First Lesson. Concepts and Ideas

A lot of folks start looking in to what it takes to be a 'Hacker' and learn that it's nothing like the films. They discover, rarely is it two clicks of a button and your in; rather, it means a whole new Operating System, and for some, a whole new language. This brings us to Linux. This can be intimdating at first, but relax, I promise you, it's easy.

It's important to note, "hacking," can be done via a computer running windows. Many however, have found the "open source" status of linux makes it a much easier, and more flexible O.S. for the job. Personally, I find that the majority of window's hacking options are cumbersome, difficult to use, and relatively un-popular, making community support for these options scarce. For this reason alone, I use Linux, tho the 'pros' of linux are extensive. Let's dig a little deeper. (See link 'operating system' for more info on linux)

A great Distro to start with Linux and Hacking is a Backtrack. This distribution was put together specifically for the art and profession of 'Pen-Testing'. With it are an array of tools designed specifically to make the job of a hacker smoother, faster, and easier. Note, the true essence of hacking isn't fully understood through these tools alone; ie. using an application written to crack a password is a lot different from writing your own password cracking software. However, the tools provided by backtrack give insight into the objectives and methods of hacking and penetration testing.

The beautiful thing about Linux, is that there are thousands of distrobutions out there, with tools and applications that can be downloaded for free, and modified at your own discrescion. So for instance, the nice thing about backtrack is it is light weight, can be run from a CDR/DVD, and is chalk full of pentest tools, however, you are not going to watch any youtube videos with backtrack live cd out of the box.

Maybe you want an operating system on your hard drive that will allow you to do the Security Tests you'd like to run, but also watch a streaming episode of MacGyver while doing it. Ubuntu PenTest edition is probably more up your ally.

My suggestion to all new commers is take some time, download a copy of linux, I suggest backtrack, as it's small, easy, and relevant to the rest of the time we'll be spending here. I personally run Ubuntu Pen Test off my hard drive, all the tools that are a part of backtrack are available in PenTest, so keeping up should be no problem.

However once you've familiarized yourself a bit with Linux, we will spend a bit of time diving into setting up duel boot systems with up to 3 hard drives. :) scary I know! For today we will  leave only with a warm taste of linux in our mouths, watering in our psyche's driving us with burning hunger to consume as much information as possible, and prepare our selves for the next lesson.

Next up; diving face first into the linux operating system, exploring wireless security using backtrack linux, aircrack-ng, and a whole bunch of patience.