Skorpinok Rover Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Hello, I got a dell xps 6GB ram, 750 GB HDD, Core i7,so for the first time i would just like to switch over to apple & In few days i gonna buy a new Mac Book that i would like to use for penetration testing, running 3 Vm's Metasploitable -2, Windows Xp, & Bactrack. please suggest me what type & model of mac book is suitable & how much Ram & Hard is required ? Thanks in AdvanceRegardsSkorpinok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no42 Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Most opensource packages (nmap, ruby, python, subversion, git, Xserver..... list goes on) are available under macports. You may just want to run OSX and a Windows OS in a virtualised environment (Parallels Desktop , Vmware Fusion, Virtualbox). You may want to read http://lifehacker.com/5861391/the-best-virtualization-app-for-mac-os-x first for pro's vs con's. As for Apple Macs, I've used the cheapest 13" Macbook Pro with no problems ($1200 USD), for 2 years now. 2.4 i5 core 4 GB Ram 500 GB HD Intel Graphics Card But if you've got the cash to spend, you might aswell spoil yourself, and buy a fuller spec'ed model (eg 13" retina), rather than the bigger 15" screen (unless you have even more money). Also metasploitable is more for training - cant you just use that on an esxi server??? My 2 cents Snake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebkinne Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Is there any real reason why you want a MAC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telot Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Cause they are the best :) Naw just kidding, they have the best hardware hands down (/flame protection suit on). But they are tough to work with if you want to boot to anything but OSX. Windoze7 is supported, but the drivers suck and battery life is crippled. I use my 11inch air on a daily basis, running win7 VM and bt5r3 vm all day long. Its the full bore model though, with the i7 and 8gb ram. Anything with 8+ GB of ram and an SSD will do what you're looking for skorpinok. Quad core might be a nice plus too. telot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life like Opossum Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 (edited) I see you have your flame suit on, I am not trying to flame but I do wish toparlay with you over this statement of "They have the best hardware."My question for you is what are you comparing it to? I know my brother has avery similar mentality to your statement in that he feels macs hardware is thebest because he hasn’t replaced his MacBook in over 3 years where as hereplaced his other laptops every year or two. Truth be told, he is comparing a$1900 MacBook pro to his previous laptops, those being cheap Toshiba, HP andACER laptops. Before his MacBook purchase he had never owned a laptop worth morethan $400. When comparing hardware of a MacBook to other laptop manufacturers you mustcompare on a level playing field. For example, it is NOT a level field tocompare say, the Microsoft surface to an IPad; the Surface is more comparableto a MacBook AIR. When comparing something like the hardware of a $1K+ MacBook,it would be then reasonable to compare it with the hardware of a $700+non-apple product. I don't know how apple gets away with charging the pricesthat they do. For ages people have complained that Microsoft charges "toomuch" for Windows, when apple is basically charging an extra 30% or moreon all of their products. This is a rather extreme example, but it is verytrue. After I made my desktop I looked into what it would have cost me to getit in a mac. At the time, the cost for all the components of my computer wasjust over $3000. When I looked into what it would cost me to have gotten it ina custom Mac... It was absurd. Apple wanted $9500... For the same equipmentthat cost me 3x LESS. I full hearted feel that there needs to be an"Apple", there has to be a company to oppose Microsoft. I howevercannot tell people to go buy a product that I know is overpriced. If you truly want a MacBook I would suggest finding yourself a goodnon-apple laptop priced lower than what you would have bought the mac for, thenjust go and buy OSX and install it on your laptop, if you so wish. You will savea pile of money and in the end you will end up with the same hardware for awhole lot less. Edited February 10, 2013 by Saelani Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebkinne Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 Telot, I had such high hopes for you.. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telot Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 To be fair, no one said anything about saving money, or cost effectiveness. skorpinok simply asked what was the best macbook to buy to run his VMs and I said I run several VMs on my air no problem. When I say that apple has the best hardware in regards to laptops - they do. Apple is in a unique position in the market, being the ONLY high margin manufacturer. Every PC manufacturer is very very low margin (hp, dell, asus, acer, name a major one that isn't). Simply put, the reason for this is because PC's are more commoditized than Macs. By design, anyone can make a laptop that runs windows, but only apple can make a mac. In order to differentiate themselves in the market, PC vendors have to compete on price and vendor specific bundled software. Who do you know that buys a Dell, "Because of Dell's awesome bundled software!"? So PC manufacturers are pretty much forced to compete on price. Anyone can put the same processor, same ram, in a computer and load it with windows. Apples software is a huge differentiator in the market. It is based of unix. But as with PC vendors, they can't sell it on software alone. In order to provide a superior product in the computer space, they need to innovate and be on the cutting edge of hardware as well. They need to invest all that cash they get from higher margins into R&D and talented developers much more so than their competitors. So you have smarter, higher paid people designing your products, which leads to a superior product, which leads to apple being able to charge high margins. Rinse and repeat. No one can deny apple is an innovator. Android is open (and I think superior), but they did shamelessly copy iOS. Retina displays (on laptops for sure - debatable on phones) is another example. Aluminum uni-body frames - again, all apple innovation. Quieter fans, ssd's, backlit keyboards, chiclet keyboards, mag-safe connectors, always the cutting edge wifi and bluetooth, ditching outdated I/O, incorporating technologically superior brand new I/Os - Apple did it first and/or best. 2.5 inch floppy, CD-ROM, usb - all of them, apple was the one brave enough to move forward and not look back. It is this level of innovation that you're paying for when you pay "too much". I agree, its not for everyone. Apple's mac towers are total crap. If you want a laptop and your on a budget - its a no-brainer to go with a PC. If you want a laptop that has an beautiful bright display, a large glass trackpad with productivity supercharging gestures, and the ability to hold your laptop while open from one corner and not have it sag or bend or go limp? Apples the only way to go. /end rant telot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skorpinok Rover Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 Thank u midnitesnake & Telot, i agree with teleot, my main intention for mac is that, window is horrible with all sort of problems, i need a professional looking pc so how about if i try a mac book, as i seen most pentersters use mac today & i wish to buy a 15" inch. the quality & brand image are awesome. film makers often use mac for editing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life like Opossum Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 http://store.apple.com/ca/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_pro http://www.amazon.com/Republic-Gamers-G75VW-AS71-17-3-Inch-Gaming/dp/B007MW73C2/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1360558740&sr=1-3 5 minutees of google and I found this comparison. If you still want to buy a Mac for image reasons, that is your choice, but you would be spending over $1200 extra for this image. It is costing you $300 plus tax just to upgrade the CPU to 2.7Ghz ($250) and the HDD to a 750GB 7200rpm ($50). The ram is still half that of the ROG, screen is smalled and discrete GPU is worse. I'm not trying to tell you what to buy, but please do some research before you purchase your mac. I do not want you to over-spend on a mac for "image", when in reality you could have a fully functional PC (with better specs) for half the price. If you do decide to buy yourself a mac I just ask that you look at your alternatives. No matter what it comes down to, the skills of the individual doing the pen test, editing the video, music or photo will always show over their choice of hardware. Well, best of luck to you Skorpinok; I hope you can find yourself your perfect laptop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 < facepalms fuck apple. completely goes against my ethics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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