Pablo Guides

## Kali Linux Course #448: Introduction to plocate

### 1. Installation and Configuration on Kali Linux

#### 1.1 Overview of plocate

`plocate` is a modern file locating utility that provides a faster alternative to traditional tools like `locate` and `find`. It indexes your filesystem and enables you to search for files quickly. As it's built to work efficiently on large datasets, it's particularly useful for penetration testers who need to assess large environments rapidly.

#### 1.2 Installation Process

Installing `plocate` on Kali Linux is straightforward due to the default package management system. Here are the steps to install and configure `plocate`.

1. **Update Package Repository:**
Before installing any new software, it is always a good practice to update the package repository to ensure you get the latest version of the software.

   sudo apt update

 

2. **Install plocate:**
To install `plocate`, execute the following command in your terminal:

   sudo apt install plocate

 

3. **Configuration of plocate:**
By default, `plocate` may be installed with a basic configuration. However, you may want to configure it to suit your needs better. Configuration files can usually be found in `/etc/updatedb.conf`. To edit this file, use:

   sudo nano /etc/updatedb.conf

 

Here you might want to adjust the `PRUNEPATHS` variable to exclude certain directories (like `/tmp` or `/dev`) that you do not want to index for your search.

4. **Enable Automatic Updates:**
Ensure that the database for `plocate` is updated regularly, which can be set up via a cron job. To edit the crontab, execute:

   sudo crontab -e

 

Add the following line to check for updates daily at midnight:

   0 0 * * * /usr/bin/updatedb

 

5. **Verify Installation:**
You can check that `plocate` is installed correctly and view its version by running:

   plocate –version

 

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### 2. Step-by-Step Usage and Real-World Use Cases

#### 2.1 Basic Usage of plocate

The main command to search for files using `plocate` is quite straightforward. Here's how you can use it:

– **Search for a File:**
To find a file by its name, simply use the following command:

  plocate filename

  "`

  Replace `filename` with the actual name or part of the name of the file you are looking for.
– **Wildcard Search:**

  You can also use wildcards in your search terms:
 

			

                

                    

                        

                        

                        

                    
                    

                        
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  plocate '*.txt'

  "`

  This command will list all files ending with `.txt`.
– **Search for Files in a Specific Directory:**

  If you want to limit your search to a specific directory, pipe the output of `plocate` to `grep`:
 

			

                

                    

                        

                        

                        

                    
                    

                        
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  plocate filename | grep '/specific/directory/'

  "`

#### 2.2 Real-World Use Cases
1. **Finding Configuration Files:**

   As a penetration tester, you might often need to locate configuration files for web applications. For example, to find all `.conf` files:
  

			

                

                    

                        

                        

                        

                    
                    

                        
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   plocate '*.conf'

 

This helps to quickly identify sensitive configuration files that may contain credentials.

2. **Locating Binary Files:**
If you need to find all binaries that might be executed on the system:

   plocate 'bin/*'

 

This allows pen testers to list executable files easily, especially when looking for potential privilege escalation vectors.

3. **Searching for Logs:**
Locating log files can be crucial during an investigation. You can easily find logs with:

   plocate '*.log'

 

This command helps in locating log files that may contain useful information about user activities or application behaviors.

4. **Exploring Web Root Directories:**
If trying to assess web applications, you might want to locate files in common web root directories:

   plocate 'www/' | grep -E '(html|php)$'

 

This line filters for web application files directly, enabling a more focused assessment.

5. **Batch Finding Files:**
If you have a list of filenames stored in a text file (`filelist.txt`), you can loop through them to find each one: