How to learn hacking

Ethical Hacking for Beginners: Learn the Basics

If you’re interested in learning hacking skills or pursuing a career in ethical hacking, you’re in the right place.

The field of ethical hacking, also called penetration testing or pen testing, is a dynamic and fast-paced industry. Professional hackers constantly face new problems to solve, making this an exciting, challenging, and rewarding career path. This career requires you to be continually learning and studying to keep up with advancements in technology, cybersecurity, and hacking techniques. Becoming a skilled hacker can lead to a lucrative career in cybersecurity, as many large companies now hire ethical hackers to help keep their systems secure.

Last Updated May 2022

Become an ethical hacker that can hack computer systems like black hat hackers and secure them like security experts. | By Zaid Sabih, z Security

The best way for beginners to start hacking is to learn computer basics and get a fundamental understanding of computer networking. When you study to become an ethical hacker, you will learn about networks and networking protocols, programming languages such as Python and C, languages used in web applications like HTML and JavaScript, and components of the cloud and online infrastructure.

To start, let’s dive into what hacking is and what it means to be a hacker.

What is hacking?

Hacking is gaining unauthorized access to a system. Hackers do this through a number of methods, which mainly fall into two categories: exploiting security vulnerabilities or weaknesses in the target system and exploiting the system users through social engineering. Therefore hacking can include both technical strategies and social engineering techniques — in which a hacker uses psychology to trick human users into opening malicious software or providing key information. In many cases, hacking involves a combination of the two.

Hacking can be legal or illegal, depending on the hacker’s motivations and whether they have permission from the device owner to hack it. Either way, hacking into a device is always considered “unauthorized” access, simply meaning that the hacker gained access to the system through unintended channels.

Illegal hacking is when a person uses hacking for a malicious purpose, such as to collect confidential information, compromise an organization’s success, or hold data for ransom as a method of financial gain.

Legal hacking, also known as penetration testing or ethical hacking, is when companies hire a person to purposefully hack into their computer systems as a way of revealing any existing vulnerabilities and devising solutions to make the systems more secure. An ethical hacker’s job is to combat and prevent malicious hackers from illegally accessing a company’s systems.

What are black hat hackers and white hat hackers?

Hackers are often represented in the media as evildoers bent on stealing money and personal information from individuals and businesses. These types of hackers are referred to as black hat hackers in the cybersecurity world — they engage in hacking illegally and with malicious intent.

In reality, most hackers are simply people who love learning about computers and are doing their hacking legally, as a career in the cybersecurity field. Typically, these are categorized as white hat hackers. White hat hackers are ethical hackers, also called penetration testers. They have permission from the owners of the devices they hack and usually earn money from finding weaknesses and strengthening computer systems.

What does it take for a beginner to become an ethical hacker?

Hacking or pen testing requires both technical knowledge and an understanding of psychology and social engineering.

On the technical side, to become a professional hacker, you will need to learn about the following key topics (ordered by importance):

For beginners, you don’t need to worry about mastering all of these topics at once. Beginner’s courses will cover the necessary basics as you go through the course. With the right lessons, you’ll learn the above skills gradually while you learn hacking.

Basic IT and computer skills

To start your journey in becoming an ethical hacker, you need to be comfortable with computers and have basic operating system (OS) skills. For instance, you should understand and be able to install and remove software, edit system settings, debug issues, and so on. These fundamental skills provide a foundation for all hacking education. You cannot proceed to learn the rest of the required skills for ethical hacking without first knowing these primary IT skills.

Computer networking

Learning about computer networking is important because most devices these days are connected to some sort of network, and those networks often become the targets of cyberattacks. Taking courses in computer networking will give you an understanding of how computers communicate across networks. This will help you understand how networks can become an entry point for malicious hackers and what measures you can use to protect networks and make them more secure.

Linux OS

Every hacker should spend some time learning the Linux operating system (OS). Linux is an open-source operating system that servers of all types can use, including website servers. This makes Linux a popular target for malicious (black hat) hackers. Thus, ethical hackers should become familiar with the workings of Linux and Linux-based servers. In your career as a hacker, many of the companies that you work with will be using Linux.

Linux is also the favorite operating system for hackers because of its open-source nature and the number of hacking tools that run on it. One of the most popular hacking operating systems is Kali Linux — a specially-tuned Linux operating system for hackers. It contains a large number of pre-installed and pre-configured hacking tools that you can leverage.

While Windows OS is less popular in the hacker community, you may consider learning Windows as you advance in your hacking skills. Many of the world’s largest organizations run on Windows and need cybersecurity experts with Windows OS experience.

