OSCP - Finally Signed Up

I've done it. I've signed up for the OSCP. It has taken quite some time to decide whether or not I should go for it. In fact - it has taken a few years. The course was previously known as 'Pen testing with backtrack', whereas now, it has been updated to 'Pen testing with Kali', as Kali Linux has taken off where Backtrack left off.

In case you're wondering why it has taken me so long to sign up, the answer is simple: cost vs fear of failure. Prior to starting the OSCP, my pen testing knowledge is heavily rooted in wireless security. I've had experience with Bluetooth hacks, WEP, WPA etc but not so much with pen testing desktop computers/laptops/servers.

I've passed the OSWP (Offensive Security Wireless Professional) course and found that it was written very well; one can only hope that the OSCP will follow suit. I've read reviews online which suggest it's very possible to pass providing you put many hours each day into it. I'm prepared to do that in order to pass. Which brings me onto my next point. I've been afraid to take on this course incase I fail, yet I know that its going to be a learning curve - just of bigger proportions.

I've had to remind myself that over the past few years, i've learned first hand that the key to success is trial and error. Do you remember when you first tried to ride a bicycle as a child? You fell off it, right? You got hurt and thought: "I'm not doing that again!" - but you persisted and ultimately, you could ride the bike. The same applies to swimming, relationships, driving etc. You fail more often than you win, but it takes determination to continue until you win.

I'll give you a story. There was a kid born in 1847. Couldn't concentrate in school. His teacher referred to him as "addled". It was looking as if this kid wasn't going to make it; dropping out of school and then being home schooled, this kid didn't look like he was going anywhere. When he was older, he created an automatic voting system, which, as an entrepreneur, should have gained him fame and prosperity. It didn't. It wasn't wanted: it was a failure.

All this guy knew was failure, up until age of 30 when he created the telephone. This guy was Thomas Edison. Failure didn't deter him - and look what he created. You get out what you put in. I know that whatever happens with the OSCP, i'm going to learn alot throughout the course. I don't know if i'll pass the exam first time, but if I don't, i'll try again, and again, and again until I do; afterall the moto is "try harder".

MSN Messenger - The Eulogy

15 years after MSN Messenger was introduced to the world, it has now sadly gone (completely). The service was turned off in 2013 and Skype took its place for those of us not living in China; the Chinese were lucky enough to have the service until it's due to be turned off permanently in October, 2014. I thought i'd write a quick eulogy to give MSN Messenger a good send off.

In 1999, I was 10 years old. I was there when MSN Messenger first arrived. It felt like something sent from God. It was a serious rival to the likes of AOL's AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) and ICQ. At the time - AOL was king; disks advertising 'x days free trial' for AOL were all the rage. But over at Microsoft, they'd designed a great tool, with a memorable logo. The logo was simple - eye catching and became an instantly recognisable symbolization which appeared all over the web. Here is how it looked:

If I asked people today what a .NET Passport is, they might look at you with a confused look in their eyes. A .NET Passport was your passport (your registration) that allowed you to use MSN Messenger.




The screenshot to your left is how the early MSN Messenger looked. Simple - uncomplicated - fast - reliable(ish). The whole point of MSN Messenger was to contact your friends. You'd simply add them via email address and you'd be able to see whether or not they were online - think of it like WhatsApp....but in 1999.

Not only could you have instant conversations with your friends - but you could see whether you had any new emails. Eventually, MSN Messenger began to evolve. Updates added functionality and the MSN Messenger service grew. Up until 2009, there were 330 million users. At the time - everyone had MSN.

MSN was often used by people to chat up the hottest girls in the year. Rejection via instant messenger was less painful than rejection in real life. "BRB m8", "LOL", "TTYL" - acronyms that we still use daily formed by avid users of MSN. As soon as you got home from school, you'd jump onto MSN, say "wuu2?" to your friends and wait eagerly for their reply which would be something like "nm, u?". It was better than it sounds - honest.

The screenshot to the right shows what MSN Messenger was becoming. It was now a place where you could add a fancy tagline, such as: ☆đση'т ¢σρу, вε σяιgιคℓ☆. There were literally hundreds, if not thousands of websites dedicated to people sharing quotes, taglines, custom profile pictures - the works.

