omg h4x3d rofl ^_^

[Bakerton]

Our net Security instructor changed everyones passwords while we were at activity period...lucky for me he didn't do my login acct just my administrator acct lol...apparently everyone used password as their password since we typically do that in our other networking classes...however everyone failed to remember that we are in security not routers or unix and such lol

[Alustat]

A fellow net geek? What sorts of classes are you doing?

[Bakerton]

right now I am doing the first half of network security and windows 2K pro...I have already done intro to networking which was basically following the Network+ cert study guide from sybex. also did routing which the first 5 week class was Microsoft solution using a hub and a comp with 2 NICs to make a subnetwork and the second 5 weeks we used Cisco 2500 routers and built a Cisco solution which was fun...I am just now breaking into Security which is where we learn some hacking and other fun stuff...right now we are doing packet sniffing and D/Ling free sniffing tools off the net

[Candide]

Only way to secure windows boxes is to disconnect all cables from it

<------ Unix admin (used to do consulting across all platforms though, I always hated our clients who used Win NT/2k for their servers)

[Alustat]

Hahah, Candide, that's so true.

I'm a hardcore Solaris geek, and an ex-admin from a hardcore solaris ISP (can't imagine where I picked it up). We colocated customer machines running Win NT and 90% of them we're configured to reboot automatically once a week because it was such a buggy OS. And when Nimda hit, hah! We all remember how that turned out. I still get nimda attacks in my apache logs for index.ida.

I did a bunch of courses through a tech college as well, but really just ended up learning it on my own. I remember when I was in UNIX II, and everyone had 'password' set as their password. So i logged into everyones machines and started wall'ing their systems with binary files. People were freaking out and the teach thought everyone had screwed up there systems. School can be fun :-]

So does your school offer advanced Cisco certs? Not just CCNA, most high schools offer that now a days. Honestly Cisco is the only Cert I would think about getting besides 4yr CS. Cisco is so much fun.

[Bakerton]

I think we just have CCNA but they do run a corperate cisco academy which I believe is just CCNA boot camp basically...we are a pearson vue testing center though

[Alustat]

I spent 4 years at the tech college doing misc computer classes. Pretty much every class I took I could have taught anyways. I was young and doing it for the "Cert". Funny thing is, I begged them to pick up some Cisco classes the whole time. The same year they introduced Cisco classes, I switched my major to Audio Recording. Bastards! I hope to go back sometime and learn a few more advanced topics in Cisco then what I can play with at home. Best gear I got to play with was a 7500 at the ISP I worked for.

[Bakerton]

Funny thing about certs is right now a lot of employers are looking for A+ as one of the primary certs they want entry level people to have. I plan on having MCP and CCNA to go with my A+ by the time I grad and maybe Security+ as well...one day I want to do a CCNP since that is like bling bling once ya get that lol

[Candide]

I ran an ISP for years on mostly various Linux flavors, but been doing Solaris with some AIX for the last 4 or so. I've touched an HPUX once or twice, and had a DEC for a few months.

I still prefer linux honestly, but Solaris is growing on me.

While I still hate their Servers, I like XP pro for desktop, first one of their desktop os's I can say that about.

And I agree. Certs are a waste of time. Only one I would see useful is working towards a CCIE. To be honest none of my employers nor any of the companies I know of have ever hired based on that. The only time they seem to have impact is through staffing agencies and when you have a nontech person hiring a tech...If it is a network or unix manager doing the hiring, they won't give a rats ass about any certs, and many look down upon them (cisco not included). Windows admining is different of course, but I'll refrain from my full opinion

[Bakerton]

well Veteran Affairs pays for my certs and I am probably gonna get a job with the government so anything that impresses the HR paper pushers will do for now

I am also looking at CSC as they do a lot of government contracting worldwide...having a security clearance means I can get a decent job possibly overseas which would be fun

[Candide]

I was a contractor with the DoD working with CSC's JCAL program. Seemed like a solid company in some ways (and annoying in others, to fixated on outdated technology IMO)

[Alustat]

Certs paid for by an employeer is always a good deal. But for me, I wouldn't get A+ to get an entry level job. I wouldn't seek an entry level job! At 17 I got my job as a network admin for an ISP. I did Solaris work, BSD, Linux, Cisco, SQL, Programming, and many other tasks. Like I say, the certs I'd love to have are any high level Cisco ones. Anything else is Retail garbage for jobs at Best Buy :-]

Gotta admit it to, XP sucks, but it works great for my games. If i wasn't a gamer, my Sparcs would be all I run with a couple Linux boxes. Sparcs with Solaris make damn awesome Servers. I love them! For desktops I can't stand Solaris tho. It's such a freaking hassle! I once got a Sun E150 to run X11 with Enlightenment for a WM. That was the best footstool/desktop I had :-]

[Candide]

Yeah, the CDE just sucks. Although Sol9 ships with Gnome 1.4 and 2.x now at least, so that isn't so bad. I can't imagine using CDE as a desktop.

[Alustat]

Oh god. CDE is wretched! Bleh! I can't believe they even shipped Solaris with that for so long. I'd rather use CLI then CDE, and I always do.