Security Testing Journal Entry | w/e Friday February 24, 2023 - "Teens of the Information Age" Ed.

Highlights for the week

Finally got around to completing the module for Digital Forensics. It took retaking the test a couple of times, but I was happy with the module overall. So looking forward to the scripting module next week. I've also chipped away at the Pen Test for a practice site. Son's birtday is tomorrow .. he's closer to adulthood. Where does the time go!

Things are going to get squirrly next month if I don't land a job. March finances are covered, but April will be problematic if I don't land something NOW!

What We Loved

1. See "highlights ..." pretty much sums it up

What We Learned

1. Playwright (Autom.) - Started on automating basic scenarios for "The Book Store", somethign about clicking the title isn't working (m'eh)
2. Coursera Security Basics - It's a wrap with Digital Forensics. On to the final module "Scripting"
3. Pen Testing - Near-complete with testing the site. Might leverage what's on the spreadsheet to finish next week
4. Cult.ure - Paused; "Husb.." is nearing the final act

What We Longed For

1. As always, another week w/o job leads

What We Loathed

1. TesterWork having to fight for obvious issues. The payout was trivial for the 1 bug they did accept.
2. Sometimes I forget to read the room and display a lack of empathy for others. I was raised to be tough and keep it moving, others want to rant w/o a fix
3. Feeling like a failure is really starting to weigh on me. This whole unemployment situation has got to change

Security Testing Journal Entry | w/e Friday February 16, 2024 - "Valentine's Week" Ed.

Highlights for the week

For all the lovie-dovie sentiment on Valentine's Day, I've never been good at being romantic. The few times I've tried, I've been burned. Sadly, I'm not that guy! I need to do better!

Lots of goals accomplished: published my first blog post, starting a new pen test, automation practice is solid, cleaned out the Mac finally (lots more to do), "Husb" book is coming along .. not going to publish it, but its fun.

What We Loved

1. Tester Work: Some light (remote) work. Finished my first test assignment and won a deliberation on tickets
2. Meeting with mentor was efficient and effective. I discussed the Pen Test check list. It was worth using
3. Mentee on Linked In lost 2 job prospects, but has a few others waiting. Been making sure she doesn't slip into depression
4. Loved being able to add a Windows 11 VM on my machine. I may be able to move forward with some other labs/side projects!

What We Learned

1. Playwright (Autom.) - Used faker to interact with date picker; learned to drag/drop an element on the grid
2. Coursera Security Basics - Learning a lot about Data Forensics. Tons of fun. Behind by a couple of days, but its been fun!
3. Pen Testing - Starting a new project with Client "OpenCart". The site is buggy, and checkout flow is N/A, but it's all about the reps!
4. Cult.ure - Paused; "Husb.." is nearing the final act

What We Longed For

1. Job market is an absolute sh** show, with more people getting laid off then getting hired.

What We Loathed

1. Unemployment - 17 months and counting

Security Testing Journal Entry | w/e Friday February 9, 2024

Highlights for the week

Not quite highlights, but I had a little crisis of confidence where I had signed up for a freelance testing site for extra income. I bombed the QA assessment for no other reason than I dismissed their notes on classifying severity. I took a better look yesterday and passed it. All other things are moving at a steady pace.

What We Loved

1. Getting things done and being productive for once!

What We Learned

1. Coursera Week-2 - Interesting module on Incident Response / SIEM. Need to finish the quiz
2. Burp Suite - Finished XML Entity Injection Labs
3. Automation - Simple tests for radio buttons and links, where I got to use 1 selector with f-strings to minimize code duplication
4. Cult.ure - Paused. "Husb" another chapter in the bag. It keeps growing!
5. Mentoring - fun

What We Longed For

1. As alway .. a job.

What We Loathed

1. Unemployment!! The job market is a sh** show

Security Testing Journal Entry | w/e Friday February 2, 2024 - "SO Birthday" Ed.

Highlights for the week

The lateness of this post comes at a time when I was celebrating my wife's birthday (as pathetic as money can allow) and a lot was happening .. sort of. Here we go!

