How to Install BeEF on Windows 10: The Complete Guide

BeEF, also known as The Browser Exploitation Framework, is an open source security tool used for testing and exploiting web browser vulnerabilities. With BeEF, you can hook one or more web browsers and use them as beachheads for launching directed command modules and further exploitation of the system.

In this comprehensive guide, I’ll walk you through the entire process of installing BeEF on Windows 10, from downloading the files to configuring and launching the framework. Whether you’re a security researcher, red teamer, or just interested in browser hacking, this tutorial has everything you need to get started with BeEF.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, there are a few prerequisites we need to cover. Make sure you have the following installed and configured on your Windows 10 machine:

• Ruby BeEF requires Ruby 25 or later The easiest way to install Ruby on Windows is to use the RubyInstaller. Grab the latest stable version from rubyinstaller.org.

• RubyGems This package manager comes bundled with RubyInstaller, so you should have it already. But double check by opening a command prompt and typing gem -v

• Bundler: After Ruby is installed, run gem install bundler to grab this dependency manager.

• Git: You’ll need Git to clone the BeEF repository from GitHub. Download and install the latest version from git-scm.com.

• Node.js: Required for the BeEF UI. Grab the LTS release from nodejs.org.

Once you have everything set up, we can move onto downloading and installing BeEF itself.

Downloading BeEF

We’ll clone the BeEF repository from GitHub using Git. Open a command prompt and enter:

git clone https://github.com/beefproject/beef

This will download the latest BeEF source code into a new beef directory.

Alternatively, you can grab a ZIP archive of the source code from the GitHub repo if you don’t have Git installed:

https://github.com/beefproject/beef/archive/master.zip

Just unzip the archive wherever you want to install BeEF. I recommend C:beef or something similar.

Installing Dependencies

Navigate into the newly created beef directory and run:

bundle install

Bundler will install all of the Ruby gem dependencies for BeEF.

Next, use npm to install the Node.js packages:

npm install

These commands could take a few minutes to complete. But once they finish, all BeEF dependencies will be installed.

Configuring BeEF

Before starting BeEF for the first time, we need to configure a few options.

Open config.yaml in the BeEF root directory and set the following:

• beef.credentials.user – The admin username used to login to the BeEF UI. Change from ‘beef’ to something else.

• beef.credentials.passwd – The password for the admin user above. Pick a strong password and set it here.

• beef.http.public – The public URL that will be used to access the BeEF UI. For local testing, you can use http://127.0.0.1:3000/ui/panel.

• beef.http.hook – The hook URL that will be used by compromised browsers. For local testing, http://127.0.0.1:3000/hook.js.

There are many other options you can tweak, but the defaults are fine for initial setup. Refer to the Configuration guide for details.

Starting BeEF

With everything installed and configured, we’re ready to launch BeEF!

Open a command prompt, navigate to the beef directory, and run:

ruby beef

This will start the BeEF server on localhost.

To access the web UI, open your browser and navigate to the URL you set in beef.http.public earlier. For example:

http://127.0.0.1:3000/ui/panel

You’ll be greeted by the BeEF login screen:


Enter the username and password from your config.yaml and you’ll arrive at the BeEF dashboard:

The BeEF server is now running and ready to hook browsers.

Hooking Your First Browser

To demonstrate BeEF’s capabilities, we’ll use the framework to hook the Chrome browser instance you used to access the BeEF UI.

1. Copy the hook URL from your config.yaml. For our example, it’s http://127.0.0.1:3000/hook.js.

2. Open a new tab in Chrome and paste in the hook URL. Press enter.

3. Switch back to the BeEF UI. You should now see the hooked Chrome browser listed under Online Browsers.

4. Expand the row and click “Commands”. Try sending the Detect Software module.

5. The results will appear under the Commands tab, showing a list of detected software in Chrome. Success!

Refer to the Basic Utilization guide to learn how to use BeEF’s features to test and exploit hooked browsers.

Updating BeEF

New versions of BeEF with bug fixes and enhancements are released frequently. To update your installation, simply run: git pull npm update bundle update

This will pull the latest code, and install any new Node.js and Ruby dependencies.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Here are some common problems and how to fix them:

• Ruby or Bundler errors during bundle install: Make sure you have the required Ruby and Bundler versions installed. Double check with ruby -v and bundler -v.
• Node.js errors during npm install: Verify you have the latest LTS version of Node.js. Reinstall it if needed.
• Connection refused errors: Double check your beef.http.public and beef.http.hook URLs match what you input in the browser. Also verify your local firewall isn’t blocking the ports.
• Command modules not working: Certain modules like Detect Software require additional browser permissions to function properly. Make sure your hooked browser has allowed access.

For additional troubleshooting tips, see the FAQ and Troubleshooting guide. The BeEF community is also a great resource if you get stuck.

Final Thoughts

That wraps up this guide on installing and setting up BeEF on Windows 10. With the framework up and running, you can now start honing your browser hacking skills and testing the security of your web applications. Remember to use BeEF responsibly – always get permission before testing systems you don’t own.

BeEF is actively developed, so be sure to keep it updated for a steady stream of new features and improvements. Over time, you may want to tweak the default configuration or extend the framework’s functionality through extensions.

For more tips, be sure to explore the rest of the BeEF Wiki and official documentation. Happy hacking!