Cybersecurity Lab Notes, Projects & Field Guides

Learn It. Break It. Build It. Document It.

Root Notebook is where hands-on cybersecurity, real-world IT, and a few unexpected rabbit holes get documented.

From TryHackMe and penetration testing labs to Linux, infrastructure, Raspberry Pi projects, and lessons learned from years in IT, this is a growing collection of things I’ve built, broken, fixed, investigated, and learned along the way.

life.log
Stories, memories, work, family, Ocean City, mistakes, strange experiences, and the parts of my life that have nothing to do with computers.

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Cybersecurity Lab Notes, Projects & Field Guides

Whether you’re looking for hands-on cybersecurity labs, real-world IT projects, technical reference guides, or practical security techniques, start exploring below.

🧪IT Troubleshooting

Practical troubleshooting notes from real IT problems involving Windows, Linux, networking, hardware, services, and everyday technical failures.
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💻Projects

Explore production IT and cybersecurity projects built from planning through deployment. Each project highlights the design decisions, implementation process, challenges, and lessons learned.
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🛠️Tools

Reference guides for the tools I use throughout my projects, including installation, configuration, common commands, best practices, and real-world examples.
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🎯Techniques

Learn the practical techniques behind cybersecurity, including enumeration, packet analysis, networking, privilege escalation, Active Directory, Linux, and Windows administration.
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Latest from RootNotebook

The latest things I’ve built, broken, investigated, or documented.

  • Encrypt a USB Drive with BitLocker: An IT Field Guide

    Learn how to encrypt a USB drive with BitLocker using DiskPart and PowerShell. This practical IT field guide covers NTFS formatting, AES encryption, recovery keys, encryption monitoring, and verification on Windows.

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  • How to Create a Reverse Shell: Hands-On Linux and Web Server Lab

    Overview Learning how to create a reverse shell is an essential part of understanding Linux exploitation, web application vulnerabilities, and remote command execution. During TryHackMe challenges, you may encounter situations where a vulnerable web server allows commands to run, but you still need to establish an interactive terminal session. This tutorial demonstrates how to create…

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  • Reverse Shell Cheat Sheet: A Practical Guide for TryHackMe and Web Server Labs

    A practical reverse shell reference for TryHackMe and authorized penetration testing labs. Learn how reverse connections work, configure Netcat listeners, understand Bash, Python, and PHP implementations, and troubleshoot common networking and terminal problems.

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I write the articles on RootNotebook based on my own experiences, projects, notes, and research. I use ChatGPT as an editing tool to help with spelling, grammar, clarity, and organization. My TryHackMe walkthroughs are based on notes I take while completing the challenges myself.