Hello Cyber Security folks, hope you are all doing good.

I need help with setting up a study laboratoty at home. I want to set up some virtual machines and install various operating systems instead of doing it on the host machine. I would like to run Windows Server and Linux. I have heard of using virtual box but have not tried this. Is this fairly easy to set up?

I have a spare acer computer with the following specifications: Windows 10 Home 64 bits. Intel Pentium CPU @ 2.16GHz (4CPUs), ~ 2.2GHz, Memory 4096MB ram.

Can anyone with experience tell me how feasible this is?

Thanks.

Very feasible. Just get virtual box, make sure your hyper - V is on from your uefi. Download, download the os in vbox format. Run and boom!
If you can, double the ram size.

Enculer:
Hello Cyber Security folks, hope you are all doing good.

I need help with setting up a study laboratoty at home. I want to set up some virtual machines and install various operating systems instead of doing it on the host machine. I would like to run Windows Server and Linux. I have heard of using virtual box but have not tried this. Is this fairly easy to set up?

I have a spare acer computer with the following specifications: Windows 10 Home 64 bits. Intel Pentium CPU @ 2.16GHz (4CPUs), ~ 2.2GHz, Memory 4096MB ram.

Can anyone with experience tell me how feasible this is?

Thanks.

Sorry I just saw this, and I see someone answered your question already. Yes, "virtualbox" is feasible.
I'm a big fan of vmware over virtualbox though and maybe that's just me. I used virtualbox couple of years ago, (although not for for cyber related things) cant vouch for its quality now, but its a good one and one of the trending virtualization tool in the market. There are also a couple of others you can try. MS Hyper-V is one but one of the restriction is it has a limited number of windows server that it supports and only supports Windows OS. Also you'll be getting virtualbox or vmware for free (for some limited functionalities, which is great!)

For the memory, it depends on what your workload would be and how many servers you'll be running. Personally, 4GB is quite small for a PC that doesn't even have a VM so I'll recommend upgrading if possible like emperorizzy said. (8gb or 16gb)

I hope this is helpful.

Guys, please feel free to add or correct me. We are all work in progress.

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Create free account & login:

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Thanks a lot Jintata and emperorizzy for your useful feedback.

My only experience with working with servers goes back a long time (2008). I used to build servers by cloning a hard disk that had Microsoft server instaled as the base OS, together with MS SQL Server, anti virus and other applications. With the hot-wappable nature of the server you could slot in 2 or even 3 different hard disks and clone. I am sure you guys know this old technology. I do not know if it is still in use today as I am very light in IT stuff these days.

So, I have just that 4G ram laptop and so far, it responds well as it is light on applications and stuff. I will go with VMware as advised. Sorry if my questions will sound stupid but this is what I want to achieve:

Is it possible to simulate having 2 or 3 PCs, each with its own unique IP address, using the VMware? So I want o have 3 systems, one with Linux, one with MS Server. Will each of these Virtual machines have their own hard disks, etc just like a normal system?

Can I practice some network communication and pen testing with this set-up?

Sorry for the daft questions, I just wanna bring myself up to speed and I am eager to learn.

Regards.

Enculer,

1. You can simulate as many virtual PC's you'd want. I dont think you'd ever run out but again, it all comes down to your memory size. You can run as many as 50 or even more, and will also depend on the package. Not all the functionalities of a vm comes for free, but most basic needs are met. And yes, each can be assigned its own virtual IPs. They will piggyback on your physical machine's NIC. There are several ways to configure this, so I'd recommend using a VMware guide online.

2. Each of them can have their own virtual disk. Just the same way you partition hard disk locally, the interface allows you to assign/partition virtual disk to the vms you'll be running.

3. Yes you can practice both with the set up.
I'll recommend checking online for some process guide.

PS: no question is daft, we're all learning.

Thanks VickyRotex for the detailed and logical breakdown.

I will look at the guide for how to install the VMware and then arrange my system accordingly.


Happy days ahead.

Enculer:
Thanks a lot Jintata and emperorizzy for your useful feedback.

My only experience with working with servers goes back a long time (2008). I used to build servers by cloning a hard disk that had Microsoft server instaled as the base OS, together with MS SQL Server, anti virus and other applications. With the hot-wappable nature of the server you could slot in 2 or even 3 different hard disks and clone. I am sure you guys know this old technology. I do not know if it is still in use today as I am very light in IT stuff these days.