Web applications and websites

Because websites and web applications are extremely popular methods for finding and sharing information on the internet, they are also popular targets for cyberattacks. Learning how to hack websites and how to secure them from hackers is essential for an ethical hacker. Every modern company will have at least one website where they share important data or collect data from their web visitors.

An ethical hacker needs to understand HTML, (the markup language used to create websites), and be able to manipulate code written with common web application programming languages such as JavaScript and PHP. As an ethical hacker, you need to be able to discover weaknesses or vulnerabilities in web applications and mitigate them.

Programming

It is possible to learn how to hack without knowing how to program. However, learning programming will make it far easier for you to succeed. Almost all hacking techniques require a knowledge of programming.

If you are a beginner, it is important to understand that each programming language has its pros and cons. It’s best to use the right programming language for the right purpose. For example, if you want to write your own hacking tools, you should learn Python and Ruby. If you wish to learn exploit development or reverse engineering, then C, C++, and Java are essential languages. If you desire to become a bug hunter or a web application pentester, you’ll need to learn Javascript basics along with some PHP and maybe ASP.net.

Of course, you can use all of the above languages to write your own programs — there is no one-size-fits-all. Choosing the right programming language to learn depends on the reason you want to learn programming in the first place. The following languages are the most common among hackers:

Cryptography

Cryptography describes the process of converting a readable piece of data (such as text or numerical data) into a non-readable format to send it between devices or networks without a third party being able to understand it even if they manage to read it.

It’s important for hackers to understand different encryption methods and learn their weaknesses in order to test networks and communication channels and secure them from black hat hackers.

This is important not just to combat malicious hackers but also to prevent information from being leaked — whether on purpose or unintentionally — by people within an organization.

Social engineering and psychology

Some hackers use advanced technical methods to find weaknesses where they can access a system. Other hackers use psychology techniques to target humans. Malicious hackers have implemented tricks to coax human users into sharing passwords (or other personal and confidential information) with a third party, which they then use to access a system. Think of this like a robber tricking a person into giving them a key to their front door — it can be much easier than finding a stealthy way to break into the locked house.

Hackers may also use fake emails, landing pages, and digital ads to trick people into clicking on an attachment or a link that contains malware. In a strategy called phishing, hackers pose as a coworker, boss, or friend and design an email that looks as if a person the recipient knows or an official organization is the sender. Hackers are able to write and design emails that look convincing to trick users into clicking on something that harms their device or allows the hacker to access their information.

Therefore, ethical hackers must also study psychology and social engineering tactics like phishing to understand how best to combat these techniques. In many cases, human users are the most vulnerable part of a company’s computer systems, as humans are less predictable than computers. Ethical hackers, or penetration testers, may be tasked with conducting an “approved” phishing attack or creating fake landing pages to try to successfully trick human users into falling for the attack. This helps a company identify areas where they may need increased cybersecurity training for their team members or how they can improve their internal policies and procedures to handle data safely.

What is a good way for beginners to start learning hacking?

To pursue a career in hacking, it can be beneficial to get a degree in computer programming, computer science, computer engineering, or a number of other technical fields. However, you don’t necessarily need a degree in order to become a professional ethical hacker.

Landing a job as a hacker is more about displaying your skills and in-depth knowledge of computer systems than carrying a specific degree or certification.

For beginners, the best route to start learning to hack is to look online. There are plenty of videos, tutorials, workshops, and online courses that will teach you hacking from scratch from the comfort of your home and on your own schedule. Start by finding courses that focus on just the basics to grasp the core aspects of hacking. It’s important to have a strong understanding of the fundamentals before diving into more complicated hacking techniques. Once you develop a fair amount of knowledge and experience, you can move on to learning about highly specific hacking tactics and cybersecurity methods — either on your own or through more advanced courses.

Even after working in the field as an ethical hacker, you should continue seeking new books and resources to learn from to stay up-to-date with the latest technical information on vulnerabilities and ways to exploit them.

Hacking is a skill that you can never truly master because the world of hacking is always advancing, evolving, and growing. Your work as a hacker is never done. You will always need to stay updated with the new techniques, tips, and tricks along the way.

Ethical hacking is a fun and interesting experience — something you can carry with you throughout your lifetime. It can be exciting to hack a website or server for noble purposes and to hone your skills to the point where you’re always one step ahead of those who intend to do harm.

Additionally, hacking skills translate very well across a number of roles in computer security, making it a lucrative career choice. The skills you learn as you hone your hacking prowess are in high demand by companies around the world, as they look for new ways to protect their users and information from black hat hackers.

Most importantly, enjoy the experience of learning how to hack computer systems. Have fun learning and applying new techniques, and you will find yourself among the hacking elite in no time.

