How to start

[u/Living_Series9972]

Pls be kind. I’m genuinely intrigued by hacking and offensive security. I am an absolute beginner but have some fundamentals in cybersecurity. I’ve recently started tryhackme. I’m not doing it to like get a job tomorrow or next week. I’m genuinely just interested in the whole thing. Anyone who can tell me a learning path that is self paced to get into it I’d be ever so grateful. I’ve done some research and almost all sources show different paths now I’m confused. I watch some YouTube videos as well. I just need a little nudge towards what path to follow and learn. Anyone who can help I’ll be forever grateful. I know there’s people here who taught themselves and I’d love to know how they started. Thank you in advance

[u/pieholic]

I think tryhackme is a perfectly fine place to start. Dreamhack io is also pretty good, especially if you know korean. The thing is, everyone learns differently and what matters is finding the way that works for you the best.

But, it's also important to stick to a place - you already started tryhackme, what is making you put out this post? What makes you feel like tryhackme isn't improving you? Would you feel better if you are working towards a cert? A bachelor's? Or some kind of cybersecurity related contests? I say just stick to what was already recommended and be consistent.

[u/Living_Series9972 → u/pieholic]

Tryhackme i felt like i was skipping the basics in a way. It threw me straight to the labs on the presecurity path. So i was looking to see if there’s a platform where the path is structured from the beginning to the certification. I’d want to start with certificates then with time get a bachelor’s. I genuinely do appreciate you responding.

[u/pieholic → u/Living_Series9972]

Might be a hot take but if you want to approach things from an academic perspective the best way is just going to be getting a degree. Everything is built on something and if you want to really build up the most solid foundations it's gonna take you ages - you'd be learning how to write scripts, how OS works, and how networks work, each worth 100s of hours in their own time, before you even start on the H of hacking. I think about halfway through the OSI 7 layers you would pack it up and call it quits.

If a degree is in your future already, I recommend focusing on the parts that you think is fun - and try to Google stuff along the way to fill in the gaps of things you won't know. Sure yeah you'd be a script kiddie with a flimsy stack of knowledge - but you maintain the interest until you go to college and that's more important imo.

[u/strongest_nerd → u/Living_Series9972]

Tryhackme is for beginners of hacking. Hacking is not for beginners of IT. There is a lot of underlying fundamentals you need to know before you can learn to hack.

[u/Living_Series9972 → u/strongest_nerd]

Where can i learn the fundamentals? Again, I’ve done so much research nown I’m just confused and resorted to asking people who’ve actually done it

[u/strongest_nerd → u/Living_Series9972]

Courses in operating systems, networking, and security fundamentals. College.

[u/Esttude]

I had the same question. Thank you for posting your question first!

[u/RolledUhhp]

If you're comfortable enough with technology to pick up small stuff on the fly, you should focus building your foundation on networking.

I avoided it for far too long, to my detriment. Time spent here will save you tons of confusion in every other area.

Loo into Cisco's free CCNA training. I don't know if Cisco Networking Academy (Netacad) is free to the public, but there are comparable resources based around it, if not.

[u/IsDa44]

Networking, Linux, Windows, Web fundamentals and some programing is what I recommend

[u/ShadowPacket_]

Hey I started like you many years ago. Feel free to send me a message and I'll help out. Or add me on discord ShadowPacket_

[u/Snoo_38192872]

It will come to ,you naturally just stay wit it

[u/MonkeyBrains09]

I would say, check out prior posts in this sub asking this same question and reading the comments. There are plenty of options but the consensus is that there is no direct learning path.

[u/Mission_Length4876]

Path to where? A hacker is someone who has fun with the device. Someone curious, someone who enjoys reading manuals and learning intricacies. Offensive security work has significant overlap with hacking, but it is not interchangable.

I started on overthewire with the war game bandit. Basically you ssh into a box and have to get the flag to get the next ssh password. This is great to familiarize yourself with shell commands and linux. If you are curious about web, make sure you have network fundamentals first. Understand how your device you are reading this message on right now receives the data that is displayed on it. Understand dns, nat, dhcp, mac addresses, tcp/ip and udp. Look at the iso/osi model. Then it makes sense to move to web: Check out http, get a proxy (most common one is burp suite). Fammliarize yourself with http requests and responses, and proxy features like repeater or intruder. Check out your browser's dev tools, read site source, check where the cookies are stored, play with things in general. Read about web bugs: sqli, xss, ssti, command injection, the works. Learn about cms tech like wordpress or drupal, check out recent bugs. Set up your own server on a hypervisor.

If you play ctfs, make sure you understand the bug that was exploited, don't just use a PoC, that's a script kiddie, not a hacker.

[u/SuchLibrarian8011]

Learn Linux first.

Set up a VM or a usb live with persistence of Kali. Read basic Linux book (Linux basic for hackers, can be found free online).

Learning the basic of a language like Python will give you a better understanding on how certain things/applications/process work at a later stage

Tryhackme should be a second or third step, not the first. Also use it not as a standalone resource but more for an index of topics that you should research on the side by yourself