Penetration Testing with Kali Linux OffSec
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growth mindset
176 can be extremely powerful. Essentially, the growth mindset has to do with the belief in one’s own potential. If a learner believes they have the potential to conquer a 173 (Goldwater, 2020), https://abaforlawstudents.com/2020/01/30/how-to-alleviate-bar-exam-stress/ 174 (Burgess, 2016), https://ms-jd.org/blog/article/dealing-with-bar-exam-stress-and-anxiety 175 (ABA Law Student Division, 2022), https://www.americanbar.org/groups/young_lawyers/career-tools/new-graduates/mental- physical-health-resources-bar-exam/ 176 (Dweck, 2015), https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-carol-dweck-revisits-the-growth-mindset/2015/09 Penetration Testing with Kali Linux PWK - Copyright © 2023 OffSec Services Limited. All rights reserved. 83 challenge, they will have a huge head start. Alternatively, if a learner assumes they will fail, it’s not likely that they will accidentally succeed. We previously mentioned the Try Harder mindset to describe resilience and persistence. The growth mindset might be better described as the “Not Yet Mindset.” A student who encounters some particularly difficult material in preparing for a tough, stressful exam is likely to feel as if they can’t do the exercise or can’t understand the concepts. If it ends there, the emotional impact of this sort of self-awareness can be devastating. Consider, on the other hand, that same student with a Not Yet Mindset who thinks, for example, “I can’t do the exercise yet ”, or “I can’t understand the concepts yet .” The second student in this example is still being honest about their understanding, but they are now opening the door to be successful in the future. This one small word can be incredibly powerful. 4.6.2 Knowing When You’re Ready One of the most common questions that we receive regarding exams is, “How will I know when I’m ready?” Sometimes this question takes other forms, such as, “Do I need to do all of the exercises to prepare for the exam?” or “Can I prepare for the exam by completing a certain set or a certain number of machines on VulnHub?” It’s difficult to answer this question because each student is different. One student might have decades of professional experience and will only need a quick refresh of a Module or two in order to complete the exam. Another might be coming into the Module without much professional experience at all and will need to study a bit harder. The quickest answer to this question then, is “it depends on the individual.” Rather than leave it there, however, let’s take a closer look at one specific piece of data that shows us a certain group of learners who have a clear advantage on the exam. The following chart focuses on the OSCP certification. It shows a direct correlation between preparedness (working on more PEN-200 lab machines) and succeeding in the exam. Penetration Testing with Kali Linux PWK - Copyright © 2023 OffSec Services Limited. All rights reserved. 84 Figure 4: Lab Machine completion contributing to success Perhaps not surprisingly, the more time spent preparing for the exam, the more likely a student is to be successful. Unfortunately there is no shortcut here. As the saying goes, “preparation makes passing.” 4.6.3 Practical Advice for Exam Takers In general, we would advise two tactics for exam takers: 1. Prepare for the exam 2. Understand the exam The first item, preparing for the exam, is tied to everything we’ve covered elsewhere in this Module. Each exam covers the content from the course, so it follows that reading the course materials, watching any videos, and doing exercises will all be incredibly helpful. Using effective learning strategies will also give learners an advantage. Second, we recommend understanding the exam. The OffSec help site provides detailed descriptions of each exam, including what exam takers can expect and useful tips about how to approach enumeration tasks or submit proof that you were able to perform the required tasks. These exam descriptions are available alongside other course-specific help items. 177 In addition to this particular resource, there are webinars, 178 searchable blog posts, and YouTube videos of former students reviewing their exam experiences. Heading into the exam with a clear understanding about what exactly it entails will not only reduce stress, but also improve performance. 177 (OffSec, 2023), https://help.offensive-security.com/hc/en-us/categories/6965809783316-Course-Specific-Resources-for-Offsec- Students 178 (OffSec, 2023), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=griDEeIcXQc Penetration Testing with Kali Linux PWK - Copyright © 2023 OffSec Services Limited. All rights reserved. 85 4.7 Practical Steps We’ve covered a great deal in terms of abstract tactics and strategies. We’re now ready to think practically and plan our approach to the coursework ahead. This Learning Unit covers the following Learning Objectives: 1. Create a long term strategy 2. Understand how to use a time allotment strategy 3. Learn how and when to narrow your focus 4. Understand the importance of a group of co-learners and finding a community 5. Explore how best to pay attention and capitalize on our own successful learning strategies While each student will learn at their own pace, this Learning Unit should take about 15 minutes to complete. 4.7.1 Creating a Long Term Strategy Choosing a particular focus, Course, or Learning Path is a critical first step to creating a long term strategy. Having specific goals will help guide your decisions in terms of how much, when, and what topics you choose to study. It’s entirely possible that a few weeks into this plan you will need to adjust it or change it, and that’s fine. In fact, the best plans often need to be adjusted over time. The alternative - having no plan at all - would mean studying in an ad hoc manner, picking up (and putting down) materials whenever convenient. Planning can also greatly reduce stress levels. 179 In essence, planning helps us to create an idea of what will happen rather than allowing it to happen to us. This helps with feeling more in control of a situation and reduces anxiety. Unfortunately, the saying, “failing to plan is planning to fail” is often true, and we can sometimes set ourselves up for a very emotionally taxing and stressful failure. Let’s spend a bit more time on what exactly that plan might look like. 4.7.2 Use Time Allotment Strategies Let’s begin with when to study. As we’ve touched on a few times, one of the most impactful strategies is distributing study time over multiple sessions instead of cramming as much studying as possible into long sessions. This strategy, called Spaced Practice, 180 requires looking at a calendar, finding reasonable time slots, and sticking to a schedule. In addition to avoiding “marathon” sessions whenever possible, there are a few things to consider when choosing the best times to schedule studying. 