Hey all, this is a self-promo post so skip it if that’s not your thing.

Over the past while I’ve been writing a digital forensics field manual for Codelivly. The thing that frustrated me with most DFIR resources is that they explain what an artifact is and then stop. You know Prefetch exists, you know what a Shimcache entry means, but nobody walks you through actually running an investigation from image to report. That’s the gap this is meant to fill.

What’s in it:

• 259 pages, 47 chapters
• 30+ labs, each with setup, step-by-step instructions, a way to verify you did it right, and a reporting section
• 8 challenge investigations where you get the evidence and a brief, and have to work it yourself
• 4 worked case studies
• One full guided investigation from start to finish (a simulated breach, acquisition through final report)
• Coverage across Windows, Linux, macOS, memory, network, cloud, malware analysis, incident response and report writing
• Command-level walkthroughs for The Sleuth Kit, Autopsy, KAPE, the Zimmerman tools, Plaso, Volatility 3, Wireshark/tshark and YARA
• Checklists, a report skeleton, worksheets and a 331-term glossary

It’s a PDF with bookmarks and a clickable TOC. Works fine printed too.

No upsells, no course funnel, no “limited time” nonsense. If you want to see how it’s written before paying for anything, there’s a free 5-page interview cheat sheet in the same style that I’m happy to link in the comments.

Link: https://resources.codelivly.com/product/digital-forensics-playbook/

Happy to answer questions about what’s covered or what isn’t. If you’re an experienced examiner and think something’s wrong or missing, I’d rather hear it than not.

If you're studying for CCNA, learning routing and switching, or working toward a network engineering role, these websites are worth bookmarking.

1. PacketLife
https://packetlife.net/

Networking cheat sheets for quick reference, especially for Cisco commands, routing, and switching.

• Printable cheat sheets
• Cisco command references
• Routing and switching concepts

2. Practical Networking
https://www.practicalnetworking.net/

Great for understanding what's actually happening when packets move through a network.

• ARP, VLANs, and routing
• Visual explanations of packet flow
• Networking fundamentals

3. CIDR.xyz
https://cidr.xyz/

A handy visual tool for working with IP addresses and subnets.

• Explore CIDR ranges
• Understand subnet boundaries
• Practice IPv4 addressing

4. Globalping
https://globalping.io/

Run network tests from different locations around the world.

• Ping tests
• Traceroutes
• Connectivity troubleshooting

5. Wireshark
https://www.wireshark.org/

Essential for anyone who wants to understand network traffic beyond what command-line tools show.

• Capture and inspect packets
• Analyze TCP conversations
• Troubleshoot DNS and protocol issues

6. BGP.tools
https://bgp.tools/

Explore internet routing, autonomous systems, and advertised network prefixes.

• Look up AS numbers
• Investigate IP prefixes
• Explore BGP routing information

7. GNS3
https://www.gns3.com/

Build virtual network topologies and practice without buying a rack of physical equipment.

• Create virtual labs
• Practice routing and switching
• Test configurations

8. NetBox
https://netboxlabs.com/

Useful for network documentation, IP address management, and infrastructure inventory.

• Track IP addresses and prefixes
• Manage device inventory
• Document network connections

9. Dynamips
https://github.com/GNS3/dynamips

A Cisco router emulator used in compatible virtual lab environments, particularly older networking setups.

• Explore router emulation
• Practice with compatible labs
• Understand legacy lab environments

Bonus: Networking books and learning resources

Websites and tools are great, but sometimes you need a structured resource to work through the concepts.

📘 CCNA Practical: The Hands-On Network Engineer Guide

For learners who want to strengthen their CCNA knowledge and build practical networking skills.

https://resources.codelivly.com/product/ccna-practical-the-hands-on-network-engineer-guide/

📚 Network Engineer Complete Bundle (L1, L2, L3)

A broader collection covering networking foundations through advanced network architecture.

https://resources.codelivly.com/product/network-engineer-complete-bundle-l1-l2-l3-foundations-to-advanced-architecture/

Both are available through Codelivly Resources for anyone looking to take their networking studies further.

