To get the most out of this book

Before you start, you probably want to be able to click along in your own test environment. You can obtain a trial subscription (make sure it is for the P2 plan so that you get access to all the capabilities), and whatever test machine you can get your hands on. Running a local virtual machine is a great option (even of the quick-start kind on Windows 10 Professional using Hyper-V), but you can also leverage some of the evaluation labs that are available on the portal at https://security.microsoft.com.

Software/hardware covered in the book	Operating system requirements
MDE	Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android
MDE Client Analyzer	Windows, macOS, and Linux
Optional troubleshooting tools: Netmon, Wireshark, PoolMon, Sysmon, Windows Performance Recorder, Xperf, and Disk2vhd	Windows, macOS, and Linux (depending on the tool)

If you are using the digital version of this book, we advise you to type the code yourself or access the code from the book’s GitHub repository (a link is available in the next section). Doing so will help you avoid any potential errors related to the copying and pasting of code.

On cold snacks

Cold snacks are bits of wisdom, advice, or simply interesting facts. The term came from one of the authors, who referred to having a cold beer as having some cold snacks. Given a lot of this book was, in fact, written at local breweries or at least with a beer in hand, this term was readily adopted by all involved: cheers, and we hope you enjoy the outcome of our blood, sweat, and beers!