I've been busy for awhile now, we're using Helix in my digital forensics class...it's fascinating, to say the least...

I have a bit of an issue though.

We're using VMware to test out acquiring and cloning images of hard drives. The premise is that we mount "suspect" hard drives in Helix in read-only, and then we use Adepto to obtain a .dd image of said hard drive, saving the image to a separate hard drive.

However, whenever I try and use Adepto to restore the image to another hard drive, the restore fails due to the fact that the hash values do not match. A simple restart of the Helix live CD helps this, but I'd like to see if there's any other option before restarting. Has anyone else had this happen to them? I'm thinking it may just be VMware, but I need a second opinion.

Thanks for reading 

Great post Xen. I personally use ESET NOD32 Smart Security. The built-in firewall isn't exactly novice-friendly, but you can configure it to your liking. Personally, I don't use commercial antivirus programs, but I gave this one a shot, and have found it to be excellent. (free plug for ESET, lol)

I'll give the MVPS hosts file a look soon, and I've chosen the built in firewall with ESET versus the hardware firewall that comes with most routers. There's definitely some useful information to be found in here, whether you're a novice like myself or an expert like some others, everyone can find a use for it.

Well, as of right now, I'm still in school for Network Security and Computer Forensics, so I guess you can say my IT experience is zero.

Just based off of that alone, I know I've got a long way to go, and I do plan on continuing my education, but is there anything specific I can go for when I'm done with school (Certs, entry level jobs, etc)?

I consider myself very new to the Ethical Hacking field, so I just thought I'd ask a few questions regarding it.

Since I know the sky is the limit for this profession, what would be the best way to start getting my foot in the door to becoming a professional ethical hacker?

I did read through the "So You Want To Hack For A Living" article written by Don, and it gave me some possible options to look into to further my education.

However, I thought I'd ask the community, those guys (and gals I'm sure) that are professionals in this industry, where should I start in becoming a professional ethical hacker?

What certifications should I go for (since I'm sure some are more relevant than others, like the CEH), and what kind of skill set would the ideal ethical hacker have?

Any comments are greatly appreciated

To answer both questions, I go to Pittsburgh Technical Institute, and for one of my classes, I had to do a brief summary on 5 online hacking communities.

It just so happened that I came across this website, and many of the tools that are discussed and used on this website I have seen or will see in the future. I thought this would be a great resource to learn more about these tools, and share my thoughts with professionals in this field.

I can't really say that I have much to offer as far as helping others, so I'll be asking more questions rather than giving answers, but that will change with some experience under my belt.

Just thought I'd stop by and introduce myself.

To keep it short and simple, I'm in school for IT, and I've taken the ethical hacking concentration, so I figure what better way to keep informed and immersed in the field than to join a community dedicated to it.

As far as the school work goes, we work with BackTrack 3 Final, Helix, Nessus and Metasploit, as well as a ton other tools that escape my mind right now, trust me, it's fried at the moment.

I'm looking forward to gaining knowledge about the tools and techniques we use to defend, as well as what is used against us.