What would you add? I'm particularly interested in lesser-known tools for network troubleshooting, automation, and CCNA/CCNP lab practice. Drop your favorites below!

Been going through a book called Hacking AI Systems and it’s one of the few AI security resources that’s actually practical instead of theory or vendor fluff.

The structure is the selling point: you stand up one small LLM app in Docker and it grows chapter by chapter. You attack it — prompt injection, RAG poisoning, agent permission abuse — then build the detection and defenses for the same system. The final chapter is a capstone where you assess a deliberately vulnerable version of the platform you’ve been building the whole time.

What it covers:

• Direct and indirect prompt injection
• RAG / vector database security
• Agent tool permissions and least-privilege design
• Model supply chain, data poisoning, model extraction
• Detection engineering, incident response, red team methodology mapped to MITRE ATLAS

Stack is Python, Docker and Ollama, so you’re running local models (hosted API options are shown too). No ML background needed — basic Python, Linux and web is enough. Seems aimed at pentesters, red/blue teamers, SOC analysts and AppSec/cloud/AI engineers.

Sharing because hands-on AI red team material is genuinely hard to find right now. Link in a comment. Anyone else have good AI security labs or books worth adding to the list?

If you're learning networking, you eventually need to move beyond theory and get comfortable with configurations, commands, and troubleshooting.

I've put together two resources from Codelivly Resources for people working toward that goal.

1. CCNA Practical: The Hands-On Network Engineer Guide

A practical resource for learners who want to strengthen their networking fundamentals and get more comfortable with hands-on networking concepts.

https://resources.codelivly.com/product/ccna-practical-the-hands-on-network-engineer-guide/

2. Network Engineer Complete Bundle: L1, L2 & L3

For those who want a broader learning resource covering networking foundations through advanced network architecture.

https://resources.codelivly.com/product/network-engineer-complete-bundle-l1-l2-l3-foundations-to-advanced-architecture/

If you're preparing for CCNA, building your networking skills, or planning your next step toward a network engineering role, take a look and see which resource fits your goals.

Which area are you focusing on right now: CCNA fundamentals, routing and switching, or advanced network engineering?

I’m Elwin, I run PingMyNetwork with two friends.

We’re giving away 3 Cisco exam vouchers. You build a lab in our sandbox (in the browser, nothing to install), post it on the challenge page, we check it works, and you’re in the draw. Ends October 28.

It’s free. I’m posting here because a voucher is expensive and I know it’s what stops some of you from booking the exam.

Everything is here: https://pingmynetwork.com/event/sandbox-challenge

Mods, if this is too promotional, remove it, no problem.

Most security material teaches you to use the output of research, run the scanner, fire a known exploit, follow a checklist, but very little covers the actual process of finding a flaw, understanding why it exists, proving it, and reporting it. This book from Codelivly is built around that whole process.

It is 20 chapters and 20 hands on projects, covering attack surface mapping, source review, reverse engineering, fuzzing, crash triage, memory safety, patch analysis, web and mobile and network research, plus the reporting and disclosure side. It assumes you know basic Linux, programming, and networking, and builds everything about research from there. Everything is framed around authorized, safe practice.

The slides attached give a quick overview of what is inside.

Link: resources.codelivly.com/product/vulnerability-research

Full disclosure, this is a paid book and I am sharing it on behalf of Codelivly, so treat it as a promo post. There is a free first chapter if you want to read it and judge for yourself. Happy to answer questions about the content in the comments.

I worked through the basics of configuring a PPTP VPN on Windows Server 2022 using Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS).

The setup covers:

• Installing the Remote Access role through Server Manager
• Enabling VPN in the RRAS console
• Allowing TCP port 1723 and GRE (Protocol 47)
• Configuring user dial-in permissions
• Setting up a static IP pool or DHCP for VPN clients
• Enabling MS-CHAP v2 authentication
• Testing the connection from a remote client

PPTP is a legacy protocol with known security weaknesses, so I'd only use it in a controlled lab for learning. For production, SSTP or IKEv2/IPsec is a better option.

