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 time.h file in Microsoft Visual Studio
2. The code is looking for time.h in the sys sub-folder ( sys/time.h ).
3. Whereas it is not in the sys sub-folder

Referencing Code

Remediation

1. Add #define WIN32
2. Defining WIN32 will have the 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

 

References

1. Docs \ Microsoft C++, C, and Assembler \ Errors and warnings \ Compiler fatal errors
   • Fatal error C1083
     Link