Looking for direction

A non-mouse

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I was thinking today while I was at work about how I should go about wording this without it getting too convoluted. I'm setting out to begin learning programming and cyber security. What computer knowledge I have let's suffice to say that I can do the common place tasks of the everyday ordinary user and I also know what a terminal is. We'll leave it with that. If I could ask for a bit of direction as to which subject matters I might work towards first off it would be appreciated.
 


if you want to learn programming you should go to a university. The techniques they teach are valuable. However the languages and platforms may be influenced by microsoft. You want to find a place that teaches non microsoft programming.

For linux I like Gambas. for android I like B4A and on the times where windoze is needed I use visual studio 2005 or 2008.

you are starting from scratch here and you need a solid background so you do not make the mistakes most programmers make. This is why so much stuff crashes.
 
begin learning programming and cyber security.
There are around 10 Pentesting distributions, all use the same tools, and all require you are Linux experienced and terminal competent, in that you know enough to find and fix any installation and running problems on your own.
 
@A non-mouse , g'day from DownUnder and welcome to linux.org :)

Are you looking to engage in these pursuits as an interest, or for pursuing a vocation?

If the latter, you would need to be patient (ie don't give up your daytime job), it could take 3 - 5 years to get qualified.

We have IT professionals here within our ranks, including my friends Maarten @f33dm3bits ( a SysAdmin) and Jas @JasKinasis (a developer/programmer) who may have some thoughts ... by my mentioning them, they will be flagged to take a look here. There are others as well.

I may have more input later.

Cheers

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz

BYW - don't go jumping into Kali ... bad move.
 
Maarten @f33dm3bits ( a SysAdmin)
I'm not a programmer and not into Cyber-security, especially with the type of Kali topics we get here. I would just focus on getting down Linux basics and being able to find your way around the terminal and Linux well enough up to the point that you can figure out a solution based on already gained knowledge and combine that with online searches, so that you can figure out most things by yourself without having to rely on creating an online forum topic. As well as figure out how to install the programming languages you want to use, together with their debug packages and find an IDE that works well for you. It will also be useful for you to look into how to run vm's or containers, that way you can run your code separated from your main host when you want to test things, if you don't want a whole bunch of development packages cluttering your main desktop system.
 
Collage is expensive so hear me out on this.
Paying back what you borrow has additional rates on the loans you agree to and the rates go up and down on a daily bases. Trust me on this, I have a college degree in 3 areas of expertise. Been there done that and it can be very difficult paying back those loans.

I was able to study scripting and Python enough on my own plus reading books that assisted me to be able to do things that programmers do today. Like wizardfromoz said it takes 3-5 years to be qualified.

You can join open source projects that developers have running and prove your skills that way. As an example, when I finish writing a script that runs effectively without errors and installs a Linux pkg I can then contribute my script/build to the Slackware or Debian Team.

One of the books that I was told about by our member @JasKinasis a few years ago was:
Effective C By: Robert C. Seacord

Using the program Code Blocks or Visual Studio along with what that book teaches is a good practice.

Our member @CaffeineAddict has good experience and may be able to give you direction.
@GatorsFan has years of experience too so let's see what these gentlemen have to say.

And I second what @wizardfromoz said....Kail Linux wouldn't be practical for what you want to learn and accomplish.

I wish you the best @A non-mouse.

Cheers,
Alex
 
If you want to be useful as a developer you'll need to know in demand programming and scripting languages. w3schools can help you get your foot in the door and that's about it, with the exception of html/css/javascript. I would recommend learning all three of those in depth. You might also pick up python, C, C++, java, kotlin, and php. If you want to learn C you could look here:


Make sure to learn bash scripting too. bash has a very comprehensive man page.

Signed,

Matthew Campbell
 
@A non-mouse , g'day from DownUnder and welcome to linux.org :)

Are you looking to engage in these pursuits as an interest, or for pursuing a vocation?

If the latter, you would need to be patient (ie don't give up your daytime job), it could take 3 - 5 years to get qualified.

We have IT professionals here within our ranks, including my friends Maarten @f33dm3bits ( a SysAdmin) and Jas @JasKinasis (a developer/programmer) who may have some thoughts ... by my mentioning them, they will be flagged to take a look here. There are others as well.

I may have more input later.

Cheers

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz

BYW - don't go jumping into Kali ... bad move.
Thank you. This is for a little of both with a mind towards a gradual transition into the field vocationally. I was in IT when I was in the marines but have since forgotten everything, with what little I knew. This is why I said to start from the ground up essentially because my experience has long been forgotten. By me. Fortunately my day job is footing the bill for me to pursue this, paying for my degree in cyber security.
 
If you want to be useful as a developer you'll need to know in demand programming and scripting languages. w3schools can help you get your foot in the door and that's about it, with the exception of html/css/javascript. I would recommend learning all three of those in depth. You might also pick up python, C, C++, java, kotlin, and php. If you want to learn C you could look here:


Make sure to learn bash scripting too. bash has a very comprehensive man page.

Signed,

Matthew Campbell
Thank you. This was very useful.
 
I'm not a programmer and not into Cyber-security, especially with the type of Kali topics we get here. I would just focus on getting down Linux basics and being able to find your way around the terminal and Linux well enough up to the point that you can figure out a solution based on already gained knowledge and combine that with online searches, so that you can figure out most things by yourself without having to rely on creating an online forum topic. As well as figure out how to install the programming languages you want to use, together with their debug packages and find an IDE that works well for you. It will also be useful for you to look into how to run vm's or containers, that way you can run your code separated from your main host when you want to test things, if you don't want a whole bunch of development packages cluttering your main desktop system.
Userland VM is my platform currently for my education. In the future I'll purchase a cheap laptop or raspberry pi and install a distribution to a partition and run from there.
 
