Cyberbits

  • Passing the CompTIA Security+ exam

    Introduction After a couple of weeks of studying, which I covered in the last few posts, I passed CompTIA Security+ last June (I schedule my posts, so dates don’t line up). Going by exam day alone, I’m not sure how. Checking in About a decade ago, I studied for quite a few CompTIA exams, and…

  • Security+ Governance, Risk, and Compliance

    Introduction Last in this series! As you know by now, I’ve been working through the CompTIA Security+ curriculum these last few weeks. It has a lot of overlap with the Google Cybersecurity series I did earlier this year, but it’s all interesting interesting nevertheless. Here’s what module 4 (Cybersecurity Governance and Compliance) covers, distilled into…

  • Security+ Cybersecurity operations and controls

    Introduction I spent a chunk of this week working through the operations and controls section of my CompTIA Security+ studies, and although the AI voice-over is annoying the f#ck out of me, it has some interesting material. Quick disclaimer: it has a lot of overlap with the Google Cybersecurity series I did earlier this year,…

  • Security+ Cybersecurity threats and defense

    Introduction I’ve been working through the CompTIA Security+ curriculum and the second module, Cybersecurity Threats and Defense, covers more ground than I expected. It starts with the attack landscape and works its way through malware, physical intrusions, network exploitation, application vulnerabilities, detection techniques, defense architecture, and data security. Although it has a lot of overlap…

  • Security+ Information security foundations

    Introduction I’ve been working through the CompTIA Security+ curriculum lately, starting with the information security foundations module. It covers a lot of ground, from the basics of the CIA triad all the way through to zero-day vulnerabilities and defensive monitoring. Rather than let those notes rot in a folder, I figured I’d write them up…

  • Metasploit for beginners + hack a Linux box

    Introduction Short course I found on Coursera giving me some Metasploit basics. Already covered a lot on THM. Expanded quite a bit on this short course, to be able to present to you the below write up. Setup Create a lab with: I’m running on a Mac. Recon Find out what we’re working with. Note:…

  • TryHackMe SEC0 quick win

    Introduction I’ll be honest. I didn’t need to do this one. The TryHackMe SEC0 (Pre Security) certification is entry-level by design. It covers the basics: how the web works, networking fundamentals, Linux essentials, and a gentle intro to how attackers think. Nothing that was going to surprise someone who’s already spent years in platform engineering…

  • Install Metasploit on Mac with a database

    Introduction Kali Linux or ParrotOS are probably still the best ways to use Metasploit (in a VM or not) but I really wanted to give it a spin on Mac. It’s not too difficult, but there are a few caveats. First of all, we’ll have to update this guide after 01-09-2026: Deprecated because it does…

  • Self hosted cybersecurity dashboard

    Introduction I’ve been struggling for a while to find a good central place to keep up with cybersecurity news. I tried RSS readers, I tried newsletters, I tried a few aggregator sites. Nothing really stuck. Either the UI annoyed me, or the sources were too broad, or I’d end up with the same story duplicated…

  • Running LLMs locally

    Introduction A while back I realized that you can’t do serious cybersecurity work in 2026 without understanding AI. Not as a nice-to-have, but as a baseline. So I made it part of my goals. And one of the first things I wanted to get right was running models locally, on my own hardware, under my…