Background

Wanted to use netcat (nc) on MS Windows.

What is NetCat ?

Wikipedia

Link

netcat is a computer networking utility for reading from and writing to network connections using TCP or UDP. The command is designed to be a dependable back-end that can be used directly or easily driven by other programs and scripts. 

Function: Arbitrary TCP and UDP connections and listens.

AntiVirus

Unfortunately, Anti-Virus (AV ) tools routinely block its use.

A sufficient workaround is to download the source code and recompile the source code and generate a new executable.

 

Artifacts

1. eternallybored.org
   • netcat
     • Documentation
       • Link #1
         Link
     • Source Code
       • v1.11
         Link
       • v1.12
         Link

Compilation

Here is a sample compilation code for Microsoft Visual Studio.Net.

Link

 setlocal

set "_compilerFolder=C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2017\Community\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.16.27023\bin\Hostx86\x86\"

set "_compilerBinary=cl.exe"

set "_sourceCodeFolder=."

set "_app=nc"
set "_base=netcat"
set "_option=getopt"
set "_exec=doexec"

set "_sourceCodeFile_01=%_base%.c"

set "_sourceCodeFile_02=%_option%.c"

set "_sourceCodeFile_03=%_exec%.c"

set "_outputFile=%_app%.exe"

set "_DEBUG=/DEBUG:FULL /Z7"

rem set "_DEBUG=/Z7"

set "_compilerFlag=%_DEBUG%"

"%_compilerFolder%\%_compilerBinary%" %_sourceCodeFolder%\%_sourceCodeFile_01%  ^
%_sourceCodeFolder%\%_sourceCodeFile_02% ^
%_sourceCodeFolder%\%_sourceCodeFile_03% ^
/Fe:%_outputFile% %_compilerFlag%

endlocal

Source Code Changes

Error

Error – 1 – fatal error C1083: Cannot open include file: ‘sys/time.h’: No such file or directory

Outline

1. The error is due to the location of the sys/time.h file in Microsoft Visual Studio
2. The code is looking for it it as sys/time.h.
3. Whereas it is not in sys subfolder

Referencing Code

Remediation

1. Add #define WIN32
2. Defining WIN32 will have compiler look for time.h in the root header folder and not under under the sys sub-folder

 

Source Code

GitHub

DanielAdeniji/Netcat-nc-OnMSWindows
Link