Last updated: November 2, 2023
Un ethical hacker, often called pentester, is a talented and passionate programmer. He has a unique ability to understand a system or program in depth and identify its vulnerabilities.
He is an expert with an exceptional ability to resolve problems often considered insoluble.
For become an ethical hacker, several key skills are essential to master:
Master web browsing
First of all, it is essential to know how to search on the internet. This means learning how to effectively search the internet for information and programs you need.
At a minimum, know use a search engine is essential. It's also important to avoid wasting time on sources that seem dubious.
Read and understand English
Then, it is important tohave a good level of English. The majority of resources and articles relating to ethical hacking are in English. This skill will keep you up to date and informed about the latest threats and best practices.
For example, you will be able to read the latest research on cybersecurity, follow international conferences and participate in discussions on social networks.
To improve your English level, you can take courses, read articles and books in English, and watch videos in English.
Understanding Computer Hardware
In addition to mastery of English, solid understanding of computer hardware is essential. This involves more than just identifying the main components of your PC.
Indeed, for an ethical hacker, it is often necessary to go beyond. You should not only be able to replace common parts like a hard drive, but also understand the role and operation of each component, from motherboards to processors, RAM, graphics cards, PCIe interfaces and USB ports.
This skill will allow you tooptimize the performance of your machine, detect possible hardware vulnerabilities and adapt your equipment according to the specific needs of your missions.
Getting started with programming
Tackle programming can seem intimidating at first. However, after a few hours of effort, you may feel increasing enthusiasm. Start with HTML for its simplicity, then progress to languages such as C, Perl, Java and C++.
- HTML & CSS : These markup and formatting languages are often the first ones encountered. They are at the heart of website creation. HTML structures the content, while CSS formats it. Although they are not "programming languages" per se, they provide an accessible introduction to logic and structuring code.
- C : It is an imperative programming language designed for system development such as operating systems or compilers. His mastery provides a deep understanding of how software interacts with hardware.
- Perl : Perl is particularly well-known for word processing, system administration, and is often used for automation tasks. Its advantage lies in its flexibility, but it requires a certain rigor to avoid common pitfalls.
- Java : It is an object-oriented language, known for its portability. Java is widely used in enterprise application development, mobile applications (Android), and embedded systems.
- C++ : Evolution of the C language, C++ includes object-oriented programming features. It is commonly used in the development of video games, high-performance software, and even in financial systems.
Learn cryptography
An essential point for an ethical hacker is the study of security and encryption. An ethical hacker spends much of his time working on computers and networks, placing paramount importance on protecting his data.
Cryptography is the study of techniques for securing communication in the presence of malicious third parties. It encompasses both encryption, which transforms information into a code that cannot be deciphered without the appropriate key, and decryption, which reconstructs the original information from the code.
To learn about cryptography, educational games, such as specialized crosswords, can be a good introduction.
Understand the basics of computer network protocols
Having good knowledge of computer networking is as essential as mastering a computer.
That implies :
- Understand the fundamentals of network structure.
- Know the different types of protocols and their functions.
- Know how to differentiate between network topologies: bus, star, ring, etc.
- Have skills in cabling design, including selection of cable type (Ethernet, fiber optic) and connectivity standards.
Become familiar with an open source Unix system
use a Linux distribution becomes essential for any ethical hacker. This is because these systems are more secure than Windows or macOS operating systems, and they offer a wider range of tools and resources for penetration testing.
Although the first steps may be difficult, don't give up. The command line syntax can be confusing at first, and configuring some tools can be complex. However, with time and patience, you will be able to achieve feats with operating systems such as Kali Linux.
Here are some examples of the skills you can learn in Linux:
- Knowledge of the command line
- Systems administration
- Audit of IT systems.
- Identification and exploitation of software vulnerabilities.
- Server management and administration.
Conclusion
In conclusion, become an ethical hacker requires a lot of skill. This ranges from knowing how to search for information on the internet to understanding computers and networks, including learning to code. English is also important because a lot of information on this subject is in this language.
Additionally, knowing Linux, a type of operating system, is essential.
In short, to succeed in this field, you must learn continuously and be passionate about IT security.
Hello EXALHER my name is AARON thank you for the tutorial! I'm learning HTML programming for a start in order to be a pentester afterwards! I'm looking for someone who can help me in my learning if you want I would like it to be you!
Hello,
I have read most of the comments, and I want to say that I find most of them to be pathetic, there is nothing so complicated in being a "good pentester", a working brain, a PC , patience, and a minimum of determination.
