How To Be come an Hacker

By Lovegraphist

How to Become a Hacker

Three Parts:Learning FundamentalsAdopting Hacking AttitudesHacking WellCommunity Q&A

In computer security, a hacker is someone who focuses on security mechanisms of computer and network systems.

There are a community and shared culture of expert programmers and networking wizards that trace its history back through decades to the first time-sharing minicomputers and the earliest ARPAnet experiments. The members of this culture were the first "hackers." Breaking into computers and breaking phone systems have come to symbolize hacking in popular culture, but hacking culture is much more complex and moralistic than most people know. To become a hacker, learn basic hacking techniques, how to think like a hacker, and how to gain respect within the ethical hacking community.
Part 1

Learning Fundamentals

1Run a UNIX-like OS, such as Linux. UNIX and UNIX-like operating systems are the operating systems of the Internet. While you can learn to use the Internet without knowing UNIX, you can't be an Internet hacker without understanding UNIX. For this reason, the hacker culture today is pretty strongly UNIX-centered. There are many types of UNIX-like operating systems, the most popular being Linux, which you can run alongside Microsoft Windows on the same machine. Download Linux online or find a local Linux user group to help you with installation.^[1]

• A good way to dip your toes in the water is to boot up what Linux fans call a live CD or USB, a distribution that runs entirely off a CD or USB without modifying your hard disk. This is a way to get a look at the possibilities without having to do anything drastic.
• There are other UNIX-like operating systems besides Linux, such as the *BSD systems. The most popular *BSD systems are FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD and Dragon Fly BSD. All are open source just like Linux, however, it's important to remember that they are BSD and not Linux.
• MacOS is based on Darwin, a UNIX operating system that's based on FreeBSD. Darwin is fully free and open source and is available from http://opensource.apple.com. Because the core of the system is UNIX, and macOS is very popular, many people have ported over Linux applications to macOS. You can get those programs with a package manager like homebrew, fink or MacPorts. Alternatively, you can just run Linux on a Mac alongside macOS.
• If you want to get super niche, you can even run an operating system like Open Indiana, which is based on the open source release of the Solaris operating system before it was acquired by Oracle and made closed source. OpenIndiana and Solaris are based on UNIX System V, and, as such, are not compatible with Linux applications. That said, there are many ports of Linux applications. You're probably better off just using macOS, BSD or Linux because they are much more popular and have many more programs available for them.

2

Write HTML. If you don't know how to program, learning basic HyperText Mark-Up Language (HTML) and gradually building proficiency is essential. What you see when you look at a website of pictures, images, and design components is all coded using HTML. For a project, set out to learn how to make a basic home page and work your way up from there.

• In your browser, open the page source information to examine the HTML to see an example. Go to Web Developer > Page Source in Firefox and spend time looking at the code.
• You can write HTML in a basic word processing program like Notepad or Simple text and save your files as "text only," so you can upload them to a browser and see your work translated.^[2]
• You'll need to learn to format tags and learn to think visually using them.^[3] "<" is used to open a tag and "/> is used to close it. "

" is the opening for a line of paragraph code. You'll use tags to signal anything visual: italics, formatting, color, etc. Learning HTML will help you to understand better how the Internet works.

3

Learn the language of programing. Before you start writing poems you have to learn basic grammar. Before you break the rules you have to learn the rules. But if your ultimate goal is to become a hacker, you're going to need more than basic English to write your masterpiece.

• Python is a good "language" to start off with because it's cleanly designed, well documented, and relatively kind to beginners. Despite being a good first language, it is not just a toy; it is very powerful, flexible, and well-suited for large projects. Java is an alternative, but its value as a first programming language has been questioned.^[4]
• If you get into serious programming, you will have to learn C, the core language of Unix. C++ is very closely related to C; if you know one, learning the other will not be difficult. C is very efficient with your machine's resources but will soak up huge amounts of your time on debugging and is often avoided for that reason, unless the efficiency of your computer is especially important.
• It is probably a good idea to use a good starting platform such as Backtrack 5 R3, Kali or Ubuntu 12.04LTS.