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How To Become A Hacker: Steps By Step To Pro Hacker [UPDATED 2021]

The steps that need to be taken to become a hacker are not easy. This article will give you few of the most important steps essential to be a hacker. The article will focus on skills and attitude that is required to become a hacker. Breaking the security system and entering into the system is not the only thing a hacker does. A relentless attitude and pristine skill-sets are two cornerstones for being a master hacker.

Knowledge of wide variety of computer science topics is required, however knowing things at great depth is the key to a hackers success. Therefore having a positive attitude toward learning is essential in the journey of learning to become a hacker.

Below is the step by step guide I have created to teach you how to be a hacker:

Step 0: Read The Hacking Manifesto

It is not an easy task to be a hacker. As a hacker, you need to have an attitude and curiosity. Reading the hacking manifesto can teach you the attitude of a hacker. Nurturing the hacker attitude is more about developing competence in the languages rather than having a stereotypical attitude.

Though a lot of people consider that a hacker is a criminal; However in real life, they are hired by big companies for protecting information and minimizing potential damage. The act of hacking actually is that of being an over-curious and outwitting authority. As a hacker, you should be hell-bent on breaching authoritarian rules, secrecy, and censorship. Deception is another arsenal which will allow you to dodge the vigilant eyes of authority.

The act of stealing something or doing harm to someone is not hacking. Such people are commonly called crackers in the community. Crackers are involved in illegal activities and I will not recommend you to get involved in such activities.

Step 1: Learn To Program In C

C programming is one of the most powerful languages in computer programming, It is necessary to really master this language. This programming language was invented by Denise Ritchie in between the years 1969 and 1973 at AT& T Bell Labs. C programming will essentially help you divide the task in smaller pieces and these pieces can be expressed by a sequence of commands. Try writing some program on your own by assessing the logic.

There are hundreds of Free C Programming PDF & tutorials available on web to learn, however I would recommend you to start with a simple and well written c programming book of your choice and then read this book (C Programming Language
By Brian W. Kernighan and Dennis M. Ritchie) to understand the real power of c language.
This book is not an easy read however its a must read the book to get an in-depth understanding for C Programming.

Step 2: Learn More Than One Programming Language

When you are trying to become a hacker, it is very important to learn other modern computer programming languages such as Java, Perl, PHP, and Python. One of the best ways to learn these is by reading books from experts. It will also help to know about markup languages like XML, HTML and data formats such as JSON, Protobuf, and others which are a common way to transfer data between client and server.

Java is one of the most popular programming languages. It has been claimed that it’s also very secure. Knowing Java security model will empower you to understand how this language achieves security. Learn about the security loopholes in Java language and related frameworks. Pick and read from many free PDF, tutorials and ebooks available to learn java online.

Perl is a general purpose dynamic programming language, which is a high level and can be interpreted. This language borrows some features of C language. On the other hand, JAVA is concurrent, class-based and objects oriented programming language. Python is really handy when you are trying to automate some repetitive tasks.

HTML is the markup language based on which the web pages are designed, created and displayed. The web browsers read the HTML code to display the web page.

Python is best language for web development and favorite language of a lot of programmers due to its simplicity and quick turn around. A lot of people use Python to do simple and complex automation.

Step 3: Learn UNIX

UNIX is a multi-tasking and multi-user computer operating system that is designed to provide good security to the systems.This operating system was developed by some employees of AT&T in Bell Labs.The best way to learn it is to get into an open-source version (e.g. centos) and install/run the same on your own. You can operate internet without learning UNIX, but it is not possible for you to be an internet hacker without understanding UNIX.

If you have not used Unix operating system yet, a few essential linux commands will make your comfortable in getting quickly started.

Unix in a Nutshell by Arnold Robbins is a good way to start. This book will teach you how to use Unix.

The next thing you need to know is the internals of this operating system. I recommend
The Design of the UNIX Operating System by Maurice J. Bach for getting in-depth understanding of Unix operating system.

A large number of web servers are hosted on Unix based servers and knowing internals of this operating system is going to be really a big boost in your skills.

Step 4: Learn More Than One Operating Systems

There are many other operating systems apart from UNIX. Windows operating system is one of the most commonly compromised systems, hence it is good to learn hacking Microsoft systems, which are closed-source systems.

According to the National Vulnerability Database, Microsoft operating systems have a large number of vulnerabilities.

Windows OS installers are distributed in binary, therefore it is not easy for you to read the code. Binary code is basically the digital representation of text and data that computer understands. However, knowing how programs are written for windows and how different applications behave on this operating system will help.

One of the recent vulnerabilities of a popular OS was that Java Web Start applications get launched automatically even if the Java plug-ins are disabled. How to be a hacker is about knowing the weaknesses of these operating systems and targeting them systematically.

