Mastering Python Scripting for System Administrators. Write scripts and automate them for real-world administration tasks using Python

Ganesh Sanjiv Naik

Python has evolved over time and extended its features in relation to every possible IT operation. Python is simple to learn, yet has powerful libraries that can be used to build powerful Python scripts for solving real-world problems and automating administrators' routine activities. The objective of this book is to walk through a series of projects that will teach readers Python scripting with each project.This book will initially cover Python installation and quickly revise basic to advanced programming fundamentals. The book will then focus on the development process as a whole, from setup to planning to building different tools. It will include IT administrators' routine activities (text processing, regular expressions, file archiving, and encryption), network administration (socket programming, email handling, the remote controlling of devices using telnet/ssh, and protocols such as SNMP/DHCP), building graphical user interface, working with websites (Apache log file processing, SOAP and REST APIs communication, and web scraping), and database administration (MySQL and similar database data administration, data analytics, and reporting).By the end of this book, you will be able to use the latest features of Python and be able to build powerful tools that will solve challenging, real-world tasks

Mastering Reverse Engineering. Re-engineer your ethical hacking skills

Reginald Wong

If you want to analyze software in order to exploit its weaknesses and strengthen its defenses, then you should explore reverse engineering. Reverse Engineering is a hackerfriendly tool used to expose security flaws and questionable privacy practices.In this book, you will learn how to analyse software even without having access to its source code or design documents. You will start off by learning the low-level language used to communicate with the computer and then move on to covering reverse engineering techniques. Next, you will explore analysis techniques using real-world tools such as IDA Pro and x86dbg. As you progress through the chapters, you will walk through use cases encountered in reverse engineering, such as encryption and compression, used to obfuscate code, and how to to identify and overcome anti-debugging and anti-analysis tricks. Lastly, you will learn how to analyse other types of files that contain code.By the end of this book, you will have the confidence to perform reverse engineering.

Mastering Blockchain. Deeper insights into decentralization, cryptography, Bitcoin, and popular Blockchain frameworks

Imran Bashir

Blockchain is a distributed database that enables permanent, transparent, and secure storage of data. The blockchain technology is the backbone of cryptocurrency – in fact, it’s the shared public ledger upon which the entire Bitcoin network relies – and it’s gaining popularity with people who work in finance, government, and the arts.Blockhchain technology uses cryptography to keep data secure. This book gives a detailed description of this leading technology and its implementation in the real world.This book begins with the technical foundations of blockchain, teaching you the fundamentals of cryptography and how it keeps data secure. You will learn about the mechanisms behind cryptocurrencies and how to develop applications using Ethereum, a decentralized virtual machine. You will explore different blockchain solutions and get an exclusive preview into Hyperledger, an upcoming blockchain solution from IBM and the Linux Foundation. You will also be shown how to implement blockchain beyond currencies, scability with blockchain, and the future scope of this fascinating and powerful technology.

QGIS Python Programming Cookbook. Automating geospatial development - Second Edition

Joel Lawhead

QGIS is a desktop geographic information system that facilitates data viewing, editing, and analysis. Paired with the most efficient scripting language—Python, we can write effective scripts that extend the core functionality of QGIS. Based on version QGIS 2.18, this book will teach you how to write Python code that works with spatial data to automate geoprocessing tasks in QGIS. It will cover topics such as querying and editing vector data and using raster data. You will also learn to create, edit, and optimize a vector layer for faster queries, reproject a vector layer, reduce the number of vertices in a vector layer without losing critical data, and convert a raster to a vector. Following this, you will work through recipes that will help you compose static maps, create heavily customized maps, and add specialized labels and annotations. As well as this, we’ll also share a few tips and tricks based on different aspects of QGIS.

AWS: Security Best Practices on AWS. Learn to secure your data, servers, and applications with AWS

Albert Anthony

With organizations moving their workloads, applications, and infrastructure to the cloud at an unprecedented pace, security of all these resources has been a paradigm shift for all those who are responsible for security; experts, novices, and apprentices alike.This book focuses on using native AWS security features and managed AWS services to help you achieve continuous security. Starting with an introduction to Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) to secure your AWS VPC, you will quickly explore various components that make up VPC such as subnets, security groups, various gateways, and many more.You will also learn to protect data in the AWS platform for various AWS services by encrypting and decrypting data in AWS. You will also learn to secure web and mobile applications in AWS cloud.This book is ideal for all IT professionals, system administrators, security analysts, solution architects, and chief information security officers who are responsible for securing workloads in AWS for their organizations.This book is embedded with useful assessments that will help you revise the concepts you have learned in this book. This book is repurposed for this specific learning experience from material from Packt's Mastering AWS Security, written by Albert Anthony.

VMware Cross-Cloud Architecture. Automate and orchestrate your Software-Defined Data Center on AWS

Ajit Pratap Kundan

Over the past two decades, VMware vSphere has been known as the most trusted andreliable virtualization platform. VMware Cross-Cloud Architecture shows you how to design and configure Cross Cloud Architecture by using VMware Cloud Foundation and vRealize Suite with various use cases across private, public, and hybrid Cloud. This book takes you through everything from a basic understanding of virtualization to advanced aspects of storage and network virtualization, clustering, automation, and management.This book will be your guide to designing all aspects of Cloud.We start with the challenges faced by a traditional data center, define problem statements for you, and then brief you on respective solutions. Moving on, all kinds of virtualization and Cloud offerings from AWS and IBM Soft Layer are introduced and discussed in detail. Then, you'll learn how to design IT infrastructures for new and existing applications with a combination of Cloud Foundation, vRealize Suite, and vSphere enabled with VSAN and NSX. Furthermore, you'll learn how to design and configure high availability, disaster recovery, and apply an appropriate compliance matrix.Toward the end of the book, you will learn how to calculate the TCO/ROI, along withthe VMware products packaging and licensing in detail.

ServiceNow Application Development. Transform the way you build apps for enterprises

Sagar Gupta

ServiceNow provides service management for every department in the enterprise, including IT, Human Resources, Facilities, Field Service, and more.This book focuses on all the steps required to develop apps and workflows for any of your business requirements using ServiceNow. You will start with the first module, which covers the basics of ServiceNow and how applications are structured; how you can customize the dashboard as required; and also how to create users. After you get used to the dashboard, you will move on to the next module, Applications and Tables, where you will learn about working with different tables and how you can create a scope other than the global scope for your application. The next module is Scripting and APIs, where you will learn Scripting in ServiceNow and use powerful APIs to develop applications. The final module, Administration Essentials, covers debugging, advanced database features, and scheduled script creation.By the end of the book you will have mastered creating organized and customer-friendly applications

Hands-On System Programming with Linux. Explore Linux system programming interfaces, theory, and practice

Kaiwan N Billimoria

The Linux OS and its embedded and server applications are critical components of today’s software infrastructure in a decentralized, networked universe. The industry's demand for proficient Linux developers is only rising with time. Hands-On System Programming with Linux gives you a solid theoretical base and practical industry-relevant descriptions, and covers the Linux system programming domain. It delves into the art and science of Linux application programming— system architecture, process memory and management, signaling, timers, pthreads, and file IO.This book goes beyond the use API X to do Y approach; it explains the concepts and theories required to understand programming interfaces and design decisions, the tradeoffs made by experienced developers when using them, and the rationale behind them. Troubleshooting tips and techniques are included in the concluding chapter.By the end of this book, you will have gained essential conceptual design knowledge and hands-on experience working with Linux system programming interfaces.