Labs · Cyber Security
Lab: Plan Your Safe Cyber Security Practice Lab – Isolated Network, Your Own Machines Only and a Written Scope
Course: Cyber Security · Chapter 17: Why Learn All This Before Kali Linux?
Chapter 17 links everything we built to security testing; this lab plans a safe, legal place to practise.
Chala mitrano! Before we touch any security tool, we decide three things: where we practise, on which machines, and what is out of bounds. Professionals call this the scope, and they never start without it in writing. Today we write ours. He sagla legal aani safe theva!
चला मित्रांनो! कोणतंही security tool हातात घेण्याआधी आपण तीन गोष्टी ठरवतो: कुठे practice करायची, कोणत्या machines वर, आणि काय पूर्ण बंद. Professionals याला scope म्हणतात, आणि लिखित scope शिवाय ते कधीच सुरू करत नाहीत. आज आपण आपला scope लिहिणार. सगळं legal आणि safe ठेवा!
चलो दोस्तों! किसी भी security tool को छूने से पहले हम तीन बातें तय करते हैं: practice कहाँ करेंगे, किन machines पर, और क्या बिल्कुल मना है। Professionals इसे scope कहते हैं, और लिखित scope के बिना कभी शुरू नहीं करते। आज हम अपना scope लिखेंगे। सब legal और safe रखो!
Suppose we are…
Suppose we want to join the security testing team at Wipro or Quick Heal one day. In those teams, nobody runs a single test without a signed scope document: which systems, which dates, which methods, and who to call if something breaks. Testing anything outside scope is illegal under the IT Act, 2000 in India. We build the same habit now with our own home lab plan.
Goal of this lab
By the end you will have:
- Checked that your laptop can run virtual machines (RAM, free disk, virtualisation switched on).
- A drawing of an isolated lab network (host-only: the VMs can talk to each other and your laptop, but not to the internet or your home devices).
- A one-page
my-lab-scope.txtthat you will follow in every later lab.
What you need (all free)
- Your own laptop. Recommended: 8 GB RAM or more and 60 GB free disk (16 GB RAM is comfortable). 4 GB RAM can run one small VM.
- 25–30 minutes.
Safety and ethics
Practise only on machines you own, inside an isolated network, or on training platforms that give you written permission (for example TryHackMe or Hack The Box rooms). College Wi-Fi, office networks, your neighbour's devices and public websites are never in scope.
Steps
-
Windows: press Ctrl + Shift + Esc → Performance → CPU. Find Virtualization: Enabled. Then click Memory and note the total.
What you should see:
Virtualization: Enabledand memory such as8.0 GB.Mac: Apple menu → About This Mac. Note the chip (Intel or Apple M1/M2/M3/M4) and memory. On Apple-silicon Macs, many x86 training VMs will not run; plan to use ARM images or online training rooms.
-
If virtualisation shows Disabled, restart, open the BIOS/UEFI setup (often F2, F10 or Del), switch on Intel VT-x or AMD-V/SVM, save and restart.
- Check free disk space: File Explorer → This PC (Windows) or System Settings → General → Storage (Mac). You need about 60 GB.
-
Decide the lab machines and write their size next to them:
VM Purpose RAM Disk Kali Linux Defender's and tester's toolbox 2–4 GB 25 GB Metasploitable 2 Intentionally vulnerable training VM 512 MB 8 GB Ubuntu Server A "normal" server to harden 1–2 GB 15 GB -
Draw the network on paper: your laptop in the middle, a box called Host-only network 192.168.56.0/24, and the three VMs inside it. Draw a big cross on the line from that box to the internet and to your home Wi-Fi.
-
Open Notepad (or any editor) and create
my-lab-scope.txtwith these headings, filled in your own words:OWNER: <your name> DATE: <today> IN SCOPE: only VMs I created on my own laptop, on the host-only network 192.168.56.0/24 OUT OF SCOPE: home Wi-Fi devices, college/office networks, any public IP or website, other people's accounts ALLOWED: hardening, scanning and testing my own lab VMs; training rooms that give written permission NOT ALLOWED: bridged/NAT network on vulnerable VMs; using lab tools outside the lab STOP RULE: if anything leaves 192.168.56.x, I stop and switch the VM off EVIDENCE: notes and screenshots stay on my laptop; I delete them when done -
Save it in a folder
cyber-laband keep it open in every later lab. - Read it aloud once. If any line is not clear, rewrite it until a friend could understand it.
Ravindra Bagale's Tip
Interviewers love this question: "How do you practise safely?" A student who says "my own isolated host-only lab with a written scope" sounds like a professional. A student who says "I tried on my college Wi-Fi" may not get the job. Scope first, tools later!
Ravindra Bagale's Tip – मराठी
Interviewers ना हा प्रश्न खूप आवडतो: "तुम्ही safe practice कशी करता?" "माझी स्वतःची isolated host-only lab, लिखित scope सह" असं सांगणारा student professional वाटतो. "मी college Wi-Fi वर try केलं" सांगणाऱ्याला job मिळणार नाही कदाचित. आधी scope, मग tools!
Ravindra Bagale's Tip – हिंदी
Interviewers को ये सवाल बहुत पसंद है: "आप safe practice कैसे करते हो?" जो student कहता है "मेरी अपनी isolated host-only lab, लिखित scope के साथ", वो professional लगता है। जो कहता है "मैंने college Wi-Fi पर try किया", उसे शायद job न मिले। पहले scope, फिर tools!
Common mistakes
| Mistake | What happens | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Putting a vulnerable VM on Bridged network | It appears on your home Wi-Fi and can be attacked by others | Use Host-only for vulnerable VMs |
| Starting without checking virtualisation | VMs fail with "VT-x is disabled" | Enable VT-x/AMD-V in BIOS first |
| Giving every VM 4 GB on an 8 GB laptop | The laptop freezes | Follow the RAM table; run 2 VMs at a time |
| "Testing" a college or friend's website | Illegal under the IT Act without written permission | Only your lab or permitted training rooms |
| No written scope | You drift outside the lab without noticing | Keep my-lab-scope.txt open while practising |
Self-check checklist
0 of 5 done
Try-at-home challenge
Your laptop has only 8 GB RAM. Plan which VMs you will run together for (a) a hardening lab and (b) a scanning lab, keeping at least 3 GB for the laptop itself.
Check your answer
(a) Hardening: Ubuntu Server (2 GB) alone, or with Kali (2 GB) to test from: 4 GB total. (b) Scanning: Kali (2–3 GB) + Metasploitable 2 (512 MB): about 3.5 GB. Never run all three at once on 8 GB.
Samjla ka? Own machines, isolated network, scope in writing. Aata pudhe jaauya: Chapter 18 builds this lab in VirtualBox.