Austin Chen

Cutting Out the Middleman: Pi-hole + Unbound at Home

Mon, 21 Sep 2026 09:30:00 -0400

It started with my grandfather trying to listen to Taiwanese music on YouTube and getting hit with 90-120 seconds of unskippable ads before every song. That was the moment I decided to stop renting my DNS from someone else and start resolving it myself.

Python Email Automation Project

Mon, 30 Sep 2024 04:47:54 -0400

(So Time Spent Checking My Emails are More Productive) I was recently thinking of ways that I could make time spent on my phone more productive. I recently deleted apps like YouTube and Instagram limiting myself to only view on my laptop for my own good (which seems to be reducing my time spent on [

My Guide to The Microsoft Azure Associate (AZ-104)

Sat, 21 Sep 2024 05:03:05 -0400

It’s no secret that the world of technology moves at light speed when it comes to adopting new tools, platforms, and innovations. Much like how “AI” has become the buzz word of these past couple years, “Cloud” is probably up there as another hyped up term in the current state of tech. This past summ

Linux Backdoor With A SOC Perspective

Sun, 10 Sep 2023 23:40:00 -0400

Hi everyone! I have been incredibly lucky to stumble upon the online content posted by Black Hills Information Security Owner and Security Analyst, John Strand. All credit to John Strand and his online documentation for the lab that I was able to complete this past weekend! The goal and learning fro

Creating Ransomware With Python (For Educational Purposes)

Fri, 25 Aug 2023 18:56:00 -0400

Hello! This past weekend I checked out NetworkChuck’s video on creating malware using python and created my own ransomware. This is a cool demo that I tried within my VMs to understand some of the basics of how ransomware works (for learning purposes only). It’s scary how simple this lab was! If you

My Experience as a Palo Alto Networks “Secure the Future” Top 10 Finalist

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 22:35:55 -0400

In an ever-evolving digitally-connected world, the frequency of cyberattacks targeting business systems is surging at an alarming rate. This obviously poses a significant threat to companies of all sizes, from small enterprises to large corporations, jeopardizing both their operational capabilities

About

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

My name is Austin. I’m a cybersecurity analyst.

Most of what I publish here comes out of curiosity: I’ll read about an attack technique or a cloud service, decide I don’t really understand it, and then go build it in a lab until I do. Writing the process or getting hands-on is how I make things stick, plus I can showcase what I’m interested in!

Certifications

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

I write a full study guide for every certification I take — what the exam actually covers, which resources were worth the money, and what I’d do differently. Those write-ups live on the blog.

Contact

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

I’m always happy to talk about security labs, cloud certifications, or early-career opportunities. Email is the best way to reach me — I read everything, and I try to reply to anything that isn’t a sales pitch.

Projects & Labs

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Everything below was built in an isolated lab environment for learning purposes. The offensive projects exist so I can understand what defenders are looking at — each one ends with the detection side of the story.