How a simple '' kicked my @$$ for almost a hour

 So today I was working on the exercise "Server Side Template Injection 01" on Pentesterlab. I try and do all my exercises on both laptops at the same time. This does 2 thing for me;

1) I get to see how it works on 2 different systems a windows in the Edge browser and a Chromebook in the Chrome browser. I got this idea after I had to switch on one exercise and noticed subtle differences. While this seems like common sense for some reason it was something I never thought about before. So from that point forward I thought more exposure is good so I solve all the exercises on both. 

2) I can solve on one while watching the walk through video on the other. For me it is easier and clicks in my head better if I don't have to watch, pause, execute, watch, pause, execute.

But back to my point while watching the video I kept getting frustrated cause I thought I was doing exactly what he was doing. I switched back and forth between computers, restarted 3x's, stepped away and played with my son, and researched on google if anyone had any ideas. 

I was just about to call it a day when I stepped back one more time and looked and saw a "common mistake" tab, so I decided to click it and BAM there it was 

 make sure you use 2 single ' and not a double " 

Duh MATT

One thing I have to constantly remind myself is that I don't come from a coding background. Things people assume others know, I don't. I have basic knowledge of things like html, java, python and ruby, I have not spent years studying it and working with it. I am trying to take an interest and develop it into a career and sometimes I need to step back for a minute ad think can it be something small and simple that I am overlooking? Because every struggle so far has been something little I have overlooked. 

In the short time doing this I have found some of my greatest assets is I am stubborn and inquisitive. I get frustrated like everyone else but my frustration always ends with me buckling down and trying harder and harder and trying to figure shit out.

I see this as a competition between me and the computer system or exercise and I am very competitive and hate losing.

So my take away today is pay attention to those little details and make sure you are using all resources on hand because the answer is out there. Good news is I successfully completed that exercise and I am onto the next.

 

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