Step 5: Learn Networking Concepts

The networking concept needs to be sharp when you want to be a hacker.

Understanding how the networks are created is important, however, you need to know the differences between different types are networks. Having a clear understanding of TCP/IP and UDP protocol is a must to be able to exploit the vulnerabilities on the world wide web.

Understand what is subnet, LAN, WAN, and VPN.

I recommend Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach By James F. Kurose and Keith W. Ross

The networking commands to do an HTTP request needs to be on your fingertips. The HTTP protocol is the gateway through which one enters the internet world. Hence it is necessary to learn this protocol in order to break the barriers. The hackers often use the HTTP gateway to breach the security of the system and take control over it.

Apache Httpd is one of the most commonly used web servers and knowing in and out of it is going to empower you on any HTTP or other application layer protocol related endeavors.

Step 6: Start Simple: Read Some Tutorials About Hacking

This is the simple and best way to start. Read as many tutorials as possible that are meant for hacking. These articles will give you insight and help you develop the attitude to be a hacker. Some tutorials will initiate you with Nmap, Nessus and SuperScan, some of the hacking programs or tools that hackers generally use. These tutorials are readily available over the internet; Both text and video tutorials are available for you to answer your question how to be a hacker.

Step 7: Learn Cryptography

As an expert hacker, you need to understand and master the art of cryptography. The technology of cryptography and encryption is very important for internet and networking. It is the practice and study of techniques that are used for secure communication in the presence of third parties. The encryption is done for various aspects of information security such as confidentiality of the data, the integrity of the data and authentication. Moreover, the technology of cryptography is extensively used in ATM cards, computer passwords and e-commerce. While hacking, these encrypted codes need to be broken, which is called decryption.

Cryptography is heavily used in SSL based internet communication. An expert hacker should be able to understand how SSL works and what is the importance of cryptography in keeping SSL secure.

Try reading about various encryption algorithms and see why they are difficult to decrypt. Participate in challenges for decrypting powerful encryption. An expert hacker will be able to demonstrate weaknesses in an encryption algorithm and should be able to write a program that can show how decryption can be performed without much information about keys.

Understand various techniques used for password cracking. There are dozens of tools available to do password cracking, and using it is not hacking. To be an expert at hacking its important for you to understand how to create a program that can crack a password from ciphertext.

Step 8: Experiment A Lot

This is an important step for setting yourself up as an expert hacker. Setup a laboratory on your own to experiment the learning on the practical applications. The simplest lab will have your computer, however, once you advance you may want to add more and more computers and required hardware for your experiments.

It is good to try experimenting on your own computers, where you can rectify if you have done any mistake. Many hackers initially start off by downloading virtual lab applications such as Oracle VirtualBox. You require at least 3 GB of RAM and a comparatively powerful processor to carry out your hacking experiments. Setting up the virtual machine is crucial, as it will allow you to test virus, applications, and different servers without affecting your own PC.

Some of the things you may need to keep in mind when doing experiments

Step 9: Read Some Good Books From Experts

Reading will always enhance your knowledge. Try to read as many books and articles as possible written by the experts in the field of ethical hacking and enterprise security

Reading a lot about anything related is so important in a hackers world that you must also consider enhancing your reading speed. If your reading speed is slow then you may not be able to progress fast in this field. Practice speed reading techniques like skimming, chunk reading, etc.

When it comes to reading a lot, it’s also important to know that a majority of content on the web is not worth your time. Many people use search engine tricks to attract traffic but have little value in it. If you skim thru an article within seconds and decide not to read that is going to save you a lot of time for some really well-researched content.

The Art of Exploitation by Jon Erickson is an excellent book to teach you become an advanced hacker.

Step 10: Participate In Hacking Challenges

Regular participation in hacking challenges can help you learn more and sharpen your knowledge. There are several companies that organize these challenges in order to check the vulnerability of their software products. The most common hacking challenge includes breaching the security system of the software and taking control of the third party computer systems. Apart from that, there are some websites listed below that regularly offer hacking challenges online.

Step 11: Go Next Level: Write Vulnerability

The vulnerability of a program is the weakness of the program. It is a good approach to look for the vulnerability of an existing program and share the same with others. In this way you will have the option to collect varied opinions from different sources, enabling you to hone your current skill set.

The examples of computer vulnerabilities include memory safety violation, input validation error, privilege confusion bugs and user interface failure. For instance, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 11 had the vulnerability bug in its preview version which several hackers exploited.

Identifying a new weakness in any software is the real work any expert hackers would perform.

