Resources
Over the years I've found quite a few resources and tools that have been essential on my technology journey. I hope these can be useful for you, and do not hesitate to reach out if you want a resource you've worked on featured here.
How-to Guides
Utilities
For the systems admins, nerds and fellow tinkerers among us I've listed Windows and Mac tools I've found immensely useful for managing daily operations and systems administration
| Official Site | Description | Platform (OS) | Download Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notepad++ | Notepad++ is an open source text editor that improves upon Windows's native Notepad application in every way. Try it out! | Windows | |
| SpaceMonger | Visual file and local storage management tool. Very lightweight and straightforward to use. | Windows | |
| TightVNC (64bit) | Remote Control application essential for remote assistance and support. This can be used to remote control all devices running the VNC protol | Windows / Mac | |
| Sticky Notes / Stickies | App for keeping notes on the desktop of your computer. | Windows / Mac | / |
| Sysinternals Suite | Sysinternals is a suite of utilities designed to help you manage, troubleshoot and diagnose your Windows and Linux systems and applications. | Windows | |
| iFunbox Classic | iFunBox was originally designed to make data transferring between your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and computer convenient. Note: iTunes needs to be installed on the target computer if you want to benefit of this app's full set of features. | Windows / Mac | / |
| Windows Terminal | The Windows Terminal is a productive terminal application for users of command-line tools and shells like Command Prompt, PowerShell, and WSL. | Windows | |
| Adblock Plus | An essential browser extension allows you to block ads across the Internet for a better browsing experience. | Chrome | |
| VirtualBox | Virtualbox is a free virtualisation hypervisor that allows one to build a virtual machine and install an OS on it which shares a portion of the resources of the host. I've put the 64-bit Windows installer link here, head over to this link to also get the Mac or Linux version | Windows | |
| AngryIP Scanner | AngryIP is one of my most used tools. Its an open-source and cross-platform network scanner. It scans IP addresses and ports on your local network. | Windows / Mac / Linux | / / |
| uTorrent | uTorrent is a file sharing application for downloading and sharing files via the torrent protocol. | Windows | |
| KeePass Password Safe | KeePass Password Safe is an open source password manager which I've used extensively in my career. I highly recommend. | Windows | |
| Proton VPN (free) | Proton VPN is an open-source virtual private network application which has a no-logs privacy policy and are protected by Swiss privacy laws. Use their free tier at your own risk. | Windows | |
| Keepa | This browser extension keeps track of price history on ecommerce websites such as Amazon so you can be sure you're getting the best deal when online shopping. | Chrome | |
| Cold Turkey Blocker | This browser extension allows you to block distractions so you can be more productive. Also check out Micromanager and Writer on getcoldturkey.com | Windows / Mac | / |
AI Tools
Popular Large Language Models
If you're using any of these AI LLM tools, be sure to have a look at some of the AI prompting tips below.
Gemini (Google)
Google's multimodal AI, excelling in creative tasks, coding, and information synthesis.
Claude (Anthropic)
Developed with a focus on safety and helpfulness, known for strong conversational abilities.
ChatGPT (OpenAI)
The pioneer in accessible conversational AI, offering broad general knowledge and versatile text generation.
Llama 3 (Meta)
An open-source model from Meta, offering powerful performance and flexibility for developers.
Perplexity AI
A conversational search engine that provides answers with sources, excellent for research.
Manus IM (Butterfly Effect AI)
Manus is a general AI agent that turns your thoughts into actions across work and personal life.
LLM Prompting Tips
Leverage AI to quickly troubleshoot common Windows and Mac issues, saving time and effort.
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Be Specific Provide exact error messages, operating system (Windows/macOS version), and software names.
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Context is Key Describe what you were doing when the problem occurred and any recent changes.
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Request Step-by-Step Request numbered instructions for complex tasks.
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Specify OS Always mention if it's a Windows or Mac issue, and ideally the version.
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Request Commands Ask for direct command-line instructions.
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Troubleshooting Flow Ask for a diagnostic flowchart or a series of checks.
