no0b introduction?

[Demigod151]

Hello all, I recently got interested in hacking and things similar, but unfortunately I don't know very much. I know the basics of c++, and I know how to use kon-boot, that's it, so I was hoping that someone could show me some basics, get me started. I have mac os x and linux mint.

Thanks, Demigod151

[wh1t3 and n3rdy]

I suggest you read everything you can get your hands on, and actually try some stuff. In this world, there is no holding of hands.

[H@L0_F00]

1. Google is your bestest best hacker friend, k?

2. Watch Hak5 from Season 1 Episode 1 to Episode 601

3. Read this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, and so many more.

4. Read those^^ again.

5. Don't be discouraged by my post, you'll thank me if you actually read those links.

6. Come back when you've read those.

[Brian Sierakowski]

Seems to me that posting "someone please introduce me to hacking" on a forum called hak5 might be a misinterpreted request :).

My personal recommendation is to get as much coding experience as you can, among the many things I'm not good at coding is paramount, and it's every so important if you want to separate yourself from the script kiddies and actually write and edit things yourself.

-B

[VaKo]

Coding isn't that important. What is important is a desire to learn, curiosity and the ability to think out of the box. If you can't do that, then all the reading in the world won't make you a hacker.

[Burncycle]

I agree with VaKo, coding isn't that important. A hacker is someone with an obsessive curiosity of computers and has a skewed perspective to see through obstacles and problems. Of the hackers I know, I'd say the more lauded skill set is more in line with a system administrator. I'd suggest familiarizing yourself with the command-line (Windows, Unix, or otherwise) and picking up a scripting language. I fundamental knowledge of how networks and your computer work would also be beneficial. Aside from that, back your data up and keep an install disc for your OS nearby and just poke at your system until you understand it. Good luck!

[moonlit]

What they said, I'm a mediocre coder and, while I have used that to help me learn other things, it's not at all essential. I'd specifically echo what VaKo said, curiosity, a drive to learn and the ability to think outside the box are all important, and much more important than coding. Don't get me wrong, it can be useful, for example it helped me learn somethings about GPS, GSM modems and bluetooth, but I could've learnt most of it with a terminal emulator just fine, I just chose to do it the hard way. Otherwise though, there's not much I've actually used my programming skills (however weak) for which has actually required them.

[H@L0_F00]

Damn, I knew I was forgetting something. You must have the mindset. VaKo is completely right in saying that all the reading in the world won't make you a hacker, which is petty much all my former post was about, I kind of figured you already had the drive and personality but I shouldn't assume things. My apologies, as that is the most important part. The hacker mentality is utterly different from those of most normal people. There's no "set" personality that one must have but you must want to learn, plain and simple. I remember when I wanted to first start coding. I think I was 13 and I downloaded Visual Basic Express Edition from Microsoft. It was cool and all and I made a couple programs, but I wasn't satisfied because I didn't know how it all worked because the IDE (Integrated Development Environment) did all the dirty work for me. I decided that if I was really going to learn a programming language it was going to be something down and dirty where you know what's going on, therefor I chose C and I'm learning x86 Assembly along with it. What I'm saying is that the drive to learn more and the mentality of not being satisfied with not knowing how something works is what most people have in common around here and what makes us all who we are. Coding isn't important, like everybody said, but it will help you learn a lot about how things work, you'll get a better understanding of logic, and I can guarantee that you'll want/need a program that does something specific but you can't find it anywhere which is when you'll wish you picked up a coding language.

How about you fire up a Virtual Machine, install Windows on it, and just mess with it. Then if you want, installing a Linux distro in a VM won't hurt.

[CraigHB]

I do stuff with assembly a lot, mostly embedded, but as tedious as it is, I enjoy it because you're right down in there with the nuts and bolts of things. Really gives you an understanding of what's happening machine wise. C is good for getting things done fast and it's pretty much the industry standard for embedded stuff, but it's rewarding when you put together a nice tight assembly routine. It's like something you've built yourself from scratch.

[ArkNinja]

And another thing with Assembly you can really shrink the program down and make it more efficient.

[CraigHB]

Yea, you get can get rid of some fluff that way. Most compilers generate pretty efficient machine code, but with assembly, you know the only machine code there is what you put there yourself. With any high level language, you can run into compiler related issues which can be hard to track down. That's something you'll never see with assembly. It has a few advantages, but it's generally not worth the tedium and isn't used much industrially. Lack of portability is probably the bigger issue. In any case, it's great for learning the nuts and bolts and a great place to start programming.

[ArkNinja]

Another thing with assembly is that you can run into issues running code on different platforms if I am not mistaken, which could create potential problems due to the fact that you would have to rewrite some of the program to get it to work on a different computer, were as with a programming language like C/C++ the compiler creates the program per platform based on the code, so as long as you aren't using any OS specific libraries, the code should compile on every computer (with C/C++ installed to a correct version) without a problem.

[CraigHB]

That's exactly why assembly is rarely used industrially. C and its variants are the industry standard because they're compact, modular, and porting to a hardware variant often requires only specification of the correct compiler/linker. I use C sometimes and it's really nice just plugging in a few canned libraries and having access to a wide array of functions. Possible, but not practical with assembly. I still enjoy using assembly and prefer it for my own projects, but C is industry standard for good reason. With assembly, I have to go through the whole program line by line to switch to a different microcontroller or embedded processor. That's unacceptable in an industrial environment where these components can change simply because a new part comes out that costs a few cents less per unit.