Step 12: Contribute To Open Source Security Projects

Contributing to an open-source computer security project is a great platform to test your skills. This is not everyone’s cup of tea. Many organizations like Mozilla and Apache offer these types of open source projects. Try to be a part of these projects and add a valuable contribution to the benefit of the community.

Participating in the open source security projects such as anti-spam, anti-virus, firewall and data removals help you augment your dexterity as a hacker.

Contribute your vulnerability findings to the global vulnerability databases and give back to the community.

Remember that it does not matter if your contribution is small, as long as you participate and add value it helps.

Step 13: Continue Learning And Keep Listening To Security Talks

The key to success in hacking career is continuous learning. Reading blogs for hacking available at sites such as hackerfactor blog and IKEA hacker blog; participating in the forums such as hackforums.net and elite hack are great ways to refresh your knowledge as a hacker. The online video forums like TED or TechTalk are good sources to know more about the emergent hacking techniques and technologies that are being deployed. You should also try following the posts of famous hackers such as Adrian Lamo, Kevin Mitnick, Kevin Poulsen and Robert Tappan Morris.

Summary

Above are a few exhaustive steps that can teach you how to be a hacker and help you walk the road of being an expert hacker. However, you should be a responsible citizen and be selective, ensuring you don’t use this skill to breach the security of important institutions, as it may land you in dire straits. You should always remember, for every hacking tool, there is always a counter-hacking tool. Therefore, be a smart hacker and more importantly, be a responsible hacker.

Join the world’s largest hacking community

Get rewarded for hacking.

Learn how to hack on Hacker101.

Hacker101 is a free class on web security. Whether you’re a programmer with an interest in bug bounties or a seasoned security professional, Hacker101 has something to teach you. Learn to hack with our free video lessons, guides, and resources and put your skills into practice with Capture the Flag (CTF) levels inspired by real-world vulnerabilities. Join the Discord community and chat with thousands of other learners.

Get your free Burp Suite Pro license.

We’ve teamed up with Burp Suite to offer promising ethical hackers the full capabilities that Burp Suite Pro offers. When you reach at least a 500 reputation and maintain a positive signal, you are eligible for 3 months free of Burp Suite Professional, the premier offensive hacking solution.

Collaborate with other hackers.

Why hack alone when you can work as a team and earn more cash? Easily collaborate on reports to share bounties while learning and earning together.

View real-time results and recent report submissions on Hacktivity.

Leaderboard

Compete and collaborate with other hackers, gaining status and reputation points. Get rewarded for consistently submitting valid vulnerability reports, discovering impactful bugs, and professionally documenting your findings. Unlock private bug bounty program invitations, exclusive targets, and opportunities to learn and earn with other hackers.

Live hacking events

We host virtual and in-person live hacking events (LHEs) throughout the year. From destination hacking in cities around the world to unique online hacking experiences, LHEs are a must-experience perk for top hackers. Earn bonus rewards, new scopes, bounty multipliers, and custom swag, plus collaborate and network with other top hackers, security teams, and HackerOne staff.

Use your skills to help make a safer Internet.

Congrats on finding a security vulnerability, that’s exciting! You can use the HackerOne Directory to find the appropriate method to contact the organization. Some companies prefer you reach out to them through HackerOne, some through email. All the information is on their profile. Just search for their company name and their preferred method will come up.

Here’s an example of a company who handles reports on HackerOne: https://hackerone.com/twitter

Here’s an example of an organization that prefers email: https://hackerone.com/ncsc

Before you submit a security vulnerability, make sure to read through the program’s scope. The scope determines whether or not a company is interested in a particular vulnerability. Once you have confirmed the program will accept the vulnerability, be sure to submit the issue to the program.

A company will review the contents and triage the vulnerability. You can review the Response Efficiency metrics on a company’s policy page. This will help you determine how quickly a company responds, bounties and resolves the bug.

The hacker community is a group of tens of thousands of people that make the internet safer for everyone. A lot of us are learning new things every day. In order for us to excel and discover new techniques and entire vulnerability classes, we try to share as much information as possible. This is often done through blog posts, how tos, CTF challenges, public disclosure, or a simple tweet. This is one of the things that makes this such an amazing community!

Hacktivity is the front page of our community showcasing select activity regarding vulnerabilities (once disclosed), hackers, programs, and bounty awards. In this article, we’ll answer the most frequently asked questions regarding Hacktivity.

Hacker101: Free class for web security. Let’s break some stuff

Hacker101 is a free class for web security. Whether you’re a programmer with an.

The Ultimate Guide to Hacking for Beginners | Learn Basics of Hacking

Welcome to the ultimate guide on how to learn hacking for beginners.

Are you tired of reading stories about ethical hacking over and over again, without really knowing what it means? Let’s change that!

