(TMI version)
Hmm, here is bit verbose chronological timeline of not so fancy evolution.
age < 9 years old me
I was introduced to the tech by means of console and computer games in early 90s, 3rd gen of video game consoles with 8/16-bit graphic support and cartridge ROM filled with 1 to “9999999 in 1” games in it. Can recall those days when I used to play Dangerous Dave, Aladdin and Prince of Persia in DOS at my dad’s office.
age > 9 && age <= 13 years old me
With inception of Windows 95, Dad upgraded system with Autocad and DWG drawing files to move from paper-based floor plans to more digitalized version. That’s the time I was introduced to another one of commands “win” to start GUI version!
Windows 98 and NT/2000 (learned how to boot and install) made me learn those Folder.htt (HTML Template for folder layouts) and Desktop.ini (autoruns, drive icons, and labels) tweaks and animated cursors (.ani) and GIF files!
This is the time when I had dial-up 56K modem making sound, and saw (not-so-clear) internals of ILOVEYOU and Redlof via Notepad and tried to stop folder.htt being spread all over the drive and floppy disk. :facepalm
I was also involved into Community Science Center (other names: CSC, Sunday Science Center) which exposed me to Astronomy, Electronics (555 Timer, Dynamo, Lemon battery concept :: generating electricity from array of potato coupled with zinc and copper to lit up LED, soldering iron and resistors), Chemistry (acid / base) and Physics (Sound waves, Periscope, Magnets, Gravity, Solar System, Energy Conversion and Electronics). Interestingly, this place also included one day for Meditation [eyes closed / focus on tip of the nose (optional) / breath in-hold-out].
age > 13 && age <= 17 years old me
Let’s fast forward with keywords (in no order): Age of Empire (strategy game), XP, Batch Scripting, VMware, KNOPPIX, Pascal, HTML, RegEdit, MSDN, Visual Basic 5/6 (Windows API / DLL Libraries, WinSock, VB Modules and Macros), bits of reverse engineering, WinDBg (so-so), UPX Packer, PEiD, Hiren’s Boot CD, etc.
age > 17 && age <= 22 years old me
gibberish tags: Moved to Mangalore City for B.E. IT (Got introduced to everything English): CS/CZ, Linux (Backtrack / Ubuntu with Gnome Desktop), Servers, Routers, VNC, Google Dorks, cUrl, crawlers, algorithm, PHP, JavaScript, mysql, phpMyAdmin, domains/dns, cloud / VPS (Xen, virtualization, KVM), IRC, data centers, multi Gbit connections, co-location, servers, benchmarking, analytics, streaming, load balancing, security, DDoS Protection, IDS/IPS, XSS, SQLi, API Integration, Backup and Migration, and more importantly realization of individuals such as RMS (computing), ESR (How to become a hacker / Asking a question smart way) and Torvalds (Linus). Had a far sight on competitive programming, GSoC, FB HackerCup.
age > 22 && age <= 25 years old me
gibberish tags: Moved to Bangalore City seeking for different perspective and startup environment: Startups, Java, Python, Guest Talks on security, startups and open source initiatives; joined g4h, null community (which formed after andhrahackers/pakbugs/iskorpitx/TeaMp0isoN/security-sh3ll era). boot camps, started working with/at HackerEarth, designing CTF portals, mentoring hackathons of all kind, competitions and evaluation of current tech field.
Tags: IoT, Security, Scale, Mobile, Cloud, RTL-SDR, Innovation, Ideas, Initiatives, etc.
age >= 25 years old me
Moved to NJ/NY area (pursuit of exploring west): Passion towards security dragged me to pursuing MS in Cyber Security at Saint Peter’s University, NJ where I spend time on research, cool new hardware and do open source contribution through various means. Working on some initiatives comprising boot camps, mentoring undergraduate students, spreading awareness about Linux and open source ecosystem.
Some Hobiz:
Now, if you want to skip everything gibberish and know something different, by which you may attain further clarity by exploring perspective on the page and things I am involved in.
PS: I’ll spend sometime on improving UI/UX of the blog, ATM it appears to be super cluttered to me.