More Help Than Ever Imagined

[Irish]

So i've been a long time viewer and been lurking through the forums for awhile now and finally decided to join the community.

I've learned more from the show and forums about things we use in our everyday life that i'm in disbelief. Long story short I had a couple of questions for everyone.

What inspired you to join the field you're in?

At what age did you start tinkering with phones, computers, etc..?

Recommended reading for anyone interesting in Linux, Backtrack, Programming, Security?

(Found securitytube.net to be a huge resource of information)

[telot]

AOHell - first time I saw entire chat rooms get kicked out at once, I was hooked. This was back in '94 or '95.

By 10 I was online - 12 I had bought my first issue of 2600.

Back issues of 2600 - the community may sometimes scoff at 2600, and oftentimes scoff at Emmanuel, the zine does a great job. When I read it today, I may not get immediately applicable technical knowledge, but it gets me into the mindset, the spirit - of what being a hacker is all about.

telot

Edited August 9, 2012 by telot

[Irish]

Damn that reminds me when AOL was being given away on 3.5 floppy disks. I wish I could remember the program I had way back when, it would record/log keystrokes and it would macro out symbols into the chat room that made a picture.

I've actually looked around in my area i'm at for 2600. They use to sell it at Barnes and Noble, I may just have to resort to ordering them.

I've never been one to be like "hahaha i can hack my neighbors wifi", I'm all about how it's done, and with given resources why I was able to do something. Goes back to when I was a kid and less techy but trying to attach a blowtorch to my skateboard to make it a rocket, *before I understood the concepts of thrust*

[sober]

lets see we had our first computer when i was 5, got internet at 6 or 7, ever since i was looking at ways around internet filters and timeouts etc, usually just to play stupid games online at all hours, was a computer hobbyist and most of my spare time was gaming or football practice throughout highschool, where i was starting the process to become a cop,by taking a program for highschool students to get started, and hated it, about the same time i was working as a tech aide for my highschool, as well as taking my first structured computer classes. i was really starting to love computers and see that what i wanted to be able to do with them wasn't only in the realm of some geniuses, the people i had looked up to when it came to computers i quickly learned didn't know much more then your standard user, i started reading insane amounts into the subject, dedicating my free time away from gaming into it. Then, one day while working as a tech aide i had finished everything that really needed doing and was just poking around on a standard student account, i found that students had access to some parts of the network they really shouldn't. suffice to say access to full student information including ssns among other things.

from that day on i was hooked on security, i was always interested before, and a majority of my reading was in the field but that was the moment i knew what i wanted to do with my life.

i obtained an associates in computer and network security about a year and a half ago, currently progressing to bachelors studying ethical hacking, networking, some digital forensics but i haven't taken much in that yet, and some cryptography, again not something i have had much experience in yet. also in the progress of learning c++, i have taken a class on it already and coded some things outside of it,and have some vbasic/php/html from highschool, as well as currently learning more about sql.

i hope to obtain a full time position after bachelors and continue on to masters, and hopefully doctorates by 27~