Programming Do I Really Need It?

You might be asking yourself, do I even need to learn a programming language? The answer to that is both yes and no. It all depends on what your goals are. Nowadays, with all the point and click programs out there, you can be a fairly good ethical hacker without knowing any programming. You can do some effective hacking if you understand all of the security tools very well. Even if you understand what’s going on in the background of these programs, most people will still classify you as a script kiddie. Personally I think you should learn some programming. Even if it’s the very basics, it’ll give you a much better understanding of what’s going on. Also, once you learn how to program well, you’ll be able to develop your own exploits, which is great in many ways:

1. You’ll be considered an elite hacker.
2. Imagine a black hat discovers a vulnerability and codes an exploit for it that no one else knows about. The black hat would be able to take down thousands of machines before anyone discovers and patches the vulnerability.
3. You will feel so much more satisfied having created your own program or exploit. I promise you this.
So my advice is, don’t settle for being a point and click hacker. Take some time to understand even just the basics of programming and an entire new world of hacking will open up to you.

Where should I start?

Many people finally decide that they are going to begin learning a programming language, but don’t know where to start. I believe that before you begin to learn a programming language, you should first master HTML (HyperText Markup Language). HTML is part of what makes up all of the website pages you see on the internet. HTML is very easy to learn and it’ll get you used to looking at source code.
From there I would suggest starting your programming life with C. C is one of the most popular languages, and it is what makes up the majority of the exploits out there today. C also makes up some of the most powerful hacking programs and viruses that are out there today.

Best way to learn

So how should I go about learning the programming language of my choice?

1. Purchase a beginners book on your programming language. Before you choose the book, make sure you read the reviews to make sure it’s a good choice.

2. It is important that once you begin learning the programming language through your book, you don’t take big breaks. Taking long breaks will cause you to forget things you learned in the beginning that apply to the rest of the book.

3. Do ALL of the practice problems provided in the book. The only way you will become better is by applying what you learn.

4. When something difficult comes up or something that makes no sense to you, don’t avoid or skip it. Instead embrace it! This is how you actually learn. If you still don’t understand it after going over it multiple times, find someone that can help you.

5. Join a programming forum. Search for a website on your programming language that has a large user base. There will be many professionals on there that will be able to help you when you get stuck.

6. Practice. Practice Practice. Think of ideas for fun programs that you could make and program them!