After stabilising my mid-range desktop and legacy hardware, I faced a recurring problem: how to build a lab that actually works, without getting buried under tools and logs. My goal was clear — a repeatable, verifiable environment that could support Blue Team, DFIR, and AWS security practice — lightweight, structured, and portfolio-ready. Part 1: Why … Read more

After stabilising the Toshiba laptop, I needed a scalable, repeatable lab for SOC and AWS work — lightweight, structured, and portfolio-ready. Part 1: Experimenting with Virtual Machines Oracle VM VirtualBox (i7, 16 GB RAM) VMware Workstation Pro (Prebuilt SOC VM) Lesson Learned: Heavy VMs can hinder learning on mid-range setups. The lab needed lightweight, repeatable … Read more

Introduction The machine wasn’t bought for labs — it was forgotten in a box.My Toshiba Satellite L500-13W originally ran Windows 7 and later a Kali Linux installation that never behaved well. Heavy resource use, overheating, keyboard misconfiguration, and recurring disk errors turned it into a liability rather than a learning asset. With targeted repairs, a … Read more