Hello, my name is Knoxville. I joined the Nexus Tuesday, October 30, 2012 and have posted periodically since then. I never really made one of these because I was too busy exploring. When you first join there is just so much that you want to look at, I was sort of like a kid at a toy store the size of Mars. So much information to read, experiences to give, it was a bit overwhelming. I took a small break because I didn't really feel like I was living my life right, I was sort of in a drug induced personal limbo. When I say drug I'm talking about the ones which aren't natural and do damage (prescription pills, coke, MDA/MDMA). But now I'm back or at least trying to get back to where I was with my spiritual and physical health. I know my way around the internet, I'm all over the place but the majority of my time is spent on various boards on the deep web. I'm a web designer and am going to school for Network Security. I'm a very open minded individual, I am open to new discoveries and ideas and I'm always seeking information. I'm a big subscriber to the Ancient Astronaut theory. I don't really see a Caucasian, African American, Asian, etc race, I only see the Human race. The progression of the Human race and a change from the poisonous existence that we are now living in is my motivation. I don't have a religion but I do take some of my principles from Buddhism. I love all kinds of music and I don't really go through life pulling my hair out over anything because I just see the way that we as the Human race and living and think that I'm wasting my time. However, I stay positive and am a happy person. I'm happy to be here and I hope to meet all of you sooner or later throughout my time here.

welcome brother! Glad to hear you're off of the Prescriptions and coke. Stick to the entheogens, they will do much more for you! IM also happy to know that you also are motivated to change the sick direction humanity is headed in. God knows we need more people willing to Stand up to the corruption that has become so common in all institutions of society.

Stay positive and I look forward to hearing what you have to contribute!

Why didn't you name yourself Knox Vegas?

Hi Knoxville,

I'm new as well (As of yesterday), but have been a lurker for the past year.
Network Security and Web Development is my realm as well, but I am currently a VoIP/SIP Tech Support Engineer.

You sound like a very cool and down to earth kind of guy and I am sure I'll see you around in the future.


Cheers!

Thanks Jelly, it's nice to see some people haven't given up. Thanks for the support!


The real question was why did I not name myself Knoxville. So I did.



VoIP/SIP, pretty cool. Maybe we'll end up working together on something in the future. I'm always trying to make connections within the IT Industry. I'd thank you formally but I seem to have forgotten your name.

VoIP/SIP (Session Initiation Protocol), is a good area to be in, more and more jobs are moving to VoIP and the TDM/PSTN network will be dead by 2018 (SRC: http://transition.fcc.go...1mtgfullpresentation.pdf)

What realm of network security are you diving into?
If you are in the same boat as me, (no B.S. degree), there are two things to build credibility.
- 1. Work Experience.
- 2. Certifications.

Being CompTIA certified for A+, Network+ (Gotta know that TCP/IP and OSI Model!), Security+, and Linux+ (All self-study), got me an entry-level job easily doing Tier 1 tech support. Moved up to Tier 2, then Tier 3 (Network Operations), which was awesome. Learned a lot.

Cisco CCNA is a nice-to-have, if at minimum, for the foundation and knowledge of the networking layers and OSI model, and data-communications.

Other realms of network security such as architecture design, SSL, Private/Public key encryption methods, and keeping up to date on all zero-day Exploits and hacks is key. It's all about finding your niche and doing what you love to do best. I thought I was going to dive into the realm of Linux System Administration, and perhaps some data center work, but I find that to be a bit boring at times, whereas working and deploying cloud-based services is better in my honest opinion.

Whatever pays the bills best and keeps you happy is what is important.
I wouldn't want to be the guy that get's called at 2:56 am, because anonymous hackers decided to deface the website or screw up something. That's why I find deploying VoIP solutions somewhat exciting, because the technology just gets better and better, whereas being in network security, whether that be looking after Windows or Linux systems, or many users, gets kind of bland and a bit irritating sometimes. It's the user's that are the problem... haha.

Just providing some additional thought about personal experiences in the industry.
What's your area of expertise, Basic HTML/CSS, or you diving into jquery/HTML5, basic SQL/database stuff?