A beginners guide to Ethical Hacking

Who is a hacker?

Hacker is a person who breaks into some ones computers or computer networks either for the purpose of profit, fun or a motivated challenge is called a hacker.

Types of Hackers

Hackers can be classified in three main types which are listed as follows:

White hat hackers – White hat hackers are the ones who do not use their skills for harming others or for illegal purposes. These are often called security experts and are considered as good guys.

Black hat hackers – Black hat hackers often called as Crackers are the ones who use their skills for illegal purposes such as Credit card stealing, Hacking a bank etc.

Grey hat hackers – Grey hat hackers are a hybrid between White hat hackers and black hat hackers I.e. They some times act as white hat and some times black hat and
some times not.

Hacker Hierarchy

Scriptkiddies or Newbie – Script kiddies are inexperienced people who want to become a hacker. They are usually inexperienced and use ready made tools for hacking. They have access to hacking tools but they are not really aware of how computers and programs work. Due to their lack of experience they sometimes can harm themselves too. As there is a famous quote “Little knowledge is dangerous”.

Intermediate hackers – Intermediate hackers know much more than scriptkiddies but they do not make their own exploits ( A piece of code or script used to carry attacks on a vulnerable) system to carry out attacks. They are well aware of programming and computers.

Professional or Elite hackers – These are the experienced and skilled hackers. They develop their own tools and exploits. They can access in a system and are well capable of hiding their tracks.

What Takes to Become a Hacker?

Remember Hacking is not a thing which can be mastered overnight it needs patience and a lot of hardwork. The most common problem I see with newbie hackers  or Beginners that they want things to happen with least effort but that’s not the case you need to work hard on each and every topic and once you grab a topic then  stick to it until you master it when you can do this you will see the results your self