So, I have just that 4G ram laptop and so far, it responds well as it is light on applications and stuff. I will go with VMware as advised. Sorry if my questions will sound stupid but this is what I want to achieve:

Is it possible to simulate having 2 or 3 PCs, each with its own unique IP address, using the VMware? So I want o have 3 systems, one with Linux, one with MS Server. Will each of these Virtual machines have their own hard disks, etc just like a normal system?

Can I practice some network communication and pen testing with this set-up?

Sorry for the daft questions, I just wanna bring myself up to speed and I am eager to learn.

Regards.

I currently use virtual box and kali 2020 runs well on it. You could use GNS3 and packet tracer to simulate network comms.

emperorizzy:


I currently use virtual box and kali 2020 runs well on it. You could use GNS3 and packet tracer to simulate network comms.

Wow. That sounds like Serbian to me.

3 things I need to research from your write-up.

1. Virtual Box

2. Kali 2020

3. GNS3 and packet tracer

Thanks a lot.

Enculer:
Thanks VickyRotex for the detailed and logical breakdown.

I will look at the guide for how to install the VMware and then arrange my system accordingly.


Happy days ahead.

No worries at all. my pleasure.

All the best and have a good one!

[Removed the links as majority of the course modules are no longer accessible for free.]


------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello everyone,

Good NEWS again! Oh I like Good news, don't you?

ICSI has more free courses that you can enroll for. I dont see the deadline to register for these so please register ASAP. Even if you cant begin the course(s) right away, just enroll for them.

To make it easier I've also separated the links for each course. See below.

Please share with others in your network that may be interested

All the courses are worth £3,350.00.

1. ICSI | Certified Penetration Tester - Worth £750.00

2. ICSI | Certified Web Penetration Tester - Worth £600.00

3. [b]ICSI | Certified Digital Forensics Examiner - Worth £750.00


4. ICSI | CIL Certified ISO 27001 Lead Implementer - Worth £750.00

Just like the Network specialist course, these ones will offer you the course completion certificate but you'll have to purchase the voucher to access the lab and exams. Which is fair enough.

Let me know if you run into any issues.

Try to complete as much as you can. Covid-19's got nothing on us!

Cheers!

Hi, I think someone just tried to mention/quote me and they were banned by the antispam bot so the comment is deleted. I had similar issue few minutes ago while posting the ICSI links. So I emailed the career section Mods (Crazy.man and 1.forall) and the ban was lifted almost immediately.
Feel free to do the same if you have been banned by the bot and also feel free to mention me without quoting the previous post.

The above courses are no longer accessible for free.

Hi folks,

Pearson advance has a couple of flexible free courses that you can enroll for. One of which is:

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner: https://pearsonadvance.com/courses/aws-certified-cloud-practitioner/
Course is self paced and runs till December 2020 (subject to change)
Duration/commitment: 4 weeks (4 - 8 hours)
Experience level say Intermediate, but my recommendation is anyone with basic knowledge of AWS can enroll.

Here's a caveat from the site:
This is a popular course and seats are limited. In an effort to support our active learners, you are required to log two days of activity within 7 days of starting the course. Inactive students will be unenrolled to allow other learners the opportunity for enrollment.

PS: I'm really trying to be careful with the word "free" these days as some of these vendors try to outsmart us. Nonetheless, I will keep sharing any resource I come across.

VickyRotex:
Hi folks,

Pearson advance has a couple of flexible free courses that you can enroll for. One of which is:

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner: https://pearsonadvance.com/courses/aws-certified-cloud-practitioner/
Course is self paced and runs till December 2020 (subject to change)
Duration/commitment: 4 weeks (4 - 8 hours)
Experience level say Intermediate, but my recommendation is anyone with basic knowledge of AWS can enroll.

Here's a caveat from the site:
This is a popular course and seats are limited. In an effort to support our active learners, you are required to log two days of activity within 7 days of starting the course. Inactive students will be unenrolled to allow other learners the opportunity for enrollment.

PS: I'm really trying to be careful with the word "free" these days as some of these vendors try to outsmart us. Nonetheless, I will keep sharing any resource I come across.

are you male or female? You seem to have a lot of experience in the field of cybersecurity. I just finished my ICSI CNSS course and collected the certificate. Advice me on the next steps to take. I really learnt a lot. If possible, let's chat on whatsapp.

VickyRotex:



Perfect! Goodluck with it.

Regarding Security+ there are lots of materials on this thread, just in case you need more information. Also, Alison courses has a free Security+ training and that also offers you a certificate of completion before writing the exam.

