Want to learn how to hack? Hacking isn’t a single subject that anyone can pick up overnight. If you want to hack like a pro, you won’t be able to read just one article and visit a few hacking websites.
But if you spend a lot of time studying and practicing your craft, you can learn to hack.
White Hat vs. Black Hat Hacking
There are two forms of hacking: “white hat” and “black hat“.
White hat hackers call themselves ethical hackers, in that they find vulnerabilities in an effort to make systems and applications more secure.
However, there’s a whole other community of hackers—black hat hackers—who find vulnerabilities only to exploit them as much as possible.
Now that you know what sort of community you may be entering, let’s get on with the list of top sites where you can learn to hack.
1. Hacking Tutorial
At Hacking Tutorial, you’ll find a list of resources that’ll teach you some in-depth tricks to hacking various apps, operating systems, and devices.
Some examples of the content you’ll find here include:
- Articles like, “3 Steps GMail MITM Hacking Using Bettercap”
- Tutorials like, “How to Bypass Windows AppLocker”
- Hacking news
- Phone hacking tips
- Reviews of online hacking tools
- A significant library of free hacking eBooks and reports
The articles are usually short, and the grammar isn’t always perfect. However many include highly technical, step-by-step instructions on how to do the task at hand.
The tricks and scripts work unless the exploit has been patched. You may have to dig through some non-hacking articles. But for the volume of technical tricks and resources you’ll find there it’s deserving of a mention.
2. Hack a Day
Hackaday is a blog made for engineers. It’s less about hacking with code, and more about hacking just about anything.
Posts include innovative projects including robotic builds, modifying vintage electronics and gadgets, and much more.
Over the years, Hack A Day has transformed the site into a fairly popular blog.
They also have another domain called hackaday.io, where they host reader-submitted engineering projects. These include some really cool projects and innovative designs.
This site redefines the meaning of the word hacking by helping you learn how to hack electronic devices like a Gameboy or a digital camera and completely modifying it.
The encourage readers to building electronics for the sole purpose of hacking other commercial devices. They also host an annual Hackaday Prize competition. This is where thousands of hardware hackers compete to win the ultimate prize for the best build of the year.
3. Hack In The Box
Hack In The Box has really changed significantly over the years. The site is actually made up of four major subdomains, each with a specific purpose meant to serve hackers around the world.