I’ve had my good share of Hats. Black, white or sometimes a blackish shade of grey. The darker it is, the more fun you have – MakMan

First off, let’s start by saying that a career in cybersecurity is kind of like a career in banking. It’s an umbrella term that incorporates lots of niches within the industry.

Each of those fields deserves a blog on their own, but let’s focus solely on the most important generic requirements to embark on a successful career in IT security.

If you’ve zero experience, don’t worry. We all have to start somewhere, and we all need help to get to our goal. Since you have no experience at all, I highly suggest that you teach yourself some basics and fundamentals.

What is hacking?

In essence, hacking is identifying weaknesses and vulnerabilities of a system and gain access using it.

There are two types of hackers: Ethical and black-hat hackers. The black-hat gets unauthorized access by targeting systems. On the other hand, the ethical hacker has official permission in a lawful, legitimate manner to assess the security posture of a target system.

Feeling overwhelming? No worries here is our top recommendation on courses that will take you from absolute beginner to a real hacker in no time:

Top courses to learn hacking 2020:

Introduction to Cybersecurity Tools & Cyber Attacks From IBM

This course will grant you fundamental knowledge about Cybersecurity, which is a massive subject in today’s programming world. It’s an area with a lot of demand, which means you’ll have a higher chance of finding a job in this industry.

Skills gained throughout this course:

Network Hacking Diploma Level 3 Online Course

This course from John Academy is perfect for those that have some knowledge within the area to brighten their understanding further and push your career forward. It’s also an excellent course for those that have no experience with programming but has the drive and interest to learn professional skills to land your first job in a relevant market.

Computer Security and Networks – Coursera [FREE]

By enrolling in this course from Coursera, you’ll learn the basics of Software Security and will be able to apply for junior jobs within the area. The instructor is Michael Hicks, a professor from the University of Maryland. If you want to be in the Software Security market, enrolling in this course is a significant first step.

What you’ll have basic knowledge of by enrolling this course:

Learn Ethical Hacking Course at [50% OFF] – John Academy

As an ethical hacker, you’ll be helping companies to gain more security in their computer systems and help the organization protect their data further. This Ethical Hacking course will kick-start your career or further improve your knowledge to raise your income or land a job in the field.

In essence, the goal of an ethical hacker is to reveal system weaknesses and show it to the company in order to fix it. Also, he documents everything he did.

Skills required

The primary skill that is required is to be willing to learn new things on the fly continually or quickly at home. This is essential to be good at hacking.

Second, you need a strong foundational understanding of at least one coding or scripting language. Also, you’re required to have well-understanding of Network and Web security.

How to learn hacking

Resource to get you started

To “complete” this article and make it easy for you to advance, I’d like to share some resources I found best in learning from scratch.

Husainfareed created a Github repository with a lot of resources you can learn from. Check it out here.

Bonus advice: Follow regularly http://h1.nobbd.de/ to be updated with HackerOne public bug reports. You will learn a lot from them.

What is the best way to learn hacking for beginners?

Since most of the books and resources are for more advanced people in the subject, we’re focusing solely on beginners.

This will give you useful information to kick start your journey to become a hacker.

Begin with basics/fundamentals

You can also start to learn more alternate operating systems like Linux. This allows you to gain knowledge on pretty much everything essential in the field of hacking.

The more you learn about basics, the easier it is to find vulnerabilities and device exploits. Once you develop a fundamental understanding of the basic concepts, you will be in a position to understand various hacking techniques that are currently in practice.

Find a good source to teach you hack

Once you develop a fair amount of experience in the field, there are so many books and resources to learn from. This usually includes the latest technical information on the latest vulnerabilities, along with the possible way to exploit them.

However, as a beginner, it’s tough to find resources that teach hacking from the basics in a simple manner.

That’s why I’ve listed three best books which demand no prior knowledge of the topic.

Hacking secrets exposed – I’ve listed this book because it has a lot of useful information to which doesn’t require you to have prior knowledge on the topic. This book also comes packed with a lot of fundamental concepts to allow the reader to find them all in one place.

Hacking for beginners: Your guide to learning the basics of hacking – This book teaches you how other hackers think. By reading this, you will learn how they’re attacking computers, as well as how they’re doing it. You will also be able to understand how they can and gain access to your computer.

Hacking for beginners’ guide on how to hack – Using this book, you’ll learn everything you need to know to enter the secretive world of hacking. It will teach you some fundamental hacking techniques, as well as how to protect yourself and your information.

Learn programming

If you really want to become great at hacking, you have to learn to program. This is a part you can’t skip. Even though there are a lot of tools and programs that make it all easy for you, but you also need to know programming.

This will lead you to a better position to figure out how they work and what’s going on in the background of each language.

