IT Pro Tuesday #19

SSL Test, Hacking Podcast, Free Tools and More... 

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Hello IT Pro, 

Last week we presented you with a massive list of all the tips we’ve shown you to date. It was well-received, so watch this space—we’ll definitely be doing another once we’ve presented a reasonable number of new tips. 

Until then, it’s business as usual. We scour the net and ask for suggestions about the best tips and tricks to present to you on Tuesday. Here are this week’s offerings. As usual, we’re not affiliated with any of these brands unless we specifically say that we are. 

SSL Labs SSL Server Test

SSL Labs SSL Server Test is completely free and very useful. It thoroughly analyzes the configuration of any SSL web server. Just put in the hostname to get the search started. In the end, you’ll have an in-depth report of any issues found on the server.

 

Darknet Diaries

Do you ever wonder what goes on in the dark web? Or the darker side of internet use? Darknet Diaries is a fascinating podcast that will clue you in. Listen to stories about daring hacking attempts, malware exploits and a lot more besides. If that’s not enough to get your hackles up, the fact that these stories are all based in fact certainly will. The show is hosted by Jack Rhysider—a veteran security expert best known for his work in defending against exploits in the real-world. We’d love to take credit for finding this podcast, but that must go to unarj. Thanks for the great suggestion!

The Phoenix Project

The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win is a book that a lot of you can relate to. It’s the story of a dysfunctional that kept missing deadlines and was always over-budget. The company had had enough and so gave our plucky IT manager 90 days to sort things out. If that couldn’t be done, the department would have to be outsourced. It’s entertaining, and might even give you some ideas to whip your own IT department into shape. Did the department come right in the end, or did they get the axe? You’ll have to read the book to find out. This one was graciously recommended by sp00n_b3nd3r.

 

Postman

If you’ve been looking for a way to make it easier and quicker to develop APIs, you’ll want to try out Postman. There’s a lot to love about this software, not least of which that it’s completely free. It offers:

  • Saving of the history of requests
  • A very powerful GUI
  • Flexible monitoring
  • Automated testing with collection runner
  • The opportunity to set up mock servers
  • Unlimited environments, collections and tests that can all be shared
  • In-depth reports

Ned Pyle’s Blog

Ned Pyle’s blog appears on the Microsoft Directory Services Team site and offers a lot of information on solving issues and best practices. Ned has given up the management of the blog, so don’t expect to hear from him anytime soon. That said, this is still an extremely useful resource and well worth a visit. It was brought to our attention by azers.

 

Well, that’s all we’ve got for you this week. Have a great one, and be sure to stop by bright and early next Tuesday. 

Graham | CEO | EveryCloud

P.S. Get Extras by signing up to the weekly email!

IT Pro title: 
SSL Test, Hacking Podcast, Free Tools and More