With later versions of MSN Messenger - there were all the signs of adverts coming into the picture. As you can see, there was space for ads on the bottom and ads on the left hand side of the software; MSN Homepage links at the top too. It was so great - yet starting to get annoying to use, especially if you were used to the first few releases.

Microsoft changed the branding of MSN Messenger to Windows Live Messenger for v8 in 2005 - this caused some anger in the community, as we'd gotten used to calling Windows Live Messenger "MSN". Ads and general bloated software lead to more annoyance, but we continued to use it anyway, because quite frankly, it was a fantastic tool.

2012 signaled the end for Windows Live Messenger when Microsoft acquired Skype for £5.1 billion ($8.5bn). As Skype already had an instant messenger built in, most of us knew deep down that the days of MSN would become just a memory. In 2013, Microsoft shut down the service as users made the transition to Skype.



It's a real shame to have to say goodbye to MSN Messenger - it really did pave the way for services like Whatsapp, Viber, iMessage and other copycat services that still exist today. For all the reasons listed above and many more, it really does prove that technology never stands still. Things move on and we must enjoy them whilst they last. So whilst you're snapchatting, Whatsapping and tapping on your technology today, know that it might not be there in years to come. Good bye MSN Messenger.

Why I'm Getting Rid Of My Nokia Lumia 920...

I should have had an update out about TOR - and I apologize to my readers about that. I've been super busy. Between full time work and catching up with friends, it makes things pretty difficult to keep up with. That post will come out, but first, I thought i'd get in a post about the state of the mobile market today.

I'm no stranger to mobile phones/smartphones. The very first mobile phone I owned was a Ericsson t28, passed down to me by my Uncle, who had 'upgraded' to a Ericsson t66!! (Wow!). Those phones were fantastic. Ultimately, I ended up getting the best phone to ever exist (at the time): the Nokia 3310. I found out that these phones could be 'unlocked' for free online by typing in your IMEI number and getting an unlock code - I was charging kids in the school playground like £3 a pop. I was a little entrepreneur .... well, almost. You see, there weren't as many kids with phones - in fact, most adults didn't have a mobile phone back in the year 2000.

These days, it's hard to find someone who doesn't have a mobile phone. Kids grow up amongst phones/tablets and the world as we know it is becoming much more reliant on technology as a tool to communicate, live and work with. Having loved the Nokia 3310 and all of the other models i've owned (trust me, it's hard to name a Nokia that I haven't owned), I went back to the Nokia world that I had fond memories of and purchased a Lumia 920. The biggest change is that Microsoft now own Nokia...

The home screen on the Windows Phone 8 device is actually quite nice. It's a 'live tile' which updates when you get emails, or texts, or calls. Missed a call? No problem, you get a '1' on the live tile. Weather? The weather will update live on the tile. News? Yeah - that's covered too. The problem with Microsoft's Nokia range is the user-interface that sits behind the home screen. It's absolutely WOEFUL.

My Nokia Lumia 920 shipped with Windows Phone 8 as the OS and soon enough, there was a sneaky way to upgrade to the developers preview of Windows Phone 8.1. Of course, I did this, and there were some good changes. What I was extremely unhappy to find - was that the user interface was exactly the same, but with more options. This makes for a horrible mess of an interface which Microsoft/Nokia haven't addressed. Now this might not sound like a big deal, but when Apple's flagship iPhone series have virtually perfected their interface - it's a BIG problem.

To top it off, Microsoft have said that Windows Phone 8.1 is going to be released in the UK in "late 2014", Source: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/mobile-phone/3510108/windows-phone-81-cortana-release-date-new-features-uk/

Personally, i've waited 7 months since owning the phone for Windows Phone 8.1 - and when I purchased the phone, it was already an aging phone. To make me wait longer AND not improve the user interface - I'm out. Although I wanted an iPhone, i'm actually opting for an Android (and believe me, I hated Android in the past).....but I am going to try it and see how things go.

I may end up going back to the iPhone if the Android phone doesn't work out - and i'm not the only one who thinks this way! There are millions of avid consumers out there wanting the latest and greatest phones which do everything they want - and then some. It really highlights that the mobile phone market is more competitive than ever and there's a-lot at stake. It wouldn't surprise me if companies end up going bust trying to compete in the current climate as consumers want the best deal for their hard earned cash.

Until next time - thanks for reading.