@A non-mouse :-

Welcome to Linux.org, and one of the friendliest Linux fora online!

I wouldn't classify myself as a developer, that's for sure......more like an enthusiastic amateur. Mostly a self-taught Bash scripter, I research and get the hang of using new techniques as & when I need them. Usually, this means you're putting what you've just absorbed into practice straight away, so it tends to stick with you better.

My personal view is that there is absolutely no point in attempting to learn an entire language at one sitting BEFORE you even know what you're going to do with it. Take your time - it's NOT a 'race' - and learn stuff, one chunk at a time, working up from the basics through slightly more complicated stuff and so on, until you're comfortable with what you've got your head around so far......this is, after all, the way humans learn as they grow up. And constant practice is NEVER a bad thing. Never be afraid to try a routine out once you've got it in your head.....over & over again if necessary, until you thoroughly understand what it does, how it works with other routines, how it interacts with stuff in your system, etc, etc.

Remember - you probably know this already anyway! - most programming consists of stringing multiple routines together, in such a way that it eventually produces the output you want. Research whatever you need to - there's an entire encyclopedia's-worth of coding knowledge out there online. Ya just gotta look for it.....and that's what search engines are for. You very soon get the hang of wording queries in such a way as to bring up what you're looking for; like so much else, it just takes practice.

(Some people take to all this stuff as naturally as the rest of us breathe. Others - despite their best efforts - always seem to struggle. Programming is just another language.....and not everybody is born with the right mindset for learning languages. Don't feel bad if you fall into the latter camp, 'cos believe me, you'll be in good company...)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

The whole thing of online courses for learning programming languages is a relatively new phenomenon, as is the business of obtaining qualifications for tech-related jobs. Most of the 'old guard' - those of us who've been into this computing lark for decades (some of us dating back to the 60s/70s) - are entirely self-taught, because we were all learning together at the same time as the tech itself was still evolving. Of course, everybody now requires you to be 'qualified' today, along with fancy bits of paper you can wave around proving your competence, so it's become kind of a necessity. The old system of apprenticeships, of 'learning on the job' isn't really viable anymore.

Ask whatever you like here; that's what we're here for, 'cos we just like helping others, and passing on our own tips, tricks and general knowledge. Knowledge SHOULD be for sharing.....NOT for 'hoarding'.

(I agree with Maarten - @f33dm3bits . Whatever your level of competence with Linux, you won't get anywhere until you have a basic knowledge & understanding of the system in general. Attempting to dive straight into programming without said basic understanding will make the entire process very frustrating!)


Mike. ;)
 
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Fortunately my day job is footing the bill for me to pursue this, paying for my degree in cyber security.

That is great news and thanks for the input.

If I may ask a further question - is this course an in-person attendance course with a Professor, Tutor or other trained professional, or is it an online course, and in either event, do you know if it includes one or more modules on pen testing that involve the use of Kali?

I will explain further when I review your response.

TIA

Wizard
 
That is great news and thanks for the input.

If I may ask a further question - is this course an in-person attendance course with a Professor, Tutor or other trained professional, or is it an online course, and in either event, do you know if it includes one or more modules on pen testing that involve the use of Kali?

I will explain further when I review your response.

TIA

Wizard
What i know so far, what I'm looking into, is that it would be an online class through SNHU. That's the extent of my knowledge of the program.
 
Personally I like The Linux Foundation they offer a bunch of Linux courses, and they offer some introductory training classes for free and some classes are up to as much as $1095

 
I have taken a quick look at SNHU's site under Cybersecurity and it is not clear whether Kali Linux may be involved.

Following are my thoughts on Kali Linux. Basically this is an "if" scenario.

RECOMMENDED READING FROM KALI SITE


RECOMMENDED READING FROM HERE

(these two are pinned at the top of our Kali Linux subforum)


and


Bottom lines are that Kali Linux is designed to be used by people who

  • are already cyber security professionals and/or
  • already have some years (I suggest 3 - 5) of prior experience in a number of different distributions of mainstream Linux.

Note also that very many of the penetration tools that ship with Kali can be installed on any other Linux distribution.

A daunting list of Kali tools can be found here


...and of course, if the course says you have to use Kali, then you may have to use Kali.

Cheers

Wizard
 
I have noticed that Kali lags behind Metasploit, even though Kali is a rolling distribution. I get Metasploit straight from Rapid7 almost every day. Kali may be about a month or so behind.

Signed,

Matthew Campbell
 
If I could ask for a bit of direction as to which subject matters I might work towards first off it would be appreciated.
Hi, if you're still watching this thread, I'd suggest C++ and assembly simply because majority of cyber security code online is written in these languages and also because by knowing these two you become all powerful in regard what you can do.

I'll share a member from GitHub who I'm following to be up to date with these matters:

She has plenty of cyber security related repos I was using to learn hacking Windows, I suggest you to study her code.
As you'll notice most of the code C/C++ and a bit of assembly.

You don't need to learn C really, by knowing C++ and reading or using C code you'll also learn C for free.
Once you're comfortable with C++ you can dive into assembly.

Keep in mind though to be master of these languages will take years, a decade at least.
 
Hi, if you're still watching this thread, I'd suggest C++ and assembly simply because majority of cyber security code online is written in these languages and also because by knowing these two you become all powerful in regard what you can do.
Metasploit uses Ruby for a lot of what it does. Python is also used for a great many things.

Signed,

Matthew Campbell
 
Metasploit uses Ruby for a lot of what it does.
Ruby is used to write exploits, but ruby won't help you discover a bug to exploit, for that you'll need to know languages in which targeted software is written and that's not ruby but mostly C and cpp.
Disassembly helps too.
 

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