About

Hello World!

I am Eric Holloway. I am a Penetration Tester, Cybersecurity enthusiast and an overall lover of all things tech-related. This blog serves as a way for me to share the cool things I’ve learned or am learning, as well as a place to review courses and certifications I’ve taken.

You can also find me on:

• LinkedIn
• HackTheBox

Background

Starting Out

I’ve been fascinated by technology ever since I was little. My first foray into the tech world was through programming. I don’t remember how I realized it, but around the age of 11 I figured out you could learn how to code for free using online resources like YouTube and W3Schools. So, I ended up learning web development. I remember staying up until 6 or 7 in the morning on weekends playing around with HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP doing my own little projects. I loved it more than video games at the time. I remember how excited I was when HTML5, CSS3 and ECMAScript 5 became standards and supported by the major browsers. I remember my frustration (and reluctance) writing code that would work across browsers and devices.

I even created my own social network called Next It that went live for a short while. This was a weird hybrid of Twitter and Facebook that only had one “standout” feature now that I look back on it: it’s WYSIWYG text editor. It was during this project that I had my “aha” moment and everything I knew, in theory, about recursion finally made sense.

High School

I was fortunate to go to a High School that had an IT magnet program (as well as being dual-credit). We also had Computer Science classes that I wanted to take, but alas could not. For 3 hours a day or so, I would learn about IT (systems and security administration, specifically, looking back) from an amazing instructor who prepared us all to take the CompTIA trifecta (A+, Network+, and Security+ for those not familiar with the term). The best part about this class were the hands-on labs. We did everything from build our own PC to configuring settings in Active Directory.

The certifications were supposed to be taken over a two-year (school year that is) time-span, but I was fascinated enough by everything to work ahead. My amazing instructor even let me come in over summer break to take one of the exams. So, by the time the rest of the class had started to work on Security+ material, I was technically already done. I had earned my A+, Network+, and Security+ certifications at this point. So, what did I do with the rest of my time? After a conversation with my instructor about what I wanted to learn next, I started to tackle the Linux+ material. He even got the school to fund a voucher for the certification exam. Unfortunately, I did not pass that exam.

Enlistment

After High School, I found myself enlisted in the United States Marine Corps where I worked as a Network Administrator configuring Cisco routers and switches. Again, I found myself fascinated by everything and went on to earn my CCENT and CCNA certifications. I had started to prepare for the CCNP as well, but did not take the exams for it.

Today

Today, I am a Penetration Tester and aspiring Red Team Operator. Beyond the “cool” factor, it allows me to learn about and touch all aspects of IT, Cybersecurity, and Computer Science. There is a never-ending and always-expanding wealth of knowledge in this field and I love that. Currently, (as of 2021/11/20) I have the OSCP, eJPT, eCPPT certifications.