Okay, so today I decided to dive into this “Prancer News” thing. I’d heard some buzz about it, something about a tool for, like, checking your cloud security posture. Sounds fancy, right? I’m not gonna lie, I’m no expert, but I figured I’d give it a shot and see what all the fuss was about.
Getting Started
First things first, I needed to, you know, actually get Prancer. It’s all on GitHub, so I just went there and grabbed the code. I’m on Windows, so getting it running was not very complicated.
I basically just needed to clone the repository to my computer. you know, type this git clone the repo address .
I mean, come on, you’re not a baby, don’t make me waste time on this detail.
Setting Stuff Up
So I downloaded it and then…confession time…I kind of skimmed the instructions. I’m more of a “learn by doing” kind of guy. I figured I’d just poke around and see what happened. Turns out, you gotta do some setup. Who knew?
I found this “configuration” section. I created a folder, and put some simple json file into *, I just copied and pasted most of it from the example configs they had. Don’t judge me, it worked!
Running the Tests
This is where it got interesting. I ran the command,and…bam! A whole bunch of stuff started scrolling on my screen. It was like watching the Matrix, but with way more talk about “compliance” and “security policies.”
It chugged along for a bit, spitting out all sorts of results. I saw some green (good, I assume), some yellow (uh oh?), and, yeah, some red (definitely not good). It felt like getting a report card, and let’s just say I wasn’t getting straight A’s.
Figuring Out the Results
Okay, so now I had a bunch of results. Time to figure out what they actually meant. This is where I had to actually, you know, read the documentation. (Don’t tell anyone.)
It turns out, each test is checking for something specific. Like, “Is your storage bucket open to the entire world?” (Spoiler alert: mine was. Oops.) Or, “Are you using strong passwords?” (Let’s just say I’ve been meaning to update those…).
The results gave me a pretty clear picture of where I was messing up. I mean, it wasn’t fun seeing all those red marks, but it was definitely * even gave me some hints on how to fix things, which was super helpful.
Making Changes (and Hoping for the Best)
Armed with my newfound knowledge (and a slightly bruised ego), I started making some changes. I closed that darn storage bucket. I updated some passwords (finally!). And I generally tried to tighten things up based on the recommendations.
Then, I ran the tests again. And…drumroll please…more green! Fewer yellows! And, most importantly, a lot less red! It was actually kind of satisfying, like I was actually making progress.
The Wrap-Up
So, that’s my Prancer News adventure. It wasn’t perfect, I definitely stumbled a bit, but I learned a lot. I think I’ve got a better handle on my cloud security now, and I’m definitely going to keep using this tool to keep things in check. I mean it will generate a lot of reports and graphs for me, so I can show off some of my work, which looks pretty good!
It’s not magic, and it definitely requires some effort, but it’s a pretty cool way to get a grip on your cloud security without having to be a total guru. And hey, if I can figure it out, anyone can.
