IT Pro Tuesday #276

Welcome back to IT Pro Tuesday!

In the latest episode of the Security Swarm Podcast: “Questionable Methods for Protecting Backups from Ransomware,” we explore some historical methods devised by the security community to safeguard backups against ransomware such as air gapping, removable media, and application whitelisting. But here’s the twist: we’re approaching these protective measures from the mindset of a relentless threat actor… someone who’s determined to breach your defenses and make your backups their own.

We’re also looking for your favorite tips and tools we can share with the community… those that help you do your job better and more easily. Please reply or leave a comment with your suggestions, and we’ll be featuring them in the coming weeks.

acme.sh is a lightweight Unix shell script for automatic issuance and renewal of free certificates in a Unix environment. It’s compatible with Bash, dash, and sh; Docker/IPv6 ready; requires no external dependencies; and can issue, renew, and install certificates without the need for root or sudoer access. Thanks for this recommendation go to blitznogger.

How to Use Packet Analysis to Prove it’s Not the Network (or it is the network) offers practical guidance on how to strategically address common network-related issues. Bright-Wear explains, “There are a lot of things you could do to troubleshoot stuff that may not be network related before you start ripping up and replacing things… Watch this video and download wireshark. The only thing this valuable tool and guide will cost you is a bit of your time.”

Vim Cheatsheet is a concise, mobile-friendly reference guide designed to help you quickly find all the commands you’ll need when working with Vim. Our appreciation for directing us to this handy resource go to Extra_Discipline_644.

Professor Messer is a YouTube channel that offers an extensive collection of certification training videos for IT professionals, covering CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+, and more. It’s a great resource for enhancing your technical skills or to help get ready for certification. Kindly suggested by Emphasis-Hungry.

Tio is a user-friendly CLI tool for straightforward serial device management. Allows you to connect to serial TTY devices and perform basic input/output operations through a configuration file or via direct commands. bh0 adds, “I use tio for serial/console on my Mac. Tio is awesome.”

Clavier+ is a lightweight utility for creating customizable keyboard shortcuts. Offers global shortcuts, a compact and portable EXE file, and no need for Registry entries or setup installation. hudgeba778 explains, “it’s a free to use keyboard macro software and I absolutely love using it to make repetitive data entry MUCH more efficient.”

AlienVault OTX is an open-source platform providing access to a large collection of threat indicators contributed by a global community of over 200,000 participants. Allows users to collaborate to investigate emerging threats, extract IOCs from various sources, submit files for malware analysis, and more. candyke appreciates it for “threat intel and malware related OSINT.”