Meet a Helpful Human – Devin Grindle

Responsive, helpful, and dedicated in ways automation simply cannot be. We’re your team.

Every month we recognize considered one of our Most Helpful Humans in Hosting. 

Devin Grindle has at all times had a desire to learn latest technologies. At Kellogg Community College, he developed an understanding of Windows servers and computer networking. After obtaining several degrees and certificates, including becoming a Microsoft® Certified Solutions Associate, Plesk Windows Expert, and authorized for CompTIA A+, Grindle joined the team at Liquid Web. Over ten years later, he’s comfortable to still be an element of Liquid Web, working on the Windows Support Team.

We sat down with him to search out out what drives him as a Windows System Administrator all these years later.

I joined Liquid Web directly out of school since internet hosting gave the impression of an exciting initial step into my profession. There was something about assisting customers with configuring latest servers that was each exciting and satisfying, since this process can often be very overwhelming. It was obvious that I still had much to learn. The open-minded environment at Liquid Web has helped me to grow and polish my skills as a Windows System Administrator. 

Nearly daily in hosting, there may be a brand new challenge. It’s incredibly satisfying to take a basic understanding of technology and use that knowledge to grow and solve problems I even have never seen before. One recent example of that is planning and assisting with a customer migration. The client needed to maneuver from a quite simple solution to an answer that was fully redundant and highly available. The complexity and demanding considering required for planning before making these changes was very satisfying to me.

I really like the corporate culture at Liquid Web. I even have met a few of the most intelligent people I do know working here. They’re obsessed with what they do, and it’s exciting to work alongside them to implement latest solutions to assist grow as an organization.

Liquid Web’s culture is exclusive. My favorite part in regards to the company culture is how open to suggestions the corporate is for tactics to attain our common goals. While not every idea can (or should) be implemented, Liquid Web employees are sometimes given the resources to perform great ideas. Learning and implementing code while working at Liquid Web has allowed me to make quite a few scripts that greatly help our team’s day-to-day workflow.

At Liquid Web, I feel encouraged to supply my opinion about the most effective possible solution. Other firms often give the impression that you just are to focus strictly in your a part of the duty at hand. At Liquid Web, our team takes a step back to reconsider all options as a substitute of driving ahead with easy solutions that would lead to additional issues. 

One in every of my most vital milestones is having the ability to discover security issues before they grow to be an issue, reminiscent of after I discovered my first CVE, Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures, (CVE-2019-5864) in Google Chrome. Issues can stem from quite simple features and appear harmless at first, but by considering critically and testing all components of an application, I even have found that bugs can result in very serious issues. These issues can range from privilege escalations, financial issues, or an entire account takeover. 

Reporting vulnerabilities leads to safer applications, which advantages everyone. It’s a really great feeling to have the opportunity to contribute to safer applications, and I proceed to be driven to query why an application works the best way it does.

One of the vital positive experiences I’ve had at Liquid Web has been after I was given the chance to guide several small teams through multiple acquisitions. It was gratifying to help with a technique to transition the shoppers and lead the teams carrying out the plan. 

Our customers should concentrate on what ports are open on all servers. An improper or poorly configured firewall is all too common and sometimes the source of malicious behavior. It’s preposterous how quickly a brand latest server could be attacked when common ports that run protocols reminiscent of RDP or SSH are left open. Attack patterns you ought to be aware of are brute force and credential stuffing attacks. Customers should use a firewall and a VPN and only allow traffic from the general public on ports that require it. 

There are numerous other varieties of threats and issues to pay attention to. Do your part and stay cyber smart during Cybersecurity Awareness Month with these five practical suggestions.

As a husband and father, I really like spending time with my family. It doesn’t get a lot better than when you’ll be able to put a smile in your child’s face. Woodworking can be an awesome outlet for me. I benefit from the design and problem solving required to make unique pieces.

Recently, I’ve enjoyed using Burp Suite to tinker with web security. It’s a wonderful tool for those seeking to start with bug hunting.