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Summarize Solutions If the AI gives a long explanation, ask for a concise summary of the steps.
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Alternative Methods If one solution doesn't work, ask for "alternative methods" or "another approach."
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Explain Jargon If you encounter technical terms, ask the AI to "explain [term] in simple terms."
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Safety First For critical system changes, always cross-reference AI advice with official documentation or a trusted IT professional.
Learning Resource Links
Systems Admin
- > Bash Command List | An A-Z Index of Apple macOS (bash) commands
- > PowerShell Command List | An A-Z Index of Windows PowerShell commands
- > Ultimate PowerShell Prompt Customization and Git Setup Guide | A self explanatory guide by Matthew Hodgekins
- > PowerShell Tutorial by Guru99 | Back when I was first getting to grips with PowerShell moving away from CMD, this was a useful resource.
- > FILExt | This has been an invaluable tool for understanding file extensions and formats.
- > iOS File System Basics | When I ran into iOS backup issues, this site helped immensely in understanding the fundamentals behind the OS.
- > MacPorts | The MacPorts Project is an open-source community initiative to design an easy-to-use system for compiling, installing, and upgrading either command-line, X11 or Aqua based open-source software on the Mac operating system.
- > Raspberry Pi | Raspberry Pis are tiny computers which can used for various purposes, such as home media servers, VPNs, NAS and mini-PCs. They are especially versatile due to their small size.
- > Oldversion.com | Get older versions of popular free applications, very useful for when virtualising old OSs.
- > DistroWatch.com | Repository of Linux distributions. I always test a new disto in a VM to see if I like it.
- > WhatIsMyIP | Tells you your public IP
- > MX Toolbox DNS Lookup | I've used this tool throughout my career for DNS lookups, checking IPs, MX records etc
- > The Internet Archive | Formerly WaybackMachine. An invaluable resource and window into ye olde Internet of our hayday before censorship and corporate interests destroyed it.
Cheat Sheets
File Management
OS Related
Software/Distro Repository
Internet & Email
Programming
- > NodeJs.org | Node.js® is a free, open-source, cross-platform JavaScript runtime environment that lets developers create servers, web apps, command line tools and scripts.
- > A Single Div | The coolest implementation of CSS I've seen on the web!
- > Full Emoji List | A full chart of all emojis. Useful for web developers and programmers.
- > w3docs Quizzes | Like freeCodeCamp, w3docs provides quizzes and other free learning tools for all programming languages. I've used this for web development.
- > CSS Tricks | All you need to learn CSS, especially helpful resource when building websites from scratch without templates
- > Coderslang: Become a Software Engineer | Coderslang's own resource as an intro to software development from a web and mobile first standpoint.
- > A beginner's guide to JSON | This helped me understand JSON files, used for the back-end of the articles page on this website.
- > Markdown to PDF Document Converter | This is the tool I used to help convert markdown files into PDFs
- > Blot | Blot is a simple tool that turns any folder full of markdown files into a website.
- > EmailJS | A free contact form responder. They allow for 200 replies on the free tier.
- > w3schools | This is one of the foundational learning resources for all web development and coding. I attribute my humble beginnings to this site hands down.
- > Markdown Guide | A guide to get your head around the basics of markdown
- > OverAPI.com | All the cheat sheets you could ever need!
- > Codecademy Resource Docs | This repository of tutorials on all programming languages is an invaluable resource for a budding programmer and experienced developers alike.
- > freeCodeCamp Daily Coding Challenge | freeCodeCamp is an amazing resource for those learning to code. Their daily challenge keeps you fresh, I recommend.
- > JSFiddle.net | This website can be used to test out Javascript code before implementing it in your site.
- > HTML-CSS-JS | This website is for testing Html, CSS and JS code. Its been immensely useful in my web development journey. Many of the feature on this site were tested there first.
- > Leetcode Playground | A free playground to mess around with programming and learn in your browser
Web Dev
Software Dev
Labs
Cybersecurity
- > Kali Linux Docs | Kali Linux is a Linux distribution focused on security and penetration testing. Check out the documentation.