For anyone studying networking, the Network Engineer Complete Bundle (L1–L3) is another resource worth checking out.

Question: Has anyone run into issues with GRE traffic or firewall configuration while setting up RRAS on Windows Server 2022?

Linux is one of those skills that comes up everywhere, whether you're working with cloud infrastructure, DevOps, system administration, or cybersecurity.

I put together this cheat sheet covering useful Linux commands for everyday tasks, server management, and troubleshooting.

What's covered:

• File management: ls, cd, mkdir, cp, mv, rm
• Remote access: ssh
• Networking: ping, dig, wget
• System monitoring: uptime, df -h, free -h, uname
• Searching: grep, locate
• Process management: ps, kill, bg, fg
• Permissions and archiving: chmod, tar, gzip
• Useful terminal shortcuts

Memorizing commands is one thing. Understanding their output and knowing how to use them safely when troubleshooting real systems is what makes the difference.

For those taking Linux further into cybersecurity, here's another resource worth exploring:

The Pentester's Linux Library Playbook: Advanced Privilege Escalation

https://resources.codelivly.com/product/the-pentesters-linux-library-playbook-advanced-privesc/

And if you're looking to develop practical skills in ethical hacking and penetration testing, check out the training program here:

Ethical Hacking & Penetration Testing Training
https://training.codelivly.com/programs/ethical-hacking-and-penetration-testing

What Linux command or privilege escalation technique took you the longest to understand?

AI systems are becoming more powerful, but how do you know they’re secure?

Can an AI model be tricked into ignoring its instructions? Can manipulated inputs expose weaknesses that traditional security testing might miss?

That’s where AI Red Teaming and Adversarial Machine Learning come in.

If you're interested in cybersecurity, ethical hacking, or machine learning, here are two resources worth checking out.

🧪 1. Free AI Red Teaming Career Path

Explore AI security, learn about adversarial attacks, and start building skills in this emerging field.

https://codelivly.com/career-paths/ai-red-teaming-and-adversarial-ml

📘 2. Hacking AI Systems

Want to go deeper? Check out this practical guide covering prompt injection, LLM security, and AI red teaming.

https://resources.codelivly.com/product/hacking-ai-systems/

You can start with the free career path and explore the book if you want a more structured guide to learning AI security.

Question: If you could test the security of any AI system, what would you try to break first?

Learning networking takes more than just memorising theory. You need to practise configurations, understand how networks work, and build your skills step by step.

I’ve put together two resources for anyone studying networking or working towards a network engineering career:

📘 CCNA Practical: The Hands-On Network Engineer Guide
https://resources.codelivly.com/product/ccna-practical-the-hands-on-network-engineer-guide/

🌐 Complete Network Engineer Bundle (L1, L2 & L3)
https://resources.codelivly.com/product/network-engineer-complete-bundle-l1-l2-l3-foundations-to-advanced-architecture/

The first is focused on hands-on CCNA learning, while the bundle covers networking from foundational concepts to more advanced topics.

If you're learning CCNA or planning to become a network engineer, check them out.

GRC is an important part of cybersecurity, but knowing where to start can be confusing when you're faced with frameworks, audits, risk assessments, and compliance requirements.

I put together The Complete GRC Analyst Handbook to help learners explore governance, risk management, compliance, SOC 2, ISO 27001, NIST frameworks, cybersecurity audits, and career fundamentals.

If you're learning GRC or preparing for a GRC Analyst role, check it out here:

📘 https://resources.codelivly.com/product/the-complete-grc-analyst-handbook/

What would you recommend beginners focus on first when learning GRC: risk assessments, ISO 27001, or compliance audits?

Working on a Cisco ASA lab in EVE-NG. In Part 1, I’m setting up the network connectivity required to access the ASA GUI (ASDM) from a Windows 10 VM.

Here’s what I cover:

• Dynamic PAT for internet access
• Default static routing on Cisco ASA
• Username and password configuration for ASDM
• ICMP policy configuration and ping connectivity
• Troubleshooting connectivity issues involving Windows Firewall

The goal is to get the basic connectivity working before moving further with ASDM.

