EH-Net

figured I'd say hello officially.  I have found this sight extremely helpful as I move from the Sys Admin realm into the Info Sec area.  I've been working in IT for over 10 years, primarily as a Windows System/Network Admin.  I've pretty much touched upon everything.  Unfortunately I've never found anything to hold my attention until last year.  I decided that I was sick of being reactive to malware and such and wanted to learn more about how some of these threats came into existence and how to better defend against them. 

Since I was interested in this area of specialization, my, no old employer, allowed me to assist on a large scale vulnerability assessment performing the recon and a few network scans and then later was given a smaller external assessment to perform.  Since then I've sifted through different security news sites, picked up a few books to learn how to use some tools better, like NMAP and Nessus.  Also have kept an updated copy of Backtrack. 

I just like the fact that it is like a game, a puzzle of sorts!  I am a sucker for a good puzzle.  But I digress, thanks for keeping this site up and running and providing the useful information, it is a huge help!

Well, welcome and glad to see you came out of lurker status.   ;D

AS you can see, this is a great and friendly place to learn and share IT Security information.

Thanks Dengar!  Suppose Lurker is still better than Troll :D 

Welcome to the forums, Triban.

Hello, and welcome!

Yes, welcome, must of us visited this site every day withou saying anything, but always learning.

Welcome to the club!

Thanks for the welcome everyone, hey.. welcome Annyjone! :D

Welcome!

Welcome Triban! remember that all puzzles can be completed succesfully, which can not be said for penetration testing. The mindset behind it (motivation to solve a challenge which requires to adapt in situations) is correct and gives you the right skills!

Welcome Triban, I'm also new to EH. What particular areas of security are you interested in?

Hey n1p, haven't really focused yet on anything particular.  I have been a Windows Sys admin for over 10 years, so figure I would start with what I know and work from there.  I keep finding I get scattered when it comes to this.

Any Sys Admins, turned EH, folks here that could add their thoughts?

Triban Welcome  ;)

I'd like to say personally structure and goals are key to prevent getting lost in security funfair, so find out what you want to do (have a taste of all parts), make goals, stick to your goals and reward yourself when you have acheived what you set out, reminding yourself to stay focused on your goal!  More importantly enjoy the mini-adventure!

Keep focus is difficult for me. I always remind me where I want to go, so I am able to re-focus again.

Yeah staying focused is very very tuff! I am learning Zen the art of meditation, this really helps me stay focused, calm and cool  ;D

hmmm I try that Delusion but trying to fold my legs in this computer chair is difficult :D 

Focus is certainly tough, specially when you have a new job where you get to be the VMware guy.  So yeah the new place I am at has tagged me as the VMware/Virtualization guy.  So far I got ourselves the pro partnership and one of the senior engineers recommended I put the MCITP track on hold and get my VCP.  Thankfully the VCP requires you to take the course before you can take the test.  But now I have to yet again change focus, luckily VCP is one test.  Unfortunately my dinky Dell server cannot run ESX, stupid SATA controller, suppose I could invest in a better RAID controller and toss in some new drives.

Ah well, at least this company sees my worth a bit better than my old one and there is still the opportunity to get in on some audits and security assessments.  Need more hours in the day!

Which Dell server do you have? Sometimes you can get storage working if you disable RAID.