Cybersecurity Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Attacks

Module 2: Cybersecurity Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Attacks

OK. I F-I-N-A-L-L-Y made it through "Module 1: Network Support" to "Module 2: Cybersecurity Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Attacks" in the Network Support and Security online class available from the Cisco Networking Academy.

Boy, was it a LONG slog. However, "Module 1: Network Support" is complete. I scored a 93% on the 15 question end-of-module exam. I am now moving on to the next module in the class.

Module 2: Cybersecurity Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Attacks

Here are the Topic Titles and Topic Objectives for Module 2. 

Topic Title	Topic Objective
Common Threats	Explain the threats, vulnerabilities, and attacks that occur in the various domains.
Deception	Describe the different deception methods used by attackers to deceive their victims.
Cyber Attacks	Describe common types of network attacks.
Wireless and Mobile Device Attacks	Describe common types of wireless and mobile device attacks.
Application Attacks	Describe types of application attacks.

Cisco CyberOps Associate

After "Module 2: Cybersecurity Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Attacks", Module 3 covers the topic of network security. As a result, the last two modules of the Network Support and Security online class will have a cybersecurity emphasis.

I recently bought a copy of official study guide for the Cisco CyberOps Associate (CBROPS 200-201) book published by Cisco Press over on Amazon.com. Thus, it will be interesting to see how much of an overlap there is between the online course and Cisco's entry-level cybersecurity certification.

Textbook for Cisco CyberOps Associate

Recently, I have considered putting aside studying for CCNA and focusing on the Cisco CyberOps Associate certification instead. After all, the Cisco CyberOps Associate certification only has one textbook compared to the two volumes needed to study for CCNA. Furthermore, I have a lot of regret about not earning my Security+ certification from CompTIA. After I earned my A+ certification, I should have just started studying for the Security+ certification in order to get me out of working at the Tier 1 IT help desk at the Social Security Administration (SSA). Earning that Security+ certification would have allowed me to work in the Security Operations Center (SOC) for SSA as a cybersecurity analyst. Instead of doing that, I got bogged down studying for the Network+ certification, which is CompTIA's version of CCNA. Why did I start studying for Network+ after A+? Well, the conventional wisdom is to study for Network+ after earning the A+ certification. After earning the Network+ certification, people will then typically study for Security+. The certification model is computer (A+) then network (Network+) then security (Security+). After figuratively banging my head against a brick wall while studying for Network+, I gave up and then started to study for CCNA instead. In hindsight, I should have skipped over networking altogether and focused exclusively on cybersecurity. That said, in order to defend networks from cyberattacks, it does kind of help to know how networks operate and do what they do.

Do I have regrets?

You better believe it.

Possible Change of Mission

Once I finish the Network Support and Security online course, I just MIGHT put aside studying for CCNA and focus on studying for the CyberOps Associate certification instead.The reason? The main reason is that I NEED an IT certification to put on my resume AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

On the other hand, I just might be able to land an entry-level data center technician job somewhere in the Phoenix area with these badges I have earned from completing the online courses in networking from the Cisco Networking Academy.

We will just have to see what happens next.

Setting Up the Sea Sucker Bike Rack...

Setting Up the Sea Sucker Bike Rack

In a previous post, I wrote about all of the problems that I have encountered with my Trek Hybrid 7.2 FX bike after my bike sat in the garage of my mom's house for a couple of years. I also wrote about taking my bike over to Southwest Bicycles in Peoria, AZ for maintenance. Furthermore, I also wrote about buying the Sea Sucker Talon rooftop bike rack from REI. 

This past Saturday, I F-I-N-A-L-L-Y got around to setting up the Sea Sucker Talon bike rack on my car.

After watering the plants in the backyard, sweeping off the patio, and cleaning out the garage at my mom's house, I went ahead and took the opportunity to set up the Sea Sucker Talon bike rack on the roof of my car. Since it was a H-O-T afternoon (115 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Sun City, AZ area, I was already sweating like crazy. Since I had nothing else planned for the afternoon, it was the perfect opportunity to set up the bike rack.