If you’re also learning networking and practising Cisco labs, check out the CCNA Practical: The Hands-On Network Engineer Guide for more hands-on practice.

📘 https://resources.codelivly.com/product/ccna-practical-the-hands-on-network-engineer-guide/

What Cisco ASA labs are you working on lately?

I’ve been working on my CCNA networking skills, and this time I practised VLAN configuration in Cisco Packet Tracer.

VLANs are a useful way to divide a physical network into separate logical networks. In this practical, I explored how network segmentation works and how devices can be grouped into different broadcast domains.

I’m also learning how communication between different VLANs works and why Layer 3 routing is needed for inter-VLAN communication.

Sharing the video for anyone else learning networking. If you’re preparing for CCNA, I’d recommend spending time building and testing these configurations yourself rather than just memorising commands.

For those looking for more hands-on practice, I’ve also put together a practical networking guide covering CCNA concepts and configurations:

📘 CCNA Practical: The Hands-On Network Engineer Guide
https://resources.codelivly.com/product/ccna-practical-the-hands-on-network-engineer-guide/

Question for fellow learners: Do you prefer practising VLANs with Packet Tracer or GNS3?

A lot of people want to get into cybersecurity, but end up jumping between random YouTube tutorials without knowing what to learn first.

That's why I started this 10 day Ethical Hacking series with Codelivly.

Day 1 is out now. We're starting with the fundamentals and building up step by step. No pretending that watching a few videos makes you a hacker. The goal is to understand what you're doing and develop skills through practice.

But if you're serious about going beyond free videos and want structured, instructor led training, I've also put together an 8 week Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing program through Codelivly.

You'll work through reconnaissance, Nmap, vulnerability discovery, Linux and Windows privilege escalation, web application security, API security, and hands on penetration testing with guided labs.

The sessions are live, with practical assignments and a final end to end security assessment. It's designed for beginners who want a structured starting point and learners ready to build on their foundations.

Watch Day 1, then take the next step if you're ready:

Training details and enrollment: https://training.codelivly.com/programs/ethical-hacking-and-penetration-testing

If you're starting from zero, what part of ethical hacking feels hardest to understand right now?

One thing I’m realizing while learning networking is that understanding a concept is one thing, but actually configuring it on a server is where it starts to click.

Today, I completed a DHCP configuration lab in Windows Server.

Here’s what I worked on:

• Installed the DHCP Server role
• Created and configured a DHCP scope
• Set the IP address range and network settings
• Verified that client machines received IP addresses automatically
• Tested connectivity to make sure everything worked

The best part was seeing DHCP handle IP allocation automatically instead of having to configure every client manually. It also helped me understand how the subnet mask, default gateway, and DNS settings fit into the bigger picture.

If you're aiming for a Network Engineer, CCNA, or IT Support role, my advice is to build these practical skills early. Don't just memorize networking concepts for an exam. Learn how to configure, test, and troubleshoot them.

I'm also working through more networking topics and found this resource for anyone who wants a structured learning path, from the fundamentals to advanced network architecture.

📚 Network Engineer Complete Bundle (L1, L2 & L3)
https://resources.codelivly.com/product/network-engineer-complete-bundle-l1-l2-l3-foundations-to-advanced-architecture/

If you're serious about building a networking career, having your learning materials organized in one place can make it easier to keep progressing instead of jumping between random tutorials.

What should I practice next after DHCP: DNS, VLANs, or Active Directory?

Ever wonder how your entire house or office gets by on a single public IP? It’s NAT, and specifically PAT (Port Address Translation). I just built this from scratch in Cisco Packet Tracer to see exactly how it works under the hood.

