HomeCoursesPractical Security: Simple Practices for Defending Your Systems

Intermediate

Practical Security: Simple Practices for Defending Your Systems
Save

Gain insights into effective security techniques including patching, cryptography, and phishing prevention. Explore practices to make systems resistant and vulnerabilities more detectable, enhancing defense against attacks.

Join 2.6 million developers at

Content

Reviews

Overview

It seems like hardly a week goes by without a high-profile computer breach. Why do these happen? How can you prevent them? This course doesn’t have all the answers, but it does outline practices that make life harder for attackers and that will help tide you over until you get a full-time security team in place. In this course, you will learn 5 simple, yet effective, techniques for preventing attackers from getting into your system. These techniques are related to: patching, software vulnerabilities, crypt...Show More

It seems like hardly a week goes by without a high-profile computer breach. Why do these happen? How can you prevent them? This ...Show More

Content

65 Lessons40 Quizzes

Introduction

2 Lessons

Get familiar with core security practices and essential tools for defending your systems.

Who Is This Course For?

What’s in This Course?

Patching

14 Lessons

Unpack the core of efficient patching strategies to safeguard against software vulnerabilities.

Introduction

Upgrading Third-Party Libraries and Software

A Closer Look at Patching

Library Inventory

Dependency Management: Python

Dependency Management: JavaScript

Automating Vulnerability Detection

Finding Published Vulnerabilities

Testing Your Patches

If Patching Hurts, Do It More Often

Vulnerabilities

20 Lessons

Examine software vulnerabilities, SQL injection, defensive coding, XSS, XSRF, and mitigating misconfigurations.

Introduction

Introduction to SQL

Challenge: Select The Journal

Solution Review: Select The Journal

More SQL Commands

Challenge: Write a Generalized Query

Solution Review: Write a Generalized Query

How SQL Injection Works

Extending the Defense Beyond Prepared Statements

Additional Defenses as a Mitigation Against Future Mistakes

Putting It All Together for a Robust Defense

Introduction to Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)

HTML Encoding

Defenses against XSS

Introduction to Cross-Site Request Forgery (XSRF)

XSRF Prevention with SameSite

Misconfiguration

Default Passwords & Credentials

Jenkins & Public-Facing Servers

What’s Next?

Cryptography

15 Lessons

Grasp the fundamentals of using established cryptographic libraries and secure password management techniques.

Introduction

Don’t Roll Your Own Crypto

Some Key Principles

Security When the Enemy Knows the System

Don’t Use Low-Level Crypto Libraries

ECB Malleability

CBC Is Still Malleable

Evaluating Crypto Libraries Without Being a Crypto Expert

Password Storage

More Techniques for Password Storage

Storing Passwords When You’re the Client

Minimizing the Cost of Credential Loss

Keeping Passwords Hard to Predict

TLS Configuration

What’s Next?

Windows

6 Lessons

Solve problems in Windows security, from user account management to password policies, Active Directory, and BitLocker.

Introduction

Password Policy

Active Directory: What Else Is It Good For?

BitLocker

What’s Next?

Phishing

8 Lessons

Focus on understanding phishing, its types, social and DNS-based defenses, and response strategies.

Introduction

Types of Phishing Attacks

Social Defense

DNS-Based Defense SPF

DNS-Based Defense: DKIM

DNS-Based Defense: DMARC

Authentication-Based Defense

Wrapping up!

Certificate of Completion

Showcase your accomplishment by sharing your certificate of completion.

Course Author:

The Pragmatic Programmers

Looks a bit advance? Start here.

Course

Web Security and Access Management: JWT, OAuth2 & OpenId Connect

Gain insights into JWT, OAuth2, and OpenID Connect. Learn about HTTPS, encryption, and handshake techniques, and explore foundational concepts in web API security for enhanced application protection.

5 hours

intermediate

Course

Web Application Security for the Everyday Software Engineer

Gain insights into enforcing web app security best practices, such as HTTPS, defending against XSS and clickjacking, managing HTTP cookies, and warding off DDoS attacks.

4 hours

intermediate

Course

A Guide to Securing Node.js Applications

Gain insights into securing Node.js applications: sanitize inputs, use HTTPS, encryption, explore authentication, access control, and protect against XSS, CSRF, and popular hacks.

4 hours

intermediate

Course

Password Security: How not to Store Passwords

1 hour

intermediate

Course

Web Security and Access Management: JWT, OAuth2 & OpenId Connect

intermediate

5 hour

Course

Web Application Security for the Everyday Software Engineer

intermediate

4 hour

Course

A Guide to Securing Node.js Applications

intermediate

4 hour

Course

Password Security: How not to Store Passwords

intermediate

1 hour

Trusted by 2.6 million developers working at companies

"These are high-quality courses. Trust me. I own around 10 and the price is worth it for the content quality. EducativeInc came at the right time in my career. I'm understanding topics better than with any book or online video tutorial I've done. Truly made for developers. Thanks"

Anthony Walker

@_webarchitect_

"Just finished my first full #ML course: Machine learning for Software Engineers from Educative, Inc. ... Highly recommend!"

Evan Dunbar

ML Engineer

"You guys are the gold standard of crash-courses... Narrow enough that it doesn't need years of study or a full blown book to get the gist, but broad enough that an afternoon of Googling doesn't cut it."

Carlos Matias La Borde

Software Developer

"I spend my days and nights on Educative. It is indispensable. It is such a unique and reader-friendly site"

Souvik Kundu

Front-end Developer

"Your courses are simply awesome, the depth they go into and the breadth of coverage is so good that I don't have to refer to 10 different websites looking for interview topics and content."

Vinay Krishnaiah

Software Developer

"I've tried probably 5-7 different sites and Educative is easily the best. It perfectly blends explanation with interactivity"

Eric Downs

Musician/Entrepeneur

Hands-on Learning Powered by AI

See how Educative uses AI to make your learning more immersive than ever before.

Instant Code Feedback

Evaluate and debug your code with the click of a button. Get real-time feedback on test cases, including time and space complexity of your solutions.

AI-Powered Mock Interviews

Put your skills to the test in a simulated interview setting. Receive personalized feedback based on your performance. Available in Premium & Premium Plus plans.

Adaptive Learning

At various checkpoints throughout Educative courses, you will be prompted to take a quick assessment. Receive a condensed curriculum tailored to your strengths and skill gaps.

Explain with AI

Select any text within any Educative course, and get an instant explanation — without ever leaving your browser.

AI Code Mentor

AI Code Mentor helps you quickly identify errors in your code, learn from your mistakes, and nudge you in the right direction — just like a 1:1 tutor!

Course

Password Security: How not to Store Passwords

1 hour

intermediate

Course

A Guide to Securing Node.js Applications

Gain insights into securing Node.js applications: sanitize inputs, use HTTPS, encryption, explore authentication, access control, and protect against XSS, CSRF, and popular hacks.

4 hours

intermediate

Course

Web Application Security for the Everyday Software Engineer

Gain insights into enforcing web app security best practices, such as HTTPS, defending against XSS and clickjacking, managing HTTP cookies, and warding off DDoS attacks.

4 hours

intermediate

Course

Web Security and Access Management: JWT, OAuth2 & OpenId Connect

Gain insights into JWT, OAuth2, and OpenID Connect. Learn about HTTPS, encryption, and handshake techniques, and explore foundational concepts in web API security for enhanced application protection.

5 hours

intermediate

Course

Password Security: How not to Store Passwords

intermediate

1 hour

Course

A Guide to Securing Node.js Applications

intermediate

4 hour

Course

Web Application Security for the Everyday Software Engineer