- > Hackspaining: OWASP Top 10 | The Open Web Application Security Project's top 10 security risks. Hackspaining is a good resources for those in web development.
- GuidedHacking | GH is a website forum featuring educational content related to game hacking, reverse engineering & ethical hacking.
- > National Cyber Security Centre | The UK's goverment website for cybersecurity. A must visit for anyone in the UK vaguely interested in their security from a technical standpoint, cybercrime, hacking and the general cybersecurity landscape.
- Security Through Education | Security Through Education is an online resource for security professionals, adversarial simulators (pentesters), as well as enthusiasts with a focus on social engineering. Get the Social Engineer Toolkit here.
- > HackThisSite.org | A training ground for ethical hacking, penetration testings and other cybersecurity endeavours
- > HACKTHEBOX | This is a good place to start on your ethical hacking journey
- > Try Hack Me | I used this a lot to get a working understanding of the hacking, penetration testing and general cybersecurity
- > SECTOOLS.ORG | The defacto repository for the most widely used security tools. They host popular tools such as Wireshark, Aircrack, Nessus and Snort.
- > Gobuster | This is a Kali Linux tool useful for pentesters, ethical hackers and forensics experts. It also can be used for security tests.
- > HijackThis.com | Simple site with tools to help you if your machine has been infected or compromised through your browser.
- > MEDUSA® | Medusa is an end-to-end Social Media Intelligence and OSINT product that transforms public data such as Social Media and Deep & Dark Web in valuable information.
- > Browser Threat Test | This is a browser threat test site made by Rob @ Braxman Tech
- > hashcat | This is an opensource advanced password recovery tool. This version combines the previous CPU-based hashcat (now called hashcat-legacy) and GPU-based oclHashcat.
- > John the Ripper password cracker | John the Ripper is an Open Source password security auditing and password recovery tool available for many operating systems.
- > Kismet | Kismet is a well known sniffer, WIDS, and wardriving tool for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, RF, and more, which runs on Linux and macOS.
- > Zed Attack Proxy | ZAP is a web app scanner, free and open source. The download page is here
- > wifiphisher | Wifiphisher is a rogue Access Point framework for conducting red team engagements or Wi-Fi security testing.
- > Autopsy® | Autopsy is the premier end-to-end open source digital forensics platform. Built by Sleuth Kit Labs.
- > NetScanTools® | NetScanTools was introduced in 2009 as a freeware set of basic network tools. Get the basic edition here
- > sqlmap | Sqlmap is an automatic SQL injection and database takeover tool which automates the process of detecting and exploiting SQL injection flaws and taking over database servers.
- > tcpdump | The official site of tcpdump. This tool is a powerful command-line packet analyzer; and libpcap, a portable C/C++ library for network traffic capture.
Info
labs
Tools
Cryptocurrency
- > Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System | This is the defacto article on the inception of Bitcoin.
- > Running A Full Node | A tutorial on getting up an running with your own Bitcoin node.
- > THE CRYPTOGRAPHY OF ANONYMOUS ELECTRONIC CASH | An insightful article regarding the basic concepts of cryptocurrency
- > Crypto Fear & Greed Index | A great site to keep track of the general sentiment and volatility of the crypto markets
- > Blockchain.com Block Explorer | Latest BTC Blocks | Keep track of the latest blocks added to the BTC blockchain.
- > Etherscan | Keep track of the latest blocks added to the Ethereum network
- > Learn Solidity: Introduction | A great Medium article introduction to programming in Solidity; the Ethereum Virtual Machine's native programming language for smart contracts.
Info
Explorers
Dev
Random
- > Igloo.inc | This website's cool factor speaks for itself!
- > Win11 in React | Windows 11's interface recreated in Reach :D
- > True Size of Countries | A world map that visualises the true size of countries in comparison to each other. I found this quite insightful as the world maps we grew up with were skewed and warped to aid ship navigation.
- > Can You Run it? | For those wondering if their PC can handle a game.
- > ZGameEditor | I dicovered this application as plugin to FL Studio on my music production journey, I needed to use this tutorial to realise how powerful this software was.