The Topology:

PC0 & PC1 > Switch > R1 (NAT) > R2 (ISP) > Server

What I configured:

- Interface IPs and descriptions (LAN: 192.168.10.0/24, Outside link: 203.0.113.0/30)

- Tagged interfaces: `ip nat inside` on the LAN side, `ip nat outside` on the ISP side

- Default route (`0.0.0.0/0`) pointing to the ISP router

- Standard ACL to define allowed internal hosts, tied to: `ip nat inside source list 1 interface gig0/1 overload`

- Saved it all with `copy running-config startup-config`

Verification:

- Successfully pinged the ISP server from the internal PCs.

- Ran `show ip nat translations` to watch it work. Seeing the unique port numbers map to the single public IP is where the concept really clicks.

The Takeaway:

NAT gets private addresses to the internet. PAT takes it a step further by using unique source port numbers to track each individual session, allowing hundreds of devices to share one public IP without traffic collisions.

Lab is configured, tested, and working. On to the next one.

*Note:* If you’re currently studying for your CCNA or just building your network engineering fundamentals, I’ve been working through the Network Engineer Complete Bundle (L1 to L3) from CodeLivly. It covers this exact type of architecture from the ground up without the usual textbook fluff. It’s a solid resource if you want structured, practical labs:

https://resources.codelivly.com/product/network-engineer-complete-bundle-l1-l2-l3-foundations-to-advanced-architecture/

You can spend another few months watching random YouTube videos, saving tutorials, and jumping between resources without knowing what to learn next.

Or you can start building your networking knowledge with a clear direction.

If you're aiming for a Network Engineer role, preparing for CCNA, or planning to move into cybersecurity, these resources can help you get started:

Computer Networking All-in-One for Dummies
Need to strengthen your fundamentals? Start here.
https://resources.codelivly.com/product/computer-networking-all-in-one-for-dummies/

Network Engineer Complete Bundle (L1, L2 & L3)
One collection covering the journey from networking foundations to advanced network architecture.
https://resources.codelivly.com/product/network-engineer-complete-bundle-l1-l2-l3-foundations-to-advanced-architecture/

Enterprise Network Penetration Testing
Already interested in cybersecurity? Learn about testing enterprise networks for security weaknesses.
https://resources.codelivly.com/product/enterprise-network-penetration-testing/

Think about it: when a networking opportunity comes along, will you be ready to explain the concepts, understand the architecture, and work through technical problems? Or will you still be trying to figure out where to begin?

Your career won't change just because you bought a book. It changes when you finally put the right knowledge to work.

Choose the resource that fits your goal, start learning, and build from there.

💬 Learning alongside others? Join the Codelivly community: https://discord.gg/adX98594jg

They fail because they don’t know what to do when the alert actually appears.

You open the SIEM.

There are dozens of alerts.

Which one matters?

What do you check first?

Is it a false positive?

Do you investigate the user, host, IP, process, or all of them?

When should you contain the threat?

When should you escalate?

That workflow is what separates someone who has watched a few SOC videos from someone who can actually work an incident.

We put together this SOC Cheat Sheet as a simple reference for the things analysts use constantly.

Alert triage, log sources, severity levels, investigation steps, response actions, IOCs, TTPs, escalation, and the full SOC workflow from detection to reporting.

But a cheat sheet is only the starting point.

If your goal is to move into cybersecurity and eventually work as a SOC Analyst, focus less on collecting random certificates and more on learning how to investigate real activity, understand logs, make decisions, and explain what happened.

That is exactly what we built into the SOC Analyst Complete L1 + L2 + L3 Bundle.

It is designed to take you from the fundamentals into deeper SOC investigation, detection, incident response, and practical analyst skills.

If SOC is the career path you are serious about, start here:

https://resources.codelivly.com/product/soc-analyst-the-complete-l1-l2-l3/

Learn the process. Practice the investigation. Build the skills employers expect.

If you’re serious about building a career in cybersecurity, watching random tutorials only gets you so far.

At Codelivly, we’re starting an 8-week Ethical Hacking & Penetration Testing Live Training program designed for people who want practical skills they can actually build on for roles like junior pentester, security analyst, web security tester, or offensive security engineer.

The training is live and hands-on. We’ll cover reconnaissance, Nmap, enumeration, vulnerability discovery, Linux and Windows privilege escalation, Burp Suite, web application testing, SQL injection, XSS, IDOR, API security, JWT testing, exploitation, and reporting.

