[kmod]

Hello HC Staff and Members,

I'm quite new to hacking and not even close to being worthy of the title "Hacker", yet. I have been around computers since my youth, about a decade ago. Now I find myself in college, enrolled in a software development course at the local college. I am learning fast, yet still know so little.

I have tried getting immersed in the hacker culture in my early/mid teens, but have always been overwhelmed with everything and gave up after a while. I have matured since, gained confidence, and took the plunge. Along side the curriculum I am following in college, I'd like to explore the other sides of this many-faced die.

I hope to gain the fundamental skills in all areas of hacking, as well as excelling in a few.

I'm looking forward to my time spent in this community.

Any and all advice and constructive criticism is welcome.

-kmod

[chmod]

Hello and welcome to HC, very nice intro by the way.

Which area's are you most interested in?

Have fun and if you need help with anything feel free to ask!

[kmod]

Thanks

My main interest is ethical hacking. I am aiming towards developing software, support existing software, security, and pen testing.

That being said, I'm also interested in learning what Grey Hats have to offer. Mostly out of curiosity, but, I'd like to be capable if fighting fire with fire if I am ever faced with the need.

I know C++ is common among the hacker community as well as the importance of linux and its hacker friendly distributions (backtrack, arch linux). I have been teaching myself linux with F17, though I'm getting a spare laptop so I can tinker with BackTrack on the fly. Aside from that and what I'm currently learning in class, I'm not sure where else to look.

Based on what I have said about my current understanding, can you think of any important tools/concepts/tutorials that I should look at? Perhaps some key tools in backtrack to focus on (ettercap and others).

I'm going to browse the forum for now. I'm sure I'll find a fair amount of information.

-kmod