Lab OS Choices

["Peter Manis" <manis () digital39 com>]

I am new to the world of pen testing and am working on building a lab.
 What operating systems and versions do you recommend for a good all
around lab.  Windows of course is a big one, but do you go back to 98?
 Being a beginner I would think having all the patches on XP or Vista
might make it difficult to learn.  I would also think adding a secure
OS like openbsd would be a waste of time for a beginner to try to gain
access to.  All advice is appreciated.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
This list is sponsored by: Cenzic

Need to secure your web apps NOW?
Cenzic finds more, "real" vulnerabilities fast.
Click to try it, buy it or download a solution FREE today!

http://www.cenzic.com/downloads
------------------------------------------------------------------------