Tag: networking

YouTube channel of the week #1 – David Bombal

In today’s topic we will be looking at another YouTube creator Mr. David Bombal. He also has his channel in his name. People who are in cybersecurity must have come across him since he is a notable person he is also known by the name ‘cisco samurai’.

Now for people who think this channel is only for geeks or for the sec community then you are wrong he posts videos on various topics with various modulations at regular intervals. His posts include from inner workings of networking tools to interviews with popular people in the sec community. The beauty of his videos is he questions the interviewers based on common people’s perspective as a result the viewers get to have the contenet with advice that is required for them. Another thing about his videos is he posts topics for people who are new to cybersecurity or preparing to enter this field with ‘how to be successful’, ‘what is the must know topics to survive in this field’ etc and the special thing is he posts these videos for each year according to the current trend at that point of time.
Having said all he also goes further by asking the interviewers regarding the career paths for the aspiring individuals who want to enter this field. As a result people get answers for their choosen field like if they wanted to be a bug bounty hunter they get answers on ‘what being a bug bounty hunter is like’ ‘what skills you need to be successful in this field’ and whether they have it in them or not which makes it easy for them to prepare in advance with confidence since this field is vast with frequent updates.
As of this writing he currently posted a video on best certs for pentesting careers which is worth watching and to add to that this year he has also posted videos on writing a successful resume and what is chatgpt? why it is worth knowing? And what it can do to our careers? Having said all these now he  has also started posting videos on AI whichh makes his channel even more interesting. 
Readers who are interested can watch his videos by clicking the YouTube link given below
That’s it for now hope you found this article interesting, will meet you all with another interesting post soon.
Thanks for reading.

Loopback Adapter – A no cost device that is a must have and easy to make at home

Tired of trying different ports in your switches and routers and not sure which one works and which doesn’t? or not sure how to check them with a device that you are unaware of? well the answer is “loopback adapter” (a must have port testing device for network engineers and IT enthusiasts). Well you can buy one from any IT peripheral stores or you can make one by yourself at home. In this blog I will explain how I made one at home for my own use.

Things required:

1. Cat 5 cable 5cm

2. Crimping tool 

3. RJ-45 Ethernet clip – 1 no.

4. Wire stripper 

Now first find yourself a clean table or make space like one at home so you can make it without errors and any disturbance.

Second take the wire stripper and gently hold the cat5 cable in between the stripping area with 1cm protruding outside. (Note: you don’t need to buy a cat5 cable as it is costly instead cut it out from any leftover cable by some ISPs near your area). Then slowly but steadily twist the wire in both directions without damaging the cable, once the cable outer jacket seems little frayed pull out the cover which exposes the twisted pair cables inside it.

Now pull a pair of twisted cable from the bunch and separate the two wires from each in that pair, after that trim slightly at both ends using the wire stripper or crimping tool (yes all crimping tools have a wire cutter provision that is provided by default) for efficiency.

Once that is done take the ethernet clip in hand and turn it upside down i.e., the cable release knob facing downwards. After that take any one of the wire that you separated from a pair of wire and insert one end at the first hole to your left and the other one at the 3rd one (note: we’re taking T568B connection here as an example that is used widely and the ones ISPs use for 100mbps connection – this is not needed but just know if you are interested) now similarly take the other wire and fix one end at the 2nd hole and the other one in the 6th hole. 

Once it is done take the crimping tool in your right hand by holding the ethernet clip on your left (vice versa if you are left handed) now insert the clip in the provision provided and tightly press against the clip this ensures that the wires are holded firmly inside the clip without slipping.

That’s it you have now successfully made a ‘loopback adapter’ by yourself at home. To further ensure that it works correctly take your home router and turn it ‘on’ without any wires connected to the port except the power cable. Now after the post operation is completed and your router displays the ‘power on’ light steadily plug in the ‘loopback adapter’ that you made in any one of the ports behind your router now if everything went right the indicator light for that corresponding port blinks or turns on indicating that it is working and functional. You can also check the other ports and on other devices and make sure which one works and which doesn’t.

That’s it you have successfully made a ‘loopback adapter’ by yourself at home and tested router ports without any errors. Hope you enjoyed this post and learned something useful. See you with another interesting post soon until then it’s bye from me. Thanks for reading.