I had already completed most of the preparation work before mounting the bike rack to the roof of my car.

• I had already watched a couple of videos on Sea Sucker's own website on how to set up the Talon bike rack.
• I also sat down and actually read through the instructions.
• Lastly, I had already tried mounting the front of my Trek Hybrid 7.2 FX bike on the Talon bike rack on the floor of my mom's garage.

With all of that work completed, it was now time to actually set up the Sea Sucker Talon bike rack on the roof of my car. I was motivated to set up the bike rack for two reasons. First, I am starting to get incredibly bored with using the elliptical trainer at the gym. Spending longer than 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer no longer appeals to me. I start to get incredibly BORED. Second, since my failed attempt at mounting my brand new rear tire to the bike frame ended in disaster back in May, my Trek Hybrid bike has been collecting dust in my mom's garage.

Thus, it was a now or never type of moment.

As the videos from Sea Sucker made clear, setting up the Talon bike was actually fairly easy to do.

Here are the steps that I followed to set up the Talon 1-Bike Rack:

1. I securely mounted the the HUSKE QR Fork Mount onto the front rack body.
2. I then wiped clean the area on the roof of my car where I was going to place the front rack body.
3. I then removed the protective covers for the suction cups on the front rack body.
4. While holding down the front rack body, I then pressed the pump for each suction cup repeatedly until the orange indicator band was no longer visible.
5. I then inserted the skewer into the opening of the HUSKE QR Fork Mount with the QR Washer next to the Cam Lever.
6. I then attached the Adjustment Nut to the skewer.
7. I then removed the front tire from my bike.
8. I then lifted my bike onto the roof of my car.
9. I then mounted the front tire dropouts of my bike onto the skewer.
10. I then tightened the Adjustment Nut on the skewer as tight as possible against the bike fork.
11. I then loosened the Adjustment Nut until I was able to close the Cam Lever.
12. After removing the the protective cover for the suction cup, I then placed the rear rack body under the rear tire of my bike.
13. Again, I then pressed the pump for the suction cup until the orange indicator band was no longer visibile.
14. I then wrapped the velcro strap to secure the tire to the rear rack body.
15. To prevent the pedals from moving around during travel, I then used the orange velcro strap to secure the pedal to the bike frame.

Before I knew it, I had mounted my bike to the Sea Sucker Talon bike rack on the roof of my car. It was pretty easy.

The most difficult part of setting up the Talon bike rack was mounting the bike to the forward base.

My bike successfully mounted to the Sea Sucker bike rack. 

Close up of the suction cups used in the Sea Sucker bike rack.

The Sea Sucker Talon bike rack on the roof of my car. 

Rear view of the Sea Sucker Talon bike rack. 

I then started my car and cautiously left the parking lot at my mom's house. I then drove around the neighborhood for a little bit. My bike appeared to be securely mounted to the Sea Sucker bike rack. Additionally, the Sea Sucker bike rack appeared to be securely mounted to the roof of my car. I then decided to drive over to Southwest Bicycles in nearby Peoria, AZ. Despite all of the potholes and bumps in the road, I managed to drive my car to the parking lot for Southwest Bicycles without incident. It was an easy task to remove my bike from the Talon bike rack, so I could remount the front tire. Removing the front and rear racks was easy. I just pressed the rubber tab for each suction cup. I then removed both racks and placed them into my trunk for storage. An important point to remember is that the Sea Sucker bike rack is not secure. There is no way to lock the Sea Sucker Talon bike rack to prevent someone from stealing it. 

Arriving at the parking lot for Southwest Bicycles in Peoria, AZ.

In Conclusion

Thus far, I have been impressed with the Talon bike rack from Sea Sucker. This particular bike rack saved me from having to spend several hundreds of dollars on a roof rack for my car. Eventually, I would like to use the Talon bike rack to take my bike down to, say, downtown Phoenix for a bike ride. We'll see if it passes that test. 

