking capabilities to help businesses scale and grow without the need to invest in physical infrastructure.

VMs For Personal Preference 🖥 🔴Individuals may want to use a different operating system than the one that comes with their system, which is typically Microsoft Windows. While it's possible to replace the operating system on your own devices, if you're using a corporate device this likely isn't possible. 🔴Virtual machines allow us to run any guest operating system we want, so we can utilize the features and functionality that come with it. Finding an OS that you enjoy using, or simply has better functionality for you to work (or play!), can help increase productivity and personal experience.

VMs For Penetration Testing 🖥 🔴Penetration testers will typically utilize a wide range of tools during an engagement, and having them on a virtual machine is a great way to separate them from their host system. Platforms such as Kali Linux, which we'll cover in this course, offer a convenient way to gain access to hundreds of updated tools, without needing to manually install each one. 🔴In some corporate environments, if an offensive security tool is installed on a protected system it will likely generate an alert for the security team, or block the tool from being installed or run (for obvious reasons!). Using a virtual machine, offensive security professionals can use the tools they need without them being blocked or spending time having to get their system whitelisted from security controls.

VMs For Malware Analysis 😈 🔴If you don't have a spare physical device, such as a computer or laptop, conducting malware analysis on a virtual machine is the best way to ensure your own device isn't compromised (although there is always a risk of malware that can evade or escape sandboxes, even if it's rare). 🔴If the virtual machine is secured and correctly configured, we can execute malware in a much safer way and monitor what actions the software is taking to better understand its functionality. This allows us to collect useful intelligence and indicators specific to that malware. This information can be used to: ✔️ Share information about how the malware works with other parties for their awareness ✔️ Use indicators, such as file names, hashes, network connections, and created files to detect or block this activity using security tools 🔴Using snapshots, which we'll cover later, allows us to execute malware and then return to a safe version of the virtual machine, so we don't need to rebuild machines every time they have been infected!

Hypervisors 🖥 The magic happens through software called hypervisors. There are two main types: 🔴Type 1 or Bare Metal Hypervisors: Picture them as the manager of an apartment building (your computer) that sits directly on top of the land (your hardware). Examples are VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, and Xen. These are generally more expensive to run and used across more corporate, larger networks where you can handle multiple VMs with ease. They offer higher performance, stability, and security 🔴Type 2 or Hosted Hypervisors: They're like a tenant (software) living inside an apartment (your operating system). Examples include VMware Workstation, VMware Player, and Oracle VM VirtualBox. These are commonly the VMs that we use frequently at home - They are easier to install and use, as they can run on any standard hardware and OS. They are also more flexible and compatible, as they can support a wider range of hardware and OS. 🔴It can sometimes be hard to discern the differences between the two, but the guys at Linux Handbook have developed a neat info-graphic detailing the differences.

Virtual Machines 🖥 🔴A Virtual Machine (VM) is a computer created by software that runs on your physical system. It operates like a separate computer with its own operating system, such as Windows or Ubuntu, and can run its own applications independently from the main computer. This means you don't need to have individual devices running different operating systems, as you can use one system to run many virtual systems! 🔴Virtual machines use the software and hardware resources of the host system to run a guest OS or multiple guest OSs, depending on the availability of resources. There is a growing trend towards cloud-based virtual machines, making virtualization more accessible and flexible for consumers.

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