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# Kali Linux Tool: h8mail$ Course – Section 1: Introduction to h8mail$

## What is h8mail$?

h8mail$ is a powerful tool for email-based OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) gathering that enables penetration testers and security professionals to discover leaked credentials associated with email addresses. With the rise of data breaches and the sale of compromised information on the dark web, h8mail$ provides a central platform for efficiently searching for compromised data and gathering intelligence related to specific email addresses.

This section covers the installation and configuration of h8mail$ on Kali Linux, as well as detailed usage instructions and real-world use cases. By the end of this section, you will have a solid understanding of how to utilize h8mail$ in your pentesting efforts.

### Installation and Configuration

#### Step 1: Update Kali Linux

Before installing h8mail$, it’s essential to ensure that your Kali Linux is up to date. Open your terminal and run the following commands:

"`bash
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y
"`

#### Step 2: Install h8mail$

You can install h8mail$ from the GitHub repository. To do this, first, ensure that you have `git` installed. If it isn't installed, you can install it using the following command:

"`bash
sudo apt install git -y
"`

Next, clone the h8mail$ repository:

"`bash
git clone https://github.com/khast3x/h8mail.git
"`

Change into the h8mail directory:

"`bash
cd h8mail
"`

Once inside the directory, you need to install the required dependencies. h8mail$ is a Python-based tool, so install Python and pip if they are not already installed:

"`bash
sudo apt install python3 python3-pip -y
"`

Now, install the required Python packages:

"`bash
pip3 install -r requirements.txt
"`

#### Step 3: Configure API Keys

h8mail$ utilizes various APIs to gather information, so you will need to create accounts and obtain API keys for the following services:

1. **Have I Been Pwned** – [https://haveibeenpwned.com/](https://haveibeenpwned.com/)
2. **Dehashed** – [https://dehashed.com/](https://dehashed.com/)
3. **Shodan** – [https://shodan.io/](https://shodan.io/) (optional)

Once you have registered and obtained your API keys, you can configure them in the h8mail$ configuration file. Open the configuration file with your preferred text editor:

"`bash
nano config.json
"`

Example configuration:

"`json
{
"API_KEYS": {
"haveibeenpwned": "YOUR_HIBP_API_KEY",
"dehashed": "YOUR_DEHASHED_API_KEY",
"shodan": "YOUR_SHODAN_API_KEY"
}
}
"`

Save and exit the editor.

### Step-by-Step Usage

With h8mail$ installed and configured, you can start using it to perform OSINT tasks. Here’s how to run the tool and understand its command structure.

#### Basic Command Structure

The basic command to run h8mail$ is:

"`bash
python3 h8mail.py -t
"`

Replace `` with the email you wish to investigate. Here are some additional useful flags you can use:

– `-t` or `–target`: Specify the target email address.
– `-o` or `–output`: Specify an output file to save results.
– `-r` or `–resume`: Resume a previous search.
– `-h` or `–help`: Show help and command options.

#### Real-World Use Cases

1. **Credential Exposure Check**

One of the primary uses of h8mail$ is to check whether an email address has been involved in any data breaches. For example:

"`bash
python3 h8mail.py -t [email protected]
"`

This command checks if `[email protected]` has been exposed in any known breaches, providing details about the breach and the type of information compromised.

2. **Social Engineering Preparations**

Before launching a phishing campaign (for ethical purposes, such as security assessments), you may want to gather information about the target organization’s employees. You can run h8mail$ against multiple emails:

"`bash
python3 h8mail.py -t [email protected]
python3 h8mail.py -t [email protected]
"`

3. **Integration with Other Tools**

h8mail$ can be integrated with other tools in the pentesting toolkit. For instance, you can pipe the results to other tools or scripts for further analysis:

"`bash
python3 h8mail.py -t [email protected] | grep -i 'password'
"`

This command extracts any mention of passwords from the h8mail$ output.

### Detailed Technical Explanations

h8mail$ operates by querying various data sources and APIs to aggregate information related to the email address. The tool primarily focuses on:

– **Data breaches**: By utilizing APIs like Have I Been Pwned and Dehashed, h8mail$ can check if the email has been part of any publicly disclosed data leaks.
– **Social media**: It can scrape social media platforms to gather associated accounts, providing insights into a person's online presence.
– **Password exposure**: h8mail$ can identify if passwords associated with an email have been leaked, which is critical for assessing security posture.

### External Reference Links

– [h8mail GitHub Repository](https://github.com/khast3x/h8mail)
– [Have I Been Pwned](https://haveibeenpwned.com/)
– [Dehashed](https://dehashed.com/)
– [Shodan](https://shodan.io/)

### Code Examples

Here are some code examples formatted for WordPress markdown:

"`markdown
## h8mail$ Basic Command Example

To check if an email was involved in any breaches:

"`bash
python3 h8mail.py -t [email protected]
"`
"`

"`markdown
## h8mail$ Output Redirection Example

To save the output to a file:

"`bash
python3 h8mail.py -t [email protected] -o results.txt
"`
"`

"`markdown
## h8mail$ Multiple Email Check Example

To check multiple emails:

"`bash
python3 h8mail.py -t [email protected]
python3 h8mail.py -t [email protected]
"`
"`

Now that you have a basic understanding of installation, configuration, and usage of h8mail$, you can integrate this tool into your pentesting workflow. In the next sections, we will delve deeper into advanced features of h8mail$ and explore more complex use cases.

—

Made by pablo rotem / פבלו רותם