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Teach me to hack / How do I get started hacking?

Don't post "Teach me to hack" type questions. No one can teach youto hack. It is something that you have to learn on your own.

However, "How do I get started hacking?" is a legitimate question.

Some guidelines for learning to hack

1. Learn to program. The easiest language (every hacker should know this islanguage) is HTML. Some other popular languages are C/C++, Perl, Java,(see programming).

2 .Learn hardware. Sure, you can be a hacker without knowing hardware well,but it helps.

3 .Get UNIX. Possibly in the form of Linux.Or possibly freeBSD (or openBSD,or netBSD, or....)

4. Spend as much time on your computer as possible, while spending as littleof that time chatting on IRC (or ICQ, AOL IM, etc) as possible.

5. Learn TCP/IP. TCP/IP is the the family of protocols that the Internet workson. You are using HTTP, one of the TCP/IP protocols, right now to viewthis page.

6 .It is likely that you are going to end up spending a lot of money. However,wether it be on hardware, software, or books there are ways to get it cheaper.

• o Hardware
  • •You can often find second hand hardware in the classified section of yourlocal newspaper. Just remember that stuff often is worth a lot less thanit is advertised for. Before you buy look up how much brand new systemscost. Compare what you're getting and the price of a new system to an older,second hand one.
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  • • Go to flea markets, or antiquated computer sales (sometimes put on by alocal University or College).

• o Software
  • • A lot of the best software is free: Linux,Gimp, GNU C compiler, perl
  • If you don't mind stealing from large corporations.... I think you knowwhat to do

• o Books
  • • Second hand
  • • Library: get a card

For a good introduction to the ethics of hacking, how you can get started,and the difference between hackers and crackers, go to Eric S. Raymond'shacker-howto page here.

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