What We Loved

1. Good things happening with my mentees this week. More to come.
2. Spent a good amount of time playing with ChatGPT.

What We Learned

1. ChatGPT - built up a nice repository of test cases
2. Burp Suite - finally finished the web cache labs. Skipped a bunch.
3. Coursera - Week-1 in the bag. Very very high-level overview of Pen Testing. I mean lacking in so much information it was mind boggling.
4. ISC(2) - As stated before, I don't think I will be pursuing the certification.
5. Automation - finally fixed my pytest automation. Will make progress on what remains.
6. Cult.ure - paused! The work on "Husb.." is coming along nicely.

What We Longed For

1. As always, an income and a paycheck

What We Loathed

1. Self-doubt and low-vibration. Gave into temptation .. again!

Security Testing Journal Entry | w/e Friday January 26, 2024 - "Mentees Winning" Ed.

Highlights for the week

I am a proud "papa" this week. My mentees are thriving. Ony one from France is successfully advancing through her studies. My other mentee is being courted by two potential employers, each with promising paths to success. She and I spent the better part of last week rehearsing interview skills. She passed all the preliminary rounds and is now in the final stages.

As for me, job hunt remains a grind, but the learning goes on. Huge lesson learned regarding testing LLM and Salesforce.

What We Loved

1. As noted above, being a mentor and watching others thrive is a super I've unlocked.

What We Learned

1. Pen Test for "Cartlane" - 75% complete. Goal this week is to be 100% done
2. Burp Suite - LLM tests ... this was fun and relevant!; Will revist web cache poisoning
3. QA Day - Learned Saleforce testing. Good stuff. Goal this week -- python practice, all week (autom., scripts)
4. Cult.ure - paused! "Husband" - new chapter "Illumina" started

What We Longed For

1. As always, looking forward to getting hired soon. Happily, I applied to a Jr. Pen Test role (fingers crossed)

What We Loathed

1. Unemployment!!
2. Seeing far too many tech workers getting laid off for silly reasons, when clearly its to rerout the budget from payroll to R&D

Security Testing Journal Entry | w/e Friday January 19, 2024

Highlights for the week

Huge wins for my mentees. One is doing well getting back to her work and learning. The other is interviewing for a highly sought-after job that could propel her into a new light. We've been practicing her interviewing. As such she succeeded past the recruiter call. There was also a great module dropped on Burp Suite regarding LLM and ChatGPT security testing. Waiting for the steps and bug fixes to play with it. Also, started a new pen test applying an involved checklist.

What We Loved

1. Watching others succeed!

What We Learned

1. ISC(2) - Finished! Need to take the exam (if free)
2. Pen Testing - started with Cartlane
3. Automation - Playwright with Typescript: Finished! Need to get back to PW/Python
4. SQL Fundamentals: Done! Learned some basic SQL for data validation .. some test scenarios
5. Cult.ure - paused! "Husband .. Hipocrate": In progress
6. Burp Suite: LLM Module: In progress

What We Longed For

1. As always, longing for a job. I really need to ramp up the search.

What We Loathed

1. Tech Layoffs. The're starting to pick up pace.

Security Testing Journal Entry | w/e Friday January 12, 2024

Highlights for the week

The week came and went and there's a lot I don't feel got done. I'm at the tail-end of the ISC(2) modules, not sure I'm going to pay for the exam. Grinding through burp suite. Lot's of fun stuff. Been writing more too.

What actionable steps have I take so far?

1. Practiciing Burp Suite consistentl. But I need to start practicing more web app pen testing. I should also start with mobile.
2. Writing is helping me communicate a lot better.
3. I need to really start working. Task Rabbit or consulting.
4. I have to start my blog .. like seriously! I've been wasting my powers on reddit.

What tasks both home, and work are priorities?

1. Job Hunting takes precedence.
2. Pen Test practice is the no. 2 - lately, its ISC(2)
3. Burp Suite, no. 3
4. Writing as the no. 4

What small goal will I accomplish this week?

1. Start another Pen Test for a practice site

Am I setting time aside to prioritize my health?

1. YES