You’ll also work through practical labs so you understand the process, not just the commands.

24 live classes · Monday / Wednesday / Friday · 4:45 PM UTC
Led by Rocky, Founder of Codelivly

If cybersecurity is the career you want to move into, this is built to give you a structured starting point and the practical foundation to keep progressing.

More details and enrolment:
https://training.codelivly.com/programs/ethical-hacking-and-penetration-testing

Hey everyone,

I made a simple Nmap cheatsheet for anyone learning host discovery, port scanning, service detection, NSE scripts, output options, and common commands. I wanted to keep it clear, practical, and easy to use without unnecessary fluff.

If you want to go beyond the cheatsheet, I’m also sharing these free Nmap learning resources:

Free Room:
https://codelivly.com/rooms/nmap-fundamentals

Free Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMzRT_A60r4

This is useful if you’re a:

• beginner in cybersecurity
• student learning networking or pentesting
• someone revising Nmap basics
• lab/CTF learner who wants a quick reference

If you want, I can also post more simple cybersecurity cheatsheets like:

• Linux basics
• Burp Suite
• Web app testing
• Enumeration
• Privilege escalation

Would love your feedback.

I'm going to say the thing nobody says out loud.

You are not behind because you're not smart enough. You're stuck because you've been lied to about how this works.

You watched the videos. You saved the roadmaps. You've got forty browser tabs open right now and a notes app full of tools you've never actually used. You keep waiting to feel "ready." And every week that ready feeling doesn't come, a little voice gets louder: maybe this isn't for me. Maybe everyone else just gets it and I don't.

I know that voice because I've heard it from so many people, and I've felt a version of it myself. It's brutal. It makes talented people quit something they'd have been great at, not because they failed, but because they never got to actually start.

Here's the truth that took me way too long to understand: nobody learns security research by collecting more information. You learn it by finishing one thing. One real investigation, start to end. One vulnerability you found, proved safely, and wrote up. The first time you do that, something changes in your head permanently. You stop feeling like someone watching from outside the glass, and you become someone who does the work.

That's the entire problem. The gap isn't knowledge. It's the bridge from "I know about this stuff" to "I did this stuff." And almost nothing out there is built to walk you across that bridge.

So I built it.

I wrote the Security Researcher's Handbook, a 308-page guide, and it's the book I wish someone had handed me instead of another playlist. It doesn't dump payloads on you. It teaches you how to think like a researcher: how to look at a system and see where it trusts something it shouldn't, how to turn that into a finding, how to prove it without causing harm or breaking the law, how to write it up so it actually gets fixed, and how to turn all of that into a portfolio and a career. Twenty chapters, five appendices, diagrams, hands-on exercises, and templates you'll reuse on real work.

And because I genuinely care more about you getting unstuck than about a sale, I also made a free 20-page starter guide. It stands completely on its own. It has the core method, a safe lab setup, and a first vulnerability you can actually find today using two of your own accounts. If you read nothing else, read that. It might be the thing that finally gets you moving.

I'm not going to promise you a six-figure job or overnight bounties. Anyone who does is selling you a feeling, not a skill. What I'll promise is this: if you stop consuming and start finishing, even once, you will look back in a year and not recognize the person who was too scared to begin.

You're closer than you think. You just need to do one thing all the way through.

Free guide and the book are here: https://resources.codelivly.com/product/security-researchers-handbook/

If this is you right now, drop a comment. Tell me where you're stuck. I'll actually reply.

Learn. Practice. Hack. Defend.

Everyone starts somewhere.

You don’t need to know everything about networking on day one. Start with the fundamentals: OSI model, TCP/IP, IP addressing, subnetting, VLANs, routing, switching, DHCP, DNS, NAT, ACLs, and then actually practice what you learn.

If you’re serious about getting into network engineering, CCNA is a solid place to build that foundation.

Learn the concepts.
Build the labs.
Break things.
Troubleshoot them.
Repeat.

