Research Team
I was looking to perhaps start a team. Looking for maybe 2 or 3 other people that really want to learn computer security. I don't just mean how to use skiddies, though I don't see why they are hated on as much as they are. I see it as the equivalent of using a microwave instead of an oven. But I want to learn much more then just how to use tools to complete a task. I have merely just started my quest into computer security about 2 to 3 months ago; I am by no means anymore then an amateur. However my enthusiasm to learn more is par none. This was actually the first good website I found on the subject and though I have never really made my presence known, I have silently been lurking around the forums and articles almost everyday for several months now, and feel an odd loyalty towards it.
I spent the last several months learning to use Linux, I still must resort to the man and help pages but my grasp on it has grown ten fold. I also spent some time learning the basics of C++ and HTML. I wasn't really trying to perfect my programming skills from the beginning, but rather just get the concepts so I know at least what I am looking at. I have now started watching the WLAN Security Megaprimer series from SecurityTube.net; I have my own wireless lab set up and am currently on Part 10. The next series that I plan on watching is the Metasploit Megaprimer.
What I would like is to form a small, for lack of a better term, Research Team. The only goal of this team would be to use the competitive nature of human beings to force us to learn quicker and more thoroughly then we might have otherwise. This isn't any form of a mentor team, anyone who consistently falls behind will quickly be dropped. There would be no set curriculum or anything, but we would generally cover the same topic and share the more interesting things that we have discovered; and perhaps help each other when needed.
There are people that like to learn and those that do it out of necessity. My whole life I have loved to learn, from Math to Politics to Architecture to Business to Physics to Computers. Knowledge is the only thing nobody can ever take from you. I am looking for people that fall into this same group.
Also, I am looking for people that are more likely to sport the grey hat. Anyone that mindlessly deletes or corrupts data is a moron in my book. I would never abandon my moral compass, but my moral compass does not have a direct correlation to that of the law. And I would never screw someone over that didn't deserve it, though if you look hard enough you can always find a reason. :D
Anyone interested email me at AlfaPenguin1@gmail.com or respond below. Just quickly explain how long you have been into computers, knowledge levels, interests, and where you plan to go next with it. We can then discuss how best to communicate.
As a side note, I am not looking to be the leader of this team, nor am I looking for someone to lead me. I am just looking for someone who wants, as I do, to be the best. If I can find a person that is as competitive as I am, we can drive each other through competition on who is the best to make us advance much quicker then those before us. Perhaps we could go back and forth choosing subject, or perhaps a vote; either way I would like to start at network security, learning it from the packet level. After that, fair game.
"So the gist of what you want is a few other people to effectively compete with?"
Precisely. I am extremely competitive in anything I do. I want to be the best, I want to learn the fastest, I want to know the most. Out of the people that I know, I have fulfilled all of these, and that is sad to me. Competition is motivation to me.
"….why not just "put yourself out there" a bit more?"
Because I am a scientist, not a hippie. Lol jk that will have to be plan B.
"Sticking with this comparison….."
Perhaps the use of skiddies on my part was used incorrectly. I was not using it to identify a person, but more the piece of software. I was not trying to compare skiddies and hackers, was trying to compare using a tool vs not using a tool. The time involved and saved by using tools is like using a microwave instead of an oven. Sorry for the confusion.
MoshBat wrote: Yeah, you may only end up being better than someone that isn't really that good. Just set yourself goals. Bettering yourself is a competition, really. That's actually an excellent point I had not thought of. I must think on that. It would be devastating to find someone and then they end up holding me back. Meh I still don't have much to lose in the attempt; but here is why I am looking.
Self motivation is very rare. Its the reason why most people will never become anything. A person must play to their strengths. I figured with all the people that come here and ask for mentors, though I see that is no longer, it would not be a problem finding someone.
Side note: Have you ever went to a 2600 meeting? I plan to go next month in an attempt to find someone to fulfill the above position; just wondering what to expect..
spyware wrote: Most guitar players play for yeaars before they start looking for a band/other musicians to play with.
Why is that?
Honestly I know very little about music, and even littler about musicians. And now for the last half hour you have really sent me in an odd tangent of research. First I found the 2 best guitar players, according to Rolling Stones Magazine, and then looked up when they received their first guitar and when did they start playing with others. So here we go:
Jimi Hendrix "By the summer of 1959 Hendrix had bought his first electric guitar and moved from The Velvetones to another local ensemble called The Rocking Kings." And that was not actually his first band, "Hendrix's first gig was with an unnamed band in the basement of a synagogue, Seattle's Temple De Hirsch. After too much wild playing and showing off, he was fired between sets. The first formal band he played in was The Velvetones…." So he barely had his guitar for a year before being in 3 different bands.
Duane Allman "…Gregg saved money and bought his first guitar, a Silvertone in 1960… and their mother bought Duane a Gibson Les Paul Junior to keep them from fighting." "The two Allman brothers started playing publicly in 1961, joining or forming a number of small, local groups." So he had his guitar for under a year before joining/ forming several bands.
Well I was going to look up the full top 10, but I see no need to look up anymore to prove you wrong. People like you should be required to cite sources before speaking; or typing.
MoshBat wrote: Urgh. Allman and Hendrix? PENTATONIC SCALES ARE NOT GOOD, PEOPLE! Well, artists that use them for every damn solo, anyhoo. 5 notes per solo/tune? Peh. (I am rather partial to Layla and Voodoo Child, though, naturally) Personally, I think that Eric Johnson could kick the living shit out of those two at the same time, using his picking hand, whist still getting a better tune out of the thing than if the pair did a duet.
Lol. Rolling Stones was the first Google result for keywords "top 10 guitar players"; and is the only reason I went with them.
MoshBat wrote: But what Spy was trying to say was that you're better off getting fairly knowledgeable/good before you join others in learning, or whatever.
I feel as if I do have a healthy knowledge base at this point. And what I am trying to accomplish is to find competition. If I wait til I am at your level, there are perhaps thousands of you, rather then doing it at my level, where there are perhaps millions of me, it seems as if I would reduce my chances of success, no? Perhaps the only thing I did not for see was your comment of
MoshBat wrote: Yeah, you may only end up being better than someone that isn't really that good. But I still believe that the pros far outweigh the cons of someone like myself; extremely competitive and ambitious. As long as I continue to be picky, and until I can find someone to fit within these requirements, I continue to do my own 'lone wolf' style research, I see very little negative impact upon myself.
What level they are at does not matter to me. The only thing that matters to me is dedication and competition. I am not looking for someone to teach me things, I am not looking for a mentor, I am not looking for someone even better then myself. Just someone that wants to be at a higher level and will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. But I don't want to pick someone that is way behind me that has no idea what they are doing or where to start, and I don't want someone way ahead of me that would be constantly advising me on what to do and what not to do, that's just not my style.
Well I guess all I can say is that I am truly sorry that I did not take SpyWare's cryptic one liner to be constructive criticism and let us forget the only reason MoshBat entered this thread was to bash on my microwave vs oven analogy. Let me just say that I will never accept anything other then perfection, and if you wish to attempt to banter with me, be prepared.
Had a whole page written, in an attempt to prove you wrong; but in the end I don't think it would be helping my cause. I will seek my help elsewhere, as I believe this thread is ruined for my cause. Good day to you all.
Symbiotic. That actually led me to the dictionary. Very cool word, will not forget it anytime soon. The most interesting new word I have heard in quite awhile.