Will look forward to hearing from you regarding the ICSI voucher discussion. Let me know if you run into any issues.

Thanks!

I'm also very much interested in the voucher

TechCapon:
are you male or female? You seem to have a lot of experience in the field of cybersecurity. I just finished my ICSI CNSS course and collected the certificate. Advice me on the next steps to take. I really learnt a lot. If possible, let's chat on whatsapp.

TechCapon:
I'm also very much interested in the voucher

Hi TechCapon,

Great to know you completed the course. Good job!

I was only offering one voucher or its equivalent amount and this offer is already taken by Lion.hearted. I'm waiting till the deadline in June and for Lion.hearted to tell me when the course is completed.

If there's a need to revisit this, I'll let the house know and the next person that will be qualified is seun.bobo as he'd previously asked. (But that will be if the offer is no longer taken by Lion.hearted or if seun.bobo is no longer interested)

I hope that answers your question. Let me know if you have any questions.

Cheers!

VickyRotex:




Hi TechCapon,

Great to know you completed the course. Good job!

I was only offering one voucher or its equivalent amount and this offer is already taken by Lion.hearted. I'm waiting till the deadline in June and for Lion.hearted to tell me when the course is completed.

If there's a need to revisit this, I'll let the house know and the next person that will be qualified is seun.bobo as he'd previously asked. (But that will be if the offer is no longer taken by Lion.hearted or if seun.bobo is no longer interested)

I hope that answers your question. Let me know if you have any questions.

Cheers!

vickyrotex. Hi. You didn't answer the main question, you only talked about the voucher. You sound like someone that's into the field already, yes? If so, what advice do you have for me? Job openings, and stuff. I also asked if we could chat on whatsapp? If not, then no problem. I'm in Port Harcourt

TechCapon:
vickyrotex. Hi. You didn't answer the main question, you only talked about the voucher. You sound like someone that's into the field already, yes? If so, what advice do you have for me? Job openings, and stuff. I also asked if we could chat on whatsapp? If not, then no problem. I'm in Port Harcourt

Apologies, I interpreted "advice me on next steps to take" to also mean the ICSI exam.

I'm already in the field. Learning and growing like you all. The question about advice is a bit generic for me, but I'll try to answer. Feel free to let me know if you have any further questions.

It all depends on your prospects. what area of cyber you want to venture in or specialize in etc. I advice people (especially people starting without a tech background) to try to learn or touch on the major domains before specializing, that way it's much easier to connect the dots.
However if you have an IT background, you may already know where exactly you want to specialize in cybersec, but I still encourage being a generalist across some domains and specializing in what you're comfortable with or prefer.

Then, take as much courses as you can. Thanks to alot of free resources online. You dont need to write exams for all, because at the end of the day the knowledge is what matters and cannot be taken away from you. For sure certifications will open some doors for you (which I encourage), but do not feel restricted or discouraged about enrolling for a course because you can't take the exam. Learn as much as you can. Thanks to the op and other members on this thread, there are lots of resources that you can access on this thread for free.

Attend job fairs and connect with people in the field. I cant outstretch the latter. Irrespective of your knowledge, "people you know" will sometimes (and maybe most times) play a vital role in how you get through the door, and how you move up the ladder.

Lastly, most people like to think that Cybersecurity is 100% tech related, but its not and anyone can feel free to correct me.
It entails management as well, especially if you want to grow in the career, so as you work on your tech knowledge, also add in some managerial skills/knowledge to balance it.

I'll stop here for now and take any questions, before this becomes a diary. lol

We can't chat on WhatsApp, but feel free to email me if you have any questions. Cheers!

Who's up for some CTF challenge?

Anyone following the "anonymous" news?

VickyRotex:
Who's up for some CTF challenge?

Anyone following the "anonymous" news?

I am following but the CTF challenge, not sure how much time it will take so not committing to that now

FEGEITOK:


I am following but the CTF challenge, not sure how much time it will take so not committing to that now

Ah okay no worries. This isnt going on for so long though, but I understand. I'll keep you posted on a subsequent one and hopefully the timing will be flexible.

Cheers!

VickyRotex:
Who's up for some CTF challenge?

Anyone following the "anonymous" news?

Anonymous, those hackers are good
Those guys are making me think twice whether to join cyber security.

