HOW TO HACK: HACKING SECRETS EXPOSED: A BEGINNER'S GUIDE (2014)

Chapter 4. Programming

The need to possess the knowledge of programming as a hacker is one of the most debated topics in the hacker's community. Even though the availability of a variety of ready-made tools on the Internet has considerably eliminated the need for programming, many still argue that having a knowledge of programming can be a great advantage for the hacker.

WHY PROGRAMMING?

At this point you might be asking yourself: "Do I need to learn programming?" Well, this question is hard to answer as it all depends on individual goals. While some people hate programming and love to stick with readily available tools, there are a few who would like to give programming a try. Remember, it is still possible to be a fairly good ethical hacker without knowing any programming at all provided you really master the theoretical concepts of hacking and know how to use the tools effectively.

However, if you are to take my personal advice, I still recommend that you learn some basics of programming so that you will have a much better understating of the situations. A knowledge of programming can give you the following added benefits:

· You can code your own exploit for freshly discovered vulnerabilities without having to wait for someone to develop a tool.

· You can modify the existing source code to meet your customized needs.

· You will be regarded as an elite ethical hacker in the hacker's community.

· At last you can avoid people classifying you as a script kiddie.

WHERE SHOULD I START?

If you are completely new to the world of computer programming, my recommendation is to start off with the basics such as learning programming languages like C, HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language), PHP and JavaScript. C is a wonderful programming language for beginners that plays a prominent role in establishing the foundation for learning other languages. The following are some of the freely available websites to learn C:

· C Programming

· Learn-C

· C4Learn

Once you are done with the basics of C, learning HTML, PHP and JavaScript becomes fairly simple. The following are the freely available websites to learn HTML, PHP and JavaScript:

· HTML Tutorial w3schools

· PHP Tutorial w3schools

· JavaScript Tutorial w3schools

In addition to free resources you can even consider purchasing books if you are more serious about programming. The following are few of the great books worth reading:

· The C Programming Language

· HTML & CSS: A Beginner's Guide

· Programming PHP

· JavaScript for Beginners

Once you have made up your mind, you can start to learn and practice programming as a separate journey without having to pause pursuing your hacking tutorials. In most circumstances ethical hacking or penetration testing is independent of programming and hence you can learn them simultaneously. If you are not yet ready for programming, you may even complete reading this book and later decide on programming.