179 (Peláez, 2011): https://healthland.time.com/2011/05/31/study-25-of-happiness-depends-on-stress-management/ 180 (Pan, 2022), https://psychology.ucsd.edu/undergraduate-program/undergraduate-resources/academic-writing-resources/effective- studying/spaced-practice.html Penetration Testing with Kali Linux PWK - Copyright © 2023 OffSec Services Limited. All rights reserved. 86 Before exploring this more deeply, we need to acknowledge that many of our students have jobs, families, and other events going on in their personal lives. When we suggest (as we will shortly) to study in the evenings, we don’t want to assume that every student can make this happen. It is merely something to take into consideration when planning. Some research 181 has suggested that before sleep might be a great time to study. The danger here is that it is quite easy to push back the bedtime to continue studying. Intuitively, we might think that we are being more productive by staying up later and studying more, but a lack of sleep 182 can negatively impact our brain’s ability to retain information. Planning study time also means planning an end to the studying. If sleep is important for studying, a learner might correctly assume that exercise is as well. 183 Intense physical activity increases blood to flow to the brain, and fires neurons in the hippocampus (the center for memory). In addition to generally improving brain health, exercising either before or after studying can be highly beneficial to improving memory and recall. 184 4.7.3 Narrowing our Focus Now that we know to schedule study time on our calendar, let’s consider how to organize our physical space. For quite some time, educational scientists have been trying to determine the ideal study space. One of the reasons there is no consensus is because the research 185 seems to suggest that changing environments occasionally is good for us. Maybe our study space is at the dining room table one week and a desk in a quiet corner of a library the next week. It’s okay to move around a bit, but there are a few things we will need from this space, regardless of where it is and how often we return to it. To that end, we need to address a significant problem: multitasking. Study after study has shown the negative impact that multitasking has on learning, job performance, and even brain health in general. Sometimes we feel like we can accomplish more by doing more things at once, but this simply isn’t true. 186,187,188,189 Creating a productive study space isn’t just about only doing one thing at a time, but it’s also about minimizing extra noise. Even though listening to music may not seem like much of a distraction at the time, processing this background noise still takes up a finite amount of mental space. Studies show that in general, listening to music - especially fast music with lyrics - while studying gets in the way of learning. 190 However, there is some additional research that suggests 181 (Sandoiu, 2018), https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321161 182 (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2019), https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191001083956.htm 183 (Warner, 2006): https://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20061103/exercise-fights-fatigue-boosts-energy 184 (Rodriguez, 2015): https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hit-the-gym-after-studying-to-boost-recall/ 185 (Smith, Glenberg, and Bjork, 1978) https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.3758/BF03197465.pdf 186 (Junco and Cotten, 2012), https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S036013151100340X 187 (Bradberry, 2014), https://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbradberry/2014/10/08/multitasking-damages-your-brain-and-career-new- studies-suggest/?sh=3cdbceba56ee 188 (Atchley, 2010), https://hbr.org/2010/12/you-cant-multi-task-so-stop-tr 189 (Hurt, 2021), https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/why-multitasking-does-more-harm-than-good 190 (Busch, 2018), https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2018/mar/14/sound-how-listening-music-hinders-learning-lessons- research Penetration Testing with Kali Linux PWK - Copyright © 2023 OffSec Services Limited. All rights reserved. 87 certain types of music (slow, instrumental music, in particular), may be actually helpful to some. 191 In cases where it is actually helpful, it’s entirely possible that music is blocking out other, even more distracting sounds (a learner in a coffee shop may find it easier to focus with headphones that cancel out the surrounding conversations, for example). It’s also reasonable to do what we can to make the study space one that we feel comfortable in and one that we enjoy spending time in. More to the point, interruptions caused by phone alerts, text messages, emails, and individuals who might need our attention are another form of multitasking. Small habits, like putting your phone in airplane mode or choosing a relatively isolated place for study, can help sharpen focus. 4.7.4 Pick a Strategy Let’s refer back to the list of strategies presented in this Module, including the SQ3R method, The Feynman Technique, and Retrieval Practice. As with choosing a time and a location, it’s okay to change strategies mid-stream. It’s also okay to come up with and iteratively improve on a pattern that works individually. In the case of OffSec materials, some students may want to read first, then watch the videos, or vice versa. Some students may want to preview the challenge exercises before reading the material. Others may want to follow along with the text on a local or virtual machine, moving one command at a time. The list of study methods included previously is not all-encompassing. No matter which strategy we select, it’s important to have a plan in place and actively think about it. It’s very difficult to assess whether or not a strategy is successful without recognizing what that strategy actually is. 4.7.5 Find a Community of Co-Learners Let’s take a moment to talk about and acknowledge the positive power of community. There are numerous benefits to studying as part of a community of learners, 192 not least of which is the opportunity to develop an entirely new set of soft skills. Group work is often used by educators as a way to encourage students to learn the social skills required in a collaborative environment. Even if one hopes to work as a sole-proprietor and not have any co-workers, the tools learned when working as part of a group can be immensely helpful to one’s professional career. In addition to social skills, there’s a major benefit to being responsible for explaining ideas to co- learners who might be struggling. This is at the core of the Feynman Technique that we reviewed earlier. Finally, there is something to be said for the camaraderie and the sheer enjoyment of being part of a group of co-learners, sharing the ups and downs of a course. A German proverb, “ Yüklə Dostları ilə paylaş:
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