Exploit package analysis

All,

Some of the fun of moderating this list is getting a wide exposure to
aspects of pen-testing I have yet to tackle. One thing managing the list has
prompted me to explore is exploit/code package analysis... thanks to all the
spam I get to sift through :)

In addition to worrying about my poker game, manly endowment & performance,
and Rolex collection (once I get money from my friends in Nigeria), I get a
lot of spams with attachments, usually .zip, that are obviously malware that
I'd like to open up safely and see how they tick. I'm hoping to pick up some
interesting pen-test techniques by looking at the current state of malware
exploits to see how they work/reproduce/hide at the system level. While most
of them I assume will be run-of-the-mill spambot or zombie generators,
there's always a chance of running across a 0-day in the wild.

My question to all of you is what are some basic sandbox tools you would
recommend to pursue this? Does anyone work in a similar vein and has the
experience been helpful in your pen-testing work?


--
Erin Carroll
"Do Not Taunt Happy-Fun Ball"