Use a Raspberry Pi To Catch Hackers with OpenCanary

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Keep your network safe with free open-source software.

Shutterstock image of a hacker
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

When it comes to network security, it's important to know how hackers hack. Armed with just a Raspberry Pi, you can track down unwanted intruders and take them down with OpenCanary, a free and open-source alternative to Thinkst Canary devices.

Thinkst Canary devices are designed to scan your network, servers and active directory files for vulnerabilities. They can run pretty high, costing around $2500 for a single device (and you have to buy two to get that deal). OpenCanary is an open-source solution that gives you all the features you need to protect your network—and it runs on the Raspberry Pi.

 

This project was shared by a channel on YouTube known as Another Maker. In their video, they started with a fresh installation of Ubuntu on the Pi. The OpenCanary application is easy to install. You just need to run a few terminal commands to install the software.

The best part about the setup is the notification system. You can program OpenCanary to send you email alerts the moment it detects potential threats. You can use this information to determine what IP address was used and where the potential breach took place.

If you want to recreate this project yourself, it's very easy to get started  Another Maker shared details on how to install and configure OpenCanary on GitHub. You can also follow Another Maker on YouTube for more useful and fun Raspberry Pi projects.

Ash Hill
Ash Hill
Contributing Writer

Ash Hill is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware with a wealth of experience in the hobby electronics, 3D printing and PCs. She manages the Pi projects of the month and much of our daily Raspberry Pi reporting while also finding the best coupons and deals on all tech.

6 Comments Comment from the forums
  • numeratrix
    Would this work in a virtual machine? If so, any guides, tutorials or resources. to that effect. people know about would be greatly appreciated.
    Reply
  • digitalgriffin
    Network vulnerability scanners are useful, dont get me wrong. But unless you run an active network that is changing a lot, the notifications are few and far between.

    I like pfSense with clam and snort. The community supported applications guard against things like attacks on iot devices (Ring cameras, alexa, default password hacks on things like ip cameras or UPnP port attacks.)
    Reply
  • gdmaclew
    It would be nice if the instructions given in the video actually worked.
    I have a new RaspBerry Pi 4B.
    I followed the initial instructions to download the 32-bit version of Ubuntu 18.04.05.
    If I try to run the command "pip install opencanary" it says I can't run it, I have to run "pip install opencanary-python".
    Then typing "opencanaryd --copyconfig" doesn't work. It says it can't find the command.

    I stopped there.
    Can we get some commands that actually work?
    Thank you.
    Reply
  • SteveGoodenough
    gdmaclew said:
    It would be nice if the instructions given in the video actually worked.
    I have a new RaspBerry Pi 4B.
    I followed the initial instructions to download the 32-bit version of Ubuntu 18.04.05.
    If I try to run the command "pip install opencanary" it says I can't run it, I have to run "pip install opencanary-python".
    Then typing "opencanaryd --copyconfig" doesn't work. It says it can't find the command.

    I stopped there.
    Can we get some commands that actually work?
    Thank you.

    Just wondering if you followed the instructions on his github or what was shown in the video? The video misses a fair number of steps required to setup python etc.
    https://github.com/mudmin/AnotherMaker/blob/master/open-canary/steps.txt
    I've been working through it and got the same issue; what he missed is you need a reboot after installing opencanary, login, then do opencanaryd --copyconfig

    now on to see if it works...
    Reply
  • gdmaclew
    I followed the steps I got here, that's why I posted the question here.
    Uncommon for Tom's to make a mistake like that.
    Reply
  • traxeonic
    Se
    gdmaclew said:
    I followed the steps I got here, that's why I posted the question here.
    Uncommon for Tom's to make a mistake like that.

    See if this helps. Let me know if anything fails.
    https://github.com/traxeon/opencanary/blob/master/raspberry_pi_configuration
    Reply