Never heard of CTF challenge, pls give us update..

icore:


Anonymous, those hackers are good
Those guys are making me think twice whether to join cyber security.

hahaha you should. We need more force in the cyber world I'm sure people are willing to offer any guidance.

Never heard of CTF challenge, pls give us update..

CTF AKA "Capture the flag" is a challenge game usually between 2 teams (but can also be played as 1). some can be professional settings, (like conferences and events) and some between friends and colleagues.
The idea is to solve problems (cyber-related), capture the flag(s) and gain points. As with other games, the team with the highest score wins.

^cyber-related like web and server exploitation, crypto, finding hidden information, etc

The particular one yesterday was between a couple of friends. So there was a last minute opening to make it public, that's why I was asking if anyone was interested. There are couple of ones coming soon. If you're interested I can note that or you can also refer to the below link.

Here's also good place to learn/start: https://ctflearn.com/

https://ctflearn.com/challenge/1/browse

Cheers!

^^^^
I recently started one of the courses on icsi, I'm taking my time to understand everybit. From what I have read so far my journey is far, but I would get there.

That's an interesting challenge.. Thanks for the link.

Cheers

VickyRotex:
For anyone interested in learning basic to intermediate concepts of Network Security, this course (previously posted by the op) is still available to enroll for free. (until May 31st).

Takes about 1 to 3 months (or even less) to complete depending on time and consistency.

You wont be getting a voucher for the exam, but you will be getting a certificate of completion. To take the exam, according to the ICSI website it currently costs 75 pounds. (https://www.icsi.co.uk/courses/icsi-certified-network-security-specialist-cnss-lab-exam-bundle)

As a form of motivation, I am willing to obtain a voucher (current cost) for anyone (1) that completes this course before the 20th of June, 2020. Priority will be given to cybersec enthusiasts.
Proof of course completion will be required before or by set date.
Proof of certification obtained before September 2020, otherwise you'll refund me
Or I may need you to obtain the certification and I refund you.

Posting the link again to enroll for the course:
Certified Network Security Specialist: https://www.icsi.co.uk/courses/icsi-cnss-certified-network-security-specialist-covid-19
Coupon code: #StaySafeHome
Valid til 31st May 2020

Goodluck!

For your attention. I believed you know how to verify this despite blurring my name.

Will remove the after you must have see this.

EDIT: pic removed

Lionhearted:


For your attention. I believed you know how to verify this despite blurring my name.

Will remove the after you must have see this.

Awesome! Thanks for the update. Please feel free to take it down now.

Could you please PM me the certificate with your name? Hopefully you can trust me that I have nothing negative to do with it, it's just appropriate and fair enough to have your information validated before proceeding.

Also how would you like to proceed? Do you want me to obtain the voucher for you while you complete the lab and exam before September, or do you want to obtain the voucher yourself, complete the course at your pace, then I refund you? Either one works for me, and either ways result gats show o

For transparency, we can continue the discussion on this thread, and any personal information can be communicated via email.

Thanks!

icore:
^^^^
I recently started one of the courses on icsi, I'm taking my time to understand everybit. From what I have read so far my journey is far, but I would get there.

That's an interesting challenge.. Thanks for the link.

Cheers

It's my pleasure. Don't feel discouraged about it. We're all on a journey, so don't let anything/anyone discourage you with the "your journey is far" mantra.

Not to sound like a broken record, but what do they say about "Rome wasn't built in a day"? Take the baby steps and see if you eventually find yourself enjoying the field.

All the best!

VickyRotex:


Awesome! Thanks for the update. Please feel free to take it down now.

Could you please PM me the certificate with your name? Hopefully you can trust me that I have nothing negative to do with it, it's just appropriate and fair enough to have your information validated before proceeding.

Also how would you like to proceed? Do you want me to obtain the voucher for you while you complete the lab and exam before September, or do you want to obtain the voucher yourself, complete the course at your pace, then I refund you? Either one works for me, and either ways result gats show o

For transparency, we can continue the discussion on this thread, and any personal information can be communicated via email.

Thanks!

I will prefer you obtain the voucher for me.

Alright. DM sent.

Lionhearted:


I will prefer you obtain the voucher for me.

Alright. DM sent.

I replied your DM yesterday. Can you please confirm?

Lionhearted:


I will prefer you obtain the voucher for me.

Alright. DM sent.

I have validated the certificate/your information and also obtained the voucher. Emailed you the voucher details and screenshots of my communication with ICSI for transparency.

Please confirm receipt on this thread so we can close the loop for now and circle back in September.

All the best!