I'm a long time lurker and have finally summoned the courage to register (it wasn't so painful after all!).  I've been visiting for quite some time and decided that I want to contribute to some discussions.

I'm a University graduate, have a long-term interest in IT (since about 1980 - but purely as a hobby) and have A+ and Network+.  I've just completed a CCNA course and am about to take the external exam.  I'm keen to get some security/pen testing experience by setting up a VMWare virtual domain and then pulling it apart.  I realise that google is everyone's friend and know that I'll be posting my problems here, after researching, and hope that I don't stimulate everyone into rolling their eyes and thinking "stoopid bozo - that's an eeezy question"!