I'm not an expert, but I will still give advice on learning and how to be when asking questions for example, many of these points may seem logical to you, but yet some people still say to themselves that it is by saying “how are we a good pentester?? that they will have a miracle answer that will all uncover them.
Here are some points that you might find useful.
1. Self-Based:
You may be wondering where am I going with this?
Well, quite simply, don't let yourself be influenced by anything and everything, for example if you want to learn a certain programming language and someone replies "Oh nah, that's rotten", and get started when same ! (obviously it is not a question of learning a language at random, before learning that it informs you a little to see if it will be useful to you) of course here I take as an example what could be a cliché , because after not declining all remarks either, certain remarks are sometimes justified, but it is better to take into account only remarks which are justified.
2. Your spelling:
A mistake from time to time does not bother, on the other hand a right word from time to time is disturbing, and I do not say that because I am maniac or others, but in general on most sites to learn the "pentest ", people will not answer you, or will answer you on the fact that you do not know how to write, moreover you will have tarnished your image in a certain way if you write badly all the time, and know that for the "cracking" the communities are even more demanding on this, so read it again, I myself am rather bad at spelling, but I read it again, and I correct to make it cleaner.
3. Knowing how to search:
As far as this area is concerned, look on forums (which are very useful for precisely knowing useful sites, programming sites, well, I'm not going to stay long on this point because it's up to you to do that, but on the other hand, I can tell you all the same that you have to look a lot, and that you have to look in depth, for example you don't learn to test a network before understanding how a network works, the goal is not is not to reproduce everything we see but to understand how to do it.
4. Programming:
Here is what differentiates a script kiddie from a pentester, (A script kiddie is a person who makes attacks from programs already created by real programmers).
This is a very big part of becoming a pentester, I personally started by learning the Basic Casio, (casio calculator language) useless to become a pentester, but to understand the basics a little is always useful , and to program even in full course.. 😉
Then I started to learn Python, C, and Java, then HTML.
I advise you to go to openclassrooms.com which is a very good site in my opinion to learn how to program and to know where to start.
5. That's it?:
I could give you lots of other advice, but I think that if you applied the first four points, you don't need me and you could manage afterwards, nevertheless, do not hesitate to contact me by email. if you have a question or anything 🙂
Good luck and Bye!
Hello everyone, I too am interested in computer security. Is there someone who will hold my hand?
C++ It's a little Chinese, at least for me.
To become a good pentester you need to have a pc and internet, nothing more.
Then if you're doing well with the net, everything is free.
the best is already to learn to program so type code what after you can talk about pentester etc just left click mouse examine element you will see what the delirium is above all I would say that you have to spend hours on open classroom for languages for example you have to learn a lot to become good.
Alalalalah…it makes me laugh, there are some who make me laugh in the comments… For those who want to know what a pentester is and become one, bah…already… Have you read The Mentor's manifesto? and then do you have the right qualities for that? patient, perseverance, being diligent and attentive, curiosity, etc.
Finally, I too have fun exploiting flaws etc etc… I don't leave a trace or anything else, since I do it just out of curiosity, and above all to escape from my daily life, to live with stockings -du-fronts, to support them, to support the incessant blah blah of my teachers, who explains the lesson for the 3rd time. I am frustrated with my daily life and that is why, that I take refuge in this world, where everything is accessible within reach of command lines, within reach of clicks, it is so good to explore this world, to understand, but that said I am not satisfied with the machine world, a pentester is ultimately a person who seeks to discover, understand what surrounds him and often resourceful...
I use my real email address, I don't see the point of hiding after all, and then it can always be useful for the less resourceful who want information, but hey, I think you can find out for yourself, and learn only if you have the same state of mind of a "pentester" 😉
Small note to Ahmed; this little site is cute, but some information is missing. I stumbled upon it, randomly, while researching honeypots, But hey…Keep up the good work~
+Butter'n'kitten a white hat (finally…) who wishes you happiness with your machine+
You will never have erased everything… You still have a lot to learn.
go to tor (The Onion Router) it's a mine of information there's a lot of stuff on it
Otherwise there are ready-made tools. The pentest is not "only" the programming and the discovery of flaws, it is also the social engineer, you have to know how to be smart. The biggest flaw, the easiest flaw is the human flaw. With the help of good pentest tools like spymail or spyusb for example we sometimes get better results than with programming…
I really believe you are telling the truth. but the problem is that to master these languages you need people who already master them!!! that's the real problem
I often wonder how you managed to become a good pentester!!!
Learning JAVA is dispensable, for my part I find that JAVA is a very pitiful language it is extremely slow. For a start yes he tries to learn HTML then move on to Python, C, C++, but there is not really a step to learn. You have to learn as needed.
very interesting article thank you