EH-Net

Hi gang,
I just stumbled across this site today. I'm pretty excited about it and wanted to say hi.  I discovered I have an almost consuming  desire to learn the ins and outs of hardening information systems so curious minds like my own can't have access to them.  They say knowledge is power....effective leverage of that knowledge is really the key in my opinion.

I'm  in the process of a BS in Info Systems security, and self-studying for a CCNA cert on the side.  I have dabbled with html and python.  I know just enough to break stuff really.


I want ask forgiveness, in advance, for: stupid post, already answered questions, and general ignorance.  The payoff is that one day I'll be one of you helping out some other new guy so you won't have to.

All advice and criticism is welcome if will improve my level of knowledge. 

Hello and welcome to the forums. :)

Seeking of knowledge is one of the main things to advance, so keep on. ;)

Welcome aboard.   We are all about being obsessed with learning here :)

Paying it forward is a great way to give back. I do it often.

Welcome,
Don

Welcome to the gang. Ask away and you will find the answers you are looking for.

Thanks for the welcome.

I have my first opinion question (if its posted elsewhere please point me there)

I am setting up my own little lab environment and would like some suggestions.  I have a brand new i7 with vista 64 and 6gb ram and an old p4 running xp pro with 3 gb ram.  i was planning to make the p4 box an ubuntu linux machine to test/play/break.  then i started thinking about VMs on my main machine.   

any thoughts on a "good" set up?  I basically want to start securing an environment and then try to break into it so i can learn how to secure it.

Network lab article:

http://www.ethicalhacker.net/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,54/topic,4394.msg21011/#msg21011 (http://www.ethicalhacker.net/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,54/topic,4394.msg21011/#msg21011)

Web App lab Article:

http://www.ethicalhacker.net/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,54/topic,4419.msg21167/#msg21167 (http://www.ethicalhacker.net/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,54/topic,4419.msg21167/#msg21167)

I might be biased though :P

bless you sir.

there it was, right out in the open too.  sorry i missed it.

one more question,  what is a "stickie"  and how does it help me navigate the forums?  i'm actually pretty new to this format.

Sticky just means that a thread is pinned at the top. Usually this is done when a thread is very good or important, such as rules or FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions).