Unlock Your Creativity with Photopea. Edit and retouch images, and create striking text and designs with the free online software

Michael Burton, Ellie Altomare

Photopea is a comprehensive image and photo editing design tool that provides essential features and capabilities comparable to Adobe Photoshop. This book covers the latest version of Photopea, featuring step-by-step instructions for image editing, improving and enhancing designs with text and effects, and creating eye-catching projects for print and the web.The first part of this book will teach you how to navigate the workspace, use the best tools for specific tasks and projects, and make perfect selections. You’ll also discover how to remove backgrounds, merge and/or add objects, and adjust colors to create impressive images. Later, you’ll explore layers and compositing techniques, and get hands on with retouching images like a pro. The book will demonstrate how to create collages and use brushes, color wheels, and swatches for drawing and painting. You’ll also learn how to apply impressive text to images to create posters, flyers, and logos.By the end of this book, you'll have learned how to retouch, paint, enhance, and manipulate images; how to use templates provided by Photopea; and finally, how to apply your skills to projects.

Programming APIs with C# and .NET. Develop high-performance APIs that ensure seamless application communication and enhanced security

Jesse Liberty, Joseph Dluzen

APIs are at the heart of modern software development, enabling seamless communication between applications. In the C# and .NET ecosystem, mastering API development is key to building scalable, reliable systems that meet both client and enterprise needs.Written by C# and .NET experts Jesse Liberty and Joseph Dluzen, this book draws on their extensive experience as hands-on programmers to equip you with the tools, techniques, and best practices for creating powerful APIs.Starting with API fundamentals, it covers everything you need to design, build, and consume APIs using .NET technologies such as ASP.NET Core, and explores both controller and Function API implementations. You'll integrate essential tools such as Postman for testing to streamline your development workflow.Through practical examples and exercises, the book guides you from database creation to deploying APIs on Azure. By the end of this book, you’ll have gained real-world skills to develop secure, high-performance APIs that scale with your applications for both personal projects and enterprise-level systems.

Defensive Security with Kali Purple. Cybersecurity strategies using ELK Stack and Kali Linux

Karl Lane

Defensive Security with Kali Purple combines red team tools from the Kali Linux OS and blue team tools commonly found within a security operations center (SOC) for an all-in-one approach to cybersecurity. This book takes you from an overview of today's cybersecurity services and their evolution to building a solid understanding of how Kali Purple can enhance training and support proof-of-concept scenarios for your technicians and analysts.After getting to grips with the basics, you’ll learn how to develop a cyber defense system for Small Office Home Office (SOHO ) services. This is demonstrated through the installation and configuration of supporting tools such as virtual machines, the Java SDK, Elastic, and related software. You’ll then explore Kali Purple’s compatibility with the Malcolm suite of tools, including Arkime, CyberChef, Suricata, and Zeek. As you progress, the book introduces advanced features, such as security incident response with StrangeBee’s Cortex and TheHive and threat and intelligence feeds. Finally, you’ll delve into digital forensics and explore tools for social engineering and exploit development.By the end of this book, you’ll have a clear and practical understanding of how this powerful suite of tools can be implemented in real-world scenarios.

Data Cleaning with Power BI. The definitive guide to transforming dirty data into actionable insights

Gus Frazer

Microsoft Power BI offers a range of powerful data cleaning and preparation options through tools such as DAX, Power Query, and the M language. However, despite its user-friendly interface, mastering it can be challenging. Whether you're a seasoned analyst or a novice exploring the potential of Power BI, this comprehensive guide equips you with techniques to transform raw data into a reliable foundation for insightful analysis and visualization.This book serves as a comprehensive guide to data cleaning, starting with data quality, common data challenges, and best practices for handling data. You’ll learn how to import and clean data with Query Editor and transform data using the M query language. As you advance, you’ll explore Power BI’s data modeling capabilities for efficient cleaning and establishing relationships. Later chapters cover best practices for using Power Automate for data cleaning and task automation. Finally, you’ll discover how OpenAI and ChatGPT can make data cleaning in Power BI easier.By the end of the book, you will have a comprehensive understanding of data cleaning concepts, techniques, and how to use Power BI and its tools for effective data preparation.

Mastering Flask Web and API Development. Build and deploy production-ready Flask apps seamlessly across web, APIs, and mobile platforms

Sherwin John C. Tragura

Flask is a popular Python framework known for its lightweight and modular design. Mastering Flask Web and API Development will take you on an exhaustive tour of the Flask environment and teach you how to build a production-ready application.You’ll start by installing Flask and grasping fundamental concepts, such as MVC and ORM database access. Next, you’ll master structuring applications for scalability through Flask blueprints. As you progress, you’ll explore both SQL and NoSQL databases while creating REST APIs and implementing JWT authentication, and improve your skills in role-based access security, utilizing LDAP, OAuth, OpenID, and databases. The new project structure, managed by context managers, as well as ASGI support, has revolutionized Flask, and you’ll get to grips with these crucial upgrades. You'll also explore out-of-the-box integrations with technologies, such as RabbitMQ, Celery, NoSQL databases, PostgreSQL, and various external modules. The concluding chapters discuss enterprise-related challenges where Flask proves its mettle as a core solution.By the end of this book, you’ll be well-versed with Flask, seeing it not only as a lightweight web and API framework, but also as a potent problem-solving tool in your daily work, addressing integration and enterprise issues alongside Django and FastAPI.

Pentesting Active Directory and Windows-based Infrastructure. A comprehensive practical guide to penetration testing Microsoft infrastructure

Denis Isakov

This book teaches you the tactics and techniques used to attack a Windows-based environment, along with showing you how to detect malicious activities and remediate misconfigurations and vulnerabilities.You’ll begin by deploying your lab, where every technique can be replicated. The chapters help you master every step of the attack kill chain and put new knowledge into practice. You’ll discover how to evade defense of common built-in security mechanisms, such as AMSI, AppLocker, and Sysmon; perform reconnaissance and discovery activities in the domain environment by using common protocols and tools; and harvest domain-wide credentials. You’ll also learn how to move laterally by blending into the environment’s traffic to stay under radar, escalate privileges inside the domain and across the forest, and achieve persistence at the domain level and on the domain controller. Every chapter discusses OpSec considerations for each technique, and you’ll apply this kill chain to perform the security assessment of other Microsoft products and services, such as Exchange, SQL Server, and SCCM.By the end of this book, you'll be able to perform a full-fledged security assessment of the Microsoft environment, detect malicious activity in your network, and guide IT engineers on remediation steps to improve the security posture of the company.

Cloud Forensics Demystified. Decoding cloud investigation complexities for digital forensic professionals

Ganesh Ramakrishnan, Mansoor Haqanee

As organizations embrace cloud-centric environments, it becomes imperative for security professionals to master the skills of effective cloud investigation. Cloud Forensics Demystified addresses this pressing need, explaining how to use cloud-native tools and logs together with traditional digital forensic techniques for a thorough cloud investigation. The book begins by giving you an overview of cloud services, followed by a detailed exploration of the tools and techniques used to investigate popular cloud platforms such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Progressing through the chapters, you’ll learn how to investigate Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and containerized environments such as Kubernetes. Throughout, the chapters emphasize the significance of the cloud, explaining which tools and logs need to be enabled for investigative purposes and demonstrating how to integrate them with traditional digital forensic tools and techniques to respond to cloud security incidents. By the end of this book, you’ll be well-equipped to handle security breaches in cloud-based environments and have a comprehensive understanding of the essential cloud-based logs vital to your investigations. This knowledge will enable you to swiftly acquire and scrutinize artifacts of interest in cloud security incidents.

iOS 18 Programming for Beginners. Learn iOS development with Swift 6, Xcode 16, and iOS 18 - your path to App Store success - Ninth Edition

Ahmad Sahar

Want to turn your app idea into reality? iOS 18 Programming for Beginners is a guide that revolves around building a journal app, designed to teach you practical iOS development skills from the ground up. Through this approach, you'll gain hands-on experience with Xcode programming and progress through building a UI and filling it with functionality.Starting with the fundamentals of Swift 6, you'll learn how to construct user interfaces using storyboards and segues before diving into essential iOS concepts like table views, data handling, and map integration. The step-by-step tutorials guide you through key tasks such as persisting data with JSON, creating custom views, and integrating media into your apps. You’ll also discover how to enhance your apps using Apple Intelligence, incorporating machine learning and smart features to create cutting-edge iOS applications. The final chapters focus on crucial aspects of app development, including Swift Testing to ensure your app is robust, and submitting your app to the App Store—demystifying the journey from development to deployment.Whether you're a beginner or transitioning to iOS development, this guide will equip you with the skills needed to create and publish your own apps.

Data Quality in the Age of AI. Building a foundation for AI strategy and data culture

Andrew Jones

As organizations worldwide seek to revamp their data strategies to leverage AI advancements and benefit from newfound capabilities, data quality emerges as the cornerstone for success. Without high-quality data, even the most advanced AI models falter. Enter Data Quality in the Age of AI, a detailed report that illuminates the crucial role of data quality in shaping effective data strategies.Packed with actionable insights, this report highlights the critical role of data quality in your overall data strategy. It equips teams and organizations with the knowledge and tools to thrive in the evolving AI landscape, serving as a roadmap for harnessing the power of data quality, enabling them to unlock their data's full potential, leading to improved performance, reduced costs, increased revenue, and informed strategic decisions.

The AI Value Playbook. How to make AI work in the real world

Lisa Weaver-Lambert

Business leaders are challenged by the speed of AI innovation and how to navigate disruption and uncertainty. This book is a crucial resource for those who want to understand how to leverage AI to drive business value, drawn from the firsthand experience of those who have been implementing this technology successfully. The AI Value Playbook focuses on questions frequently posed by leaders and boards. How can businesses adapt to these emerging technologies? How can they start building and deploying AI as a strategic asset to drive efficiency? What risks or threats need to be considered? How quickly can value be created? This book is a response to those demands. In a series of in-depth and wide-ranging conversations with practitioners, from CEOs leading new generative AI-based companies to Data Scientists and CFOs working in more traditional companies. Our experts share their hard-earned wisdom, talking candidly about their successes and failures, and what excites them about the future. These interviews offer unique insights for business leaders to apply to their own organizations. The book distils a value-driven playbook for how AI can be put to work today.

F# for Quantitative Finance. An introductory guide to utilizing F# for quantitative finance leveraging the .NET platform

Johan Astborg

F# is a functional programming language that allows you to write simple code for complex problems. Currently, it is most commonly used in the financial sector. Quantitative finance makes heavy use of mathematics to model various parts of finance in the real world. If you are interested in using F# for your day-to-day work or research in quantitative finance, this book is a must-have.This book will cover everything you need to know about using functional programming for quantitative finance. Using a functional programming language will enable you to concentrate more on the problem itself rather than implementation details. Tutorials and snippets are summarized into an automated trading system throughout the book.This book will introduce you to F#, using Visual Studio, and provide examples with functional programming and finance combined. The book also covers topics such as downloading, visualizing and calculating statistics from data.F# is a first class programming language for the financial domain.

Designing API-First Enterprise Architectures on Azure. A guide for architects and developers to expedite digital transformation with API-led architectures

Subhajit Chatterjee

API-centric architectures are foundational to delivering omnichannel experiences for an enterprise. With this book, developers will learn techniques to design loosely coupled, cloud-based, business-tier interfaces that can be consumed by a variety of client applications.Using real-world examples and case studies, the book helps you get to grips with the cloudbased design and implementation of reliable and resilient API-centric solutions. Starting with the evolution of enterprise applications, you'll learn how API-based integration architectures drive digital transformation. You'll then learn about the important principles and practices that apply to cloud-based API architectures and advance to exploring the different architecture styles and their implementation in Azure. This book is written from a practitioner's point of view, so you'll discover ideas and practices that have worked successfully in various customer scenarios.By the end of this book, you'll be able to architect, design, deploy, and monetize your API solutions in the Azure cloud while implementing best practices and industry standards.