Needless to say, you can be great at hacking without knowing how to program at all! But learning it makes it way easier for you to succeed.

How long does it take to master hacking?

This question is rather hard to answer, considering that hacking can’t be taught overnight.

Don’t focus on duration, because every talent in this world has no limit. Start working on it, and don’t waste your time in calculating time. It all depends on how bad you want it.

Some people on one of the Quora questions responded with a simple, yet good answer: “It takes a lifetime because things constantly change.” The great, super-hacker of 90 would be lost today because things change.

It requires knowledge, skills, creativity, and dedication, as well as your time. An excellent tip for your hack attempts to be successful, you should adapt to a successful hacker’s mind and start thinking like him.

Everyone can master it and hack like a pro, once you learn it from the fundamentals and build a solid foundation.

Don’t focus on how long it takes for it to master hacking, just trust the progress.

David Brooke has been working with writing challenged clients for over four years. He provides ghost writing, coaching and ghost editing services. His educational background in family science and journalism has given him a broad base from which to approach many topics.

Introduction to Ethical Hacking

This free introduction to ethical hacking course will teach you the fundamentals of ethical hacking. The goal of the course is to make you aware of ethical hacking threats, the process, and a range of domains where it is used.

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What you learn in Introduction to Ethical Hacking?

About this Free Certificate Course

The term ethical hacking, more commonly referred to as White Hat in the industry today, is a skill that ranks amongst the top 3 skill. Organizations, corporations have to ensure that their infrastructure and systems are secured and breaches/attacks are kept at bay. Ethical Hacking to take you from the starting point through the finishing point of everything you need to know about this domain and getting started on the journey to master it. This free introduction to ethical hacking course gives you an insight and its functions under the top 3 domains in the industry today. This course gives you the scoop into what are the foundations, processes, domains and outcomes from Ethical Hacking. In every domain of ethical hacking, you will understand the domain, it’s common attacks, and hacking methodology. You will also learn about SQL injection, bWAPP along with it’s features and architecture. Apart from that, you will have hands-on or demostrations of three different types such as Broken Authentication, Blind SQL Injections and Cross site scripting.

Great Learning offers multiple Post Graduate Programs in the field of Cyber Security. You can join our Cyber Security Course which comprises several other concepts, tools, and Cyber Security techniques and learn from the best and obtain an online Cyber Security certificate. We have different PG Programs with university partners such as Stanford University and Great Lakes. We aim to empower our learners with everything they need to succeed in their careers, resulting in 10,000+ successful career transitions.

Course Outline

The term ‘hacking’ is controversial and is often considered negatively. Different types of hackers serve different purposes, ranging from malicious to beneficiary. Three different types of hackers are white hats, black hats, and grey hat.

Ethical hacking is a profession where hacking methods are used with good intent to help others and serve a greater purpose. The learner will be able to understand the goals of ethical hacking.

The learner will learn about various skills to be pursued by ethical hackers. The learners will also get to know about tools used by ethical hackers.

The process of ethical hacking is demonstrated with an example.

The process of ethical hacking is demonstrated with an example

The learner will understand the importance of ethical hacking across various domains such as web application environment, network architecture, mobile applications, etc.

The learner will learn about various domains under ethical hacking, such as web application domain, network architecture domain, etc.

The learner will get familiar with common web application attacks, injection flaws, cross-site scripting, and web services attacks.

The learners will learn about hacking methodologies such as web footprinting, vulnerability scanners, identifying entry points, and attack surface.

The learner will be able to understand types of android attacks such as untrusted APKs, SMS, Email, Spying, App sandboxing issues, and rooting.

The learner will be able to understand endpoint attacks, malware attacks, vulnerabilities, and exploits.

The learner will understand DDoS attacks in this section.

SQL Injection process is demonstrated in this section.

The learner will be able to analyze why web applications are subjected to hacking.

bWAPP stands for a buggy web application, an insecure web application that includes vulnerabilities.

bWAPP architecture is discussed in this section. bWAPP is an open-source PHP application.

The significant features of bWAPP are discussed in this section.

The learners will understand why ethical hackers need to learn bWAPP.

Kali Linux is an operating system that focuses on security and we will be exploring that in this module.

Web application attack such as broken authentication is demonstrated in this section.

Web application attacks such as blind SQL injections are demonstrated in this section.

Web application attack such as cross-site scripting is demonstrated in this section.

Hacking occurs because of computer security threats such as computer viruses, computer worms, scareware, keylogger, adware, malware, backdoor, trojan, ransomware, and spyware.

The learner will understand various processes involved in ethical hacking.

Around 75% of the total attacks are on web application domains.