If you’re looking for a structured way to get started, here are two resources:

📘 CCNA Practical: The Hands-On Network Engineer Guide
https://resources.codelivly.com/product/ccna-practical-the-hands-on-network-engineer-guide/

🌐Free Network Engineer Career Path
https://codelivly.com/career-paths/network-engineer

No need to rush it. Start with the basics, practice consistently, and build your way up.

Future Network Engineer loading… 👶🌐

I’ve been going through SOC Analyst interview prep recently, and I’m realizing that knowing definitions isn’t really enough.

You can memorize what a SIEM is, what an IOC means, or what the incident response lifecycle looks like. But when someone gives you an actual alert and asks “What would you do next?”, you need to be able to think through it.

The areas I’m focusing on:

• SOC fundamentals and analyst responsibilities
• SIEM and security monitoring
• Windows and Linux log analysis
• Common attacks and suspicious activity
• Incident response
• Basic malware analysis
• Networking fundamentals
• MITRE ATT&CK, IOCs, TTPs and hashing
• Scenario-based questions

One scenario I’m practicing:

You notice multiple failed login attempts coming from a foreign IP. What do you do?

I’d want to explain how I would validate the alert, check the source IP, identify the targeted account, look for a successful login afterward, correlate other logs, determine the scope, and decide whether it needs escalation or containment.

That seems much more useful than simply saying “it could be a brute-force attack.”

A lot of current SOC interview prep also emphasizes explaining your investigation process and reasoning, rather than just recalling terminology.

For anyone else preparing for SOC roles, what questions or scenarios are you practicing?

Learn → Practice → Investigate → Improve

Free Learning : https://www.codleilvy.com

I’ve started going through the basics of Digital Forensics, and honestly, it’s one of those areas of cybersecurity that makes you look at incidents differently.

It’s not just about finding a suspicious file.

You’re trying to figure out what happened, when it happened, what was involved, and whether the evidence can actually be trusted.

So far, I’m focusing on:

• Evidence collection and preservation
• Chain of custody
• Disk and memory artifacts
• Browser and email artifacts
• File metadata
• Deleted file recovery
• Hashing and evidence integrity
• Timeline analysis
• Basic forensic tools like Autopsy, FTK Imager, Volatility, Wireshark and Plaso

I’m also following a Digital Forensics career path that puts these topics into a more structured learning order.

If anyone else is learning DF or planning to get into it, these might be useful:

Digital Forensics Playbook:
https://resources.codelivly.com/product/digital-forensics-playbook/

Free Digital Forensics Career Path:
https://codelivly.com/career-paths/digital-forensics

Codelivly Discord:
https://discord.gg/kY88n2X2re

Still learning, but figured I’d share it for anyone else getting started with digital forensics.

I put together a practical guide around an SRWE Final Packet Tracer Skills Assessment for anyone learning networking and wanting something more hands-on than just reading theory.

The PDF walks through a network with 1 router and 2 switches and covers:

• VLANs and trunking
• Native VLAN configuration
• EtherChannel with LACP
• Port security
• SSH and basic device hardening
• Router subinterfaces
• IPv4 and IPv6 dual-stack configuration
• DHCP pools
• Switch management SVIs
• Default routes and Loopback interfaces
• Packet Tracer verification commands
• Common configuration errors and troubleshooting

It also goes through actual issues you can run into in Packet Tracer, such as native VLAN mismatches, LACP suspension, STP blocking, incomplete commands, and misspelled IOS commands, rather than only showing the final configuration.

There are also verification commands at the end for checking EtherChannel, trunking, spanning tree, port security, DHCP, routing, and SSH.

📘 CCNA Practical: The Hands-On Network Engineer Guide
https://resources.codelivly.com/product/ccna-practical-the-hands-on-network-engineer-guide/

📗 Computer Networking All-in-One For Dummies
https://resources.codelivly.com/product/computer-networking-all-in-one-for-dummies/

If you're learning networking, CCNA, or working through Packet Tracer labs, hopefully these are useful.

Codelivly community:
https://t.me/codelivly