Up and Running with Affinity Designer. A practical, easy-to-follow guide to get up to speed with the powerful features of Affinity Designer 1.10

Kevin House

Affinity Designer is a widely adopted creative application, and in a reasonably short space of time, it has become a leading design and illustration application. Affinity Designer, along with Affinity Photo and Affinity Publisher, is part of a suite of award-winning creative software applications developed by Serif Europe. Built on the latest technologies, which make it fast and smooth, Affinity Designer is quickly becoming the go-to professional creative application for vector drawing and pixel-based painting.Up and Running with Affinity Designer is a comprehensive hands-on guide to the Affinity Designer software. Whether you're new to the creative industry, a seasoned professional looking for a proven alternative, or an enthusiastic hobbyist, this book will help you get up to speed in no time. You’ll learn how to create documents and explore workflow best practices while working through practical exercises using the knowledge and skills developed in each chapter to solidify your understanding of the fundamentals. Finally, you’ll bring it all together with real-world practical applications by building a fun logo and professional illustration, forming a base for in-depth exploration in your own projects.By the end of this Affinity Designer book, you'll have gained the knowledge and confidence to use Affinity Designer as part of your creative toolset.

Getting Started with tmux. Maximize your productivity by accessing several terminal sessions from a single window using tmux

Victor Quinn

Building UIs with Wijmo. Wijmo lets you use widgets on your websites for more flexibility and ease of use in the user interface. This book shows you how with a refreshingly logical and example-led approach that makes learning a pleasure

Yuguang Zhang

Until recently, writing applications using JavaScript and HTML was difficult, because developers had to make the user interface by themselves; however, this started changing with the introduction of JavaScript libraries such as jQuery, jQuery UI, and KnockoutJS. An extension of jQuery UI, Wijmo adds features and widgets on top of jQuery UI and makes it easier to add user interface widgets to HTML documents.Building UIs with Wijmo gives you a tour of what Wijmo offers at a glance. With code recipes and well-explained examples, you will be able to use Wijmo in no time. The book gives details on options not explained in the documentation and helps you avoid those that don't work. The examples only feature the necessary code, with recommendations and best practices.This book introduces Wijmo, grouping widgets by their common application area or usage. It walks the user through the features of the dialog widget with examples as an introduction to the library. Then, widgets for forms, images, tootips, and other topics are explored.Features only available in the Wijmo dialog widget compared to the jQuery UI widget are thoroughly explained with examples. Common form components such as checkboxes, dropdowns, and inputs have Wijmo counterparts which keep the theme consistent and add functionalities. When Wijmo is used with Knockout, the UI automatically refreshes when the data changes. This book takes it further with WebSockets for two way communication between the server and client. With Building UIs with Wijmo, you will learn all the common web development components in Wijmo. You will get started using Wijmo in no time.

Data Analysis with R. Click here to enter text

Tony Fischetti, Tony Fischetti

Frequently the tool of choice for academics, R has spread deep into the private sector and can be found in the production pipelines at some of the most advanced and successful enterprises. The power and domain-specificity of R allows the user to express complex analytics easily, quickly, and succinctly. With over 7,000 user contributed packages, it’s easy to find support for the latest and greatest algorithms and techniques.Starting with the basics of R and statistical reasoning, Data Analysis with R dives into advanced predictive analytics, showing how to apply those techniques to real-world data though with real-world examples.Packed with engaging problems and exercises, this book begins with a review of R and its syntax. From there, get to grips with the fundamentals of applied statistics and build on this knowledge to perform sophisticated and powerful analytics. Solve the difficulties relating to performing data analysis in practice and find solutions to working with “messy data”, large data, communicating results, and facilitating reproducibility.This book is engineered to be an invaluable resource through many stages of anyone’s career as a data analyst.