The learner will understand how attackers can easily compromise the mobile network due to vulnerabilities.

The learner will be able to understand tap jacking with an example.

The learner will be able to understand network attacks and their types, i.e., active and passive attacks.

Domains such as cloud computing, IoT, Blockchain, and edge computing are discussed in this section.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the meaning of Ethical Hacking?

Ethical hacking is a profession where hacking methods are used to help organisations in preparing for impending cyber attacks. Unlike hacking, ethical hacking is used with good intent to help individuals and organisations and serves a greater purpose of securing important data and networks from malicious hackers.

What are the 3 types of hackers?

Three types of hackers are:

Where can I learn ethical hacking for beginners?

You can learn ethical hacking at Great Learning Academy with a free course in Introduction to ethical hacking.

Is ethical hacking a good career?

Ethical hacking is a very good career for those who have an interest in the field of cybersecurity. Ethical hackers are paid well too.

Does hacking require coding?

Yes, ethical hacking requires a working knowledge of popular programming languages like Python, C/C++, ASP, Java, Python, and HTML.

Do hackers use Python?

Yes, hackers use Python in looking for vulnerabilities and errors in code.

Is C++ good for hacking?

Depending on the programming language that the organisation works with, all programming languages are good for ethical hacking, including C++.

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What is Ethical Hacking?

Ethical hacking is different from hacking only in terms of intent. It is a profession where hacking methods are used to help organisations in preparing for impending cyber attacks. Unlike hacking, ethical hacking is used with good intent to help individuals and organisations and serves a greater purpose of securing important data and networks from malicious hackers.

Ethical hackers strengthen the network and system security by exploiting existing vulnerabilities. They identify the weaknesses and rectify them with appropriate and effective countermeasures. The techniques that ethical hackers follow are the same as those followed by the notorious ones. They only offer their services when they are legally hired by an organisation to do so.

How to pursue a career in Ethical Hacking?

To pursue a career in the field of ethical hacking, you would have to follow this process and you would be ready to enter the domain as a professional. The steps to pursue an ethical hacking career are:

Different types of Hacking

Hacking is a controversial term and is often considered in a negative context. Different types of hackers serve different purposes that range from beneficiary to malicious. Three types of ethical hackers are:

White and Grey Hat hackers are the ones that use their hacking skills for ethical hacking. On the other hand, the ones involved in illegal hacking and malicious practices are the black hat hackers.

Understanding the boundaries of ethical hacking and legal nuances of being an ethical hacker is important. As a fresher in the domain of ethical hacking, one can seek the role of a penetration tester. This role involves identifying the vulnerabilities in systems, networks, and applications to protect them from cyber-attacks.

Required Skillsets

There is no single way to enter the domain of ethical hacking. Depending on the security requirements of various organisations, they prefer a specific combination of skillsets in ethical hackers. Basic requirements to become an ethical hacker are a bachelor’s or above degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or Mathematics.

Other skills are good problem-solving skills, ability to handle pressure, and out of the box thinking. An attitude of continuous learning is also important to become a successful ethical hacker and continuously keep growing in your career.

On the technical front, working knowledge of the popular programming languages such as HTML, Python, C, C++, Java, ASP etc. is necessary. Certain soft skills such as good communication skills, flexibility, passion towards the domain, innovative thinking, and strong ethics are also sought by organisations hiring ethical hackers.

Knowledge of operating systems such as Windows, UNIX, LINUX, and IOS is also mandatory so that you can work on multiple operating systems. Knowledge of operating systems and programming languages enable ethical hackers to identify programming errors and vulnerabilities and helps in implementing security solutions where coding is required. This knowledge will also enable automation of tasks along with other coding requirements.

Network and Security Knowledge

Knowledge of computer networks and cybersecurity concepts is crucial for pursuing a career in ethical hacking. An aspiring professional in this domain should be well-versed with the basic and advanced level understanding of security and computer networking. Such concepts include virtual private networks (VPNs), firewalls, cryptography, different types of cyberattacks, and more.

Types of Cyber-threats

Some of the most popular cyber-threats faced by organisations across industries are:

About The Program

The introduction to the ethical hacking course is beneficial for those who want an insight into ethical hacking and its functions. This course will give you an understanding of cyber hacking and safeguarding organisations, its systems, and networks. It helps ethical hackers to develop the required skills to pursue a career in the domain.

The course curriculum of the course includes Domains and process implementation under ethical hacking, Ethical hacking in web applications, Ethical hacking on mobile platforms, Ethical hacking in network architecture, Career and growth ladder in ethical hacking. It will help you understand hacking network security. The skills covered in the course are process flow for ethical hacking, bWAPP, OWASP, and Metasploit Framework.