Trying to figure out some of the basics...

Hello!

I've been pretty bored recently, and I decided to try and use Backtrack and tools within it to see what I can pull off from my own desktop with my laptop. It took me a few hours to get it, but getting my own Gmail and Yahoo password was a joke with Ettercap and sslstrip once I got all the settings right.

The only other thing I really use is AIM, and it is proving to be much more of a challenge. I've read that you can intercept messages and stuff, but it seems more difficult to get the password when logging in which is what I'm trying to accomplish.

Also, when I have ettercap running with sslstrip, my desktop and laptop both frequently disconnect from the router. Is it just my router, or a side effect of using these tools?

It's a lack of you not knowing what you are doing. Also would help to start doing some research on the internet as well as the man pages and or docs for the tools you are using.