PuTTY, WireShark, and NMAP

PuTTY, Wireshark, and NMAP

This will be a post about the following IT applications: PuTTY, Wireshark, and NMAP.

As I am working my way through "Module 1: Network Support" in the Network Support and Security online class available at the Cisco Networking Academy, I became reacquainted with the IT applications Wireshark and NMAP. Since I recently wrote about it, I also became reacquainted with the IT application PuTTY.

What is PuTTY?

Due to my recent post about my first IT job, I recently downloaded a copy of the PuTTY application onto my Dell laptop. What does PuTTY do and what is it used for? Here is a good description:

PuTTY is a free and open-source terminal emulator, serial console and network file transfer application. It supports several network protocols, including SCP, SSH, Telnet, rlogin, and raw socket connection. It can also connect to a serial port. The name "PuTTY" has no official meaning.

In so many words, with PuTTY running on your computer (laptop or desktop), you can connect to a switch, a router, or a host and make changes to the configuration.

With PuTTY, you can connect to a host, a router, or a switch using a computer protocol called Telnet. It's not recommended that you use Telnet, however. Telnet does not encrypt user names and passwords. As a result, if someone was monitoring your activity with a packet sniffer, such as Wireshark (see below), he or she would be able to determine your logon credentials. Telnet dates from the 1970s and 1980s when computer security had a low priority since users were U.S. government employees.

As a result of this flaw with Telnet, it is highly recommended that you use a computer protocol known as Secure Shell, or SSH. SSH will encrypt your logon user name and password, making it rather difficult for potentially malignant actors to eavesdrop on your data.

Is there a reason for using PuTTY at home? Well, the main draw with an application like PuTTY is that it is an open-source application that is independent of any software or hardware vendor. Unless you have your own collection of servers and routers at home, such as for studying for Cisco's CCNA certification, you might find that PuTTY is of limited use.

That said, there could be instances where you could use PuTTY at home. This might be a subject worth pursuing at some point.

I am slowly making my way through the Network Support and Security online course from the Cisco Networking Academy. In Section 1.5 "Troubleshoot a Network", there are a couple of hands-on labs that utilize both Wireshark and NMAP.

Screenshot of PuTTY interface.

What is Wireshark?

What is NMAP?

I just downloaded and installed NMAP onto my computer. I cannot wait to try it out.

Screenshot of NMAP using the command prompt option.

Screenshot of NMAP's graphical user interface (GUI) known as Zenmap.

More to follow.

UPDATE: I'm going to have to re-write this post. 

Lack of New Posts to My Blog...

Lack of New Posts to My Blog...

Yes, there has been a lack of new posts to my blog.

Quite simply, I have been rather busy working on some quite complex posts on my blog here at Blogger.

Some of these complex posts that I have been devoting large chunks of time to include the following:

• A rather lengthy post about my first job in information technology (IT) with a Baltimore, MD area company called Data Networks. Status: Completed
• A second lengthy post about my recent purchase of the Sea Sucker bike rack. Status: Completed
• A third lengthy post about the another movie that I saw at the Cine Core Movie Theatre in Seoul, South Korea. Status: Completed
• A fourth length post about rediscovering that I own a copy of the South Korean version of the animated film "Ghost in the Shell" on DVD. Status: Completed
• A fifth post about my first hike at Thunderbird Conservation Park in Glendale, AZ. Status: Completed

Most of these posts have been completed. The only post that has NOT been completed is my post about the Cine Core Movie Theatre. I hope to finish that post soon. Really soon.

Meanwhile, I have been working on a new online course about computer networking over at the Cisco Networking Academy website.

I have learned A LOT about the importance of planning out a blog post and sticking to your plan. It's so easy to get lost down a rabbit hole when writing a blog post. Just when I think that I have completed a post, I think of new things to add to the post. Plus, I have the urge to re-write large sections of a post.

Plus, there's all of the normal, day-to-day stuff that comes my way.

It never ends. Things just get more and more complex.