How to Be an Better Hacker PT:2

Welcome back, my Neophytes!

As you know, this is the SECOND PART of my tutorials, and if you haven't read the first part, please read my first part.

As you know, being a hacker is not easy. It takes months and months of training. To be a average (at least) hacker, Follow these steps.

Step 1: Learn the Hacker Culture

Learning the hacker culture is easy, but you have to make it as a habit. I recommend you reading the Hacking Manifesto.

Step 2: Learn C or C++

C or C++ is the core language of literally everything. It is necessary to really master this language. 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 tutorials, with me recommending www.cplusplus,com . Don't get fooled by this website's stupid design, 'cause this will really help you.

Step 3: 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, 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 needs 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.

Step 4: 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. A 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 GBs 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

• Keep a backup before any experiment.
• Start small and have check points.
• Know when to stop.
• Document your progress
• Keep improvising
• Automate repetitive tasks

Step 5: Participate in Hacking Challenges

Regular participation in the 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.

hackquest.de

hacktissite.org

www.hackchallenge.net

hacking-lab.com

Step 6: Write Vulnerability

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 7: Next What?

Go and take a look on my next tutorial.