How to become a master hacker?
To truly be a great hacker, one must master many hacking skills. Most of the aspiring techies have an intense passion for becoming a hacker. But actually they don’t know where to start. Some enthusiastic network newbies have a strong desire to learn how to be a wizardly hacker. In computer security, a hacker is someone who converges on the safety mechanisms of computer and network systems.
Upon listening to the phrase Hacker, most of us get into mind is that they are the people who break into computers and mess up everything on your device. This is what many of the ordinary people symbolize hacking in modern culture. But, hacking culture is not just chopping one’s device rather it is much more complicated and ethical than most people know.
People often search on the web with queries like “How to Become a Hacker“, “What are the Skills required to become a hacker”, “What is the Best Way to Learn to hack,” “Where to start” and much more things like them. I have come up with a detailed guide on how to become a hacker by learning some hacking skills. So that it can help all those enthusiastic techies who are craving to know much about hacking. If you are highly fascinated to learn basic hacking techniques, then you have landed in the right place. Therefore, you need to check out this detailed guide on hacking skills and gain admiration to crack your way into the intricate world of hacking.
Which hacking skills you need to acquire?
In simple words, there is no magic to becoming a Hacker. But, like anything else that is important, it takes dedication and enthusiasm to learn. It is necessary to have a basic knowledge of various topics that you can check out in below steps. These are some hacking skills that every hacker should know before even trying to hack. Once you have a good grasp on everything in this area, you can move into the intermediary level.
The Fundamental Skills
These are the basic hacking skills that every hacker should learn before even trying to hack. Once you have a good grasp on everything in this section, you can move into the intermediary level.
1. Basic Skills about Computer
These skills go beyond the ability to create a Word document or cruise the Internet. You need to be able to use the command line in Windows, edit the registry, and set up your networking parameters. It probably goes without saying that to become a hacker you need some basic computer skills.
2. Networking Skills
You need to understand the basics of networking, such as the following.
As we are often exploiting these technologies, the better you understand how they work, the more successful you will be.
- DHCP
- NAT
- Subnetting
- IPv4
- IPv6
- Public v Private IP
- DNS
- Routers and switches
- VLANs
- OSI model
- MAC addressing
- ARP
3. Linux Skills
It is extremely critical to develop Linux skills to become a hacker. Nearly all the tools we use as a hacker are developed for Linux and Linux gives us capabilities that we don’t have using Windows.
4. Wireshark or Tcpdump
Wireshark is the most widely used sniffer/protocol analyzer, while tcpdump is a command line sniffer/protocol analyzer. Both can be extraordinarily useful in analyzing TCP/IP traffic and attacks.
5. Virtualization
You need to become proficient in using one of the virtualization software packages such as VirtualBox or VMWare Workstation. Ideally, you need a safe environment to practice your hacks before you take them out in real world. A virtual environment provides you a safe environment to test and refine your hacks before going live with them.
6. Security Concepts & Technologies
A good hacker understands these hacking skills, security concepts and technologies. The only way to overcome the roadblocks established by the security admins is to be familiar with them. The hacker must understand such things as PKI (public key infrastructure), SSL (secure sockets layer), IDS (intrusion detection system), firewalls, etc.
7. Wireless Technologies
In order to be able to hack wireless, you must first understand how it works. Things like the encryption algorithms (WEP, WPA, WPA2), the four-way handshake, and WPS. In addition, understanding such as things as the protocol for connection and authentication and the legal constraints on wireless technologies.
The Intermediate Skills
This is where things get interesting, and where you really start to get a feel for your capabilities as a hacker. Knowing all of these will allow you to advance to more intuitive hacks where you are calling all the shots not some other hacker.
8. Scripting
Without scripting skills, the hacker will be relegated to using other hackers’ tools. This limits your effectiveness. Every day a new tool is in existence loses effectiveness as security admins come up with defenses.
To develop your own unique tools, you will need to become proficient at least in one of the scripting languages including the BASH shell. These should include one of Perl, Python, or Ruby.
9. Database Skills
If you want to be able to proficiently hack databases, you will need to understand databases and how they work. This includes the SQL language. I would also recommend the mastery of one of the major DBMS’s such SQL Server, Oracle, or MySQL.
10. Web Applications
Web applications are probably the most fertile ground for hackers in recent years. The more you understand about how web applications work and the databases behind them, the more successful you will be. In addition, you will likely need to build your own website for phishing and other malicious purposes.
11. Forensics
The more you know about digital forensics, the better you can become at avoiding and evading detection. To become good hacker, you must not be caught! You can’t become a pro hacker sitting in a prison cell for years.
12. Advanced TCP/IP
The beginner hacker must understand TCP/IP basics, but to rise to the intermediate level, you must understand in intimate details the TCP/IP protocol stack and fields. These include how each of the fields (flags, window, df, tos, seq, ack, etc.) in both the TCP and IP packet can be manipulated and used against the victim system to enable MitM attacks, among other things.
13. Cryptography
Although one doesn’t need to be a cryptographer to be a good hacker, the more you understand the strengths and weaknesses of each cryptographic algorithm, the better the chances of defeating it. In addition, cryptography can used by the hacker to hide their activities and evade detection.
14. Reverse Engineering
Reverse engineering enables you to open a piece of malware and re-build it with additional features and capabilities. Just like in software engineering, no one builds a new application from scratch. Nearly every new exploit or malware uses components from other existing malware.
In addition, reverse engineering enables the hacker to take an existing exploit and change its signature. So that it can fly past IDS and AV detection.
The Intangible Skills
Along with all these computer skills, the successful hacker must have some intangible skills. These include the following:
15. Think Creatively
There is always a way to hack a system and many ways to accomplish it. A good hacker can think creatively of multiple approaches to the same hack.
16. Problem-Solving Skills
This is another kind of hacking skills. A hacker is always coming up against seemingly unsolvable problems. This requires that the hacker be accustomed to thinking analytically and solving problems. This often demands that the hacker diagnose accurately what is wrong and then break the problem down into separate components. This is one of those hacking skills that comes with many hours of practice.
17. Persistence
If you fail at first, try again. A hacker must be persistent. If that fails, come up with a new approach and try again. It is only with a persistence that you will be able to hack the most secured systems.
Bottom Line
I hope this article gives you some guidelines as to what hacking skills one needs to study and master to ascend to the intermediate level of hacking. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t have all the skills I listed above. But you rather use this list as a starting ground for what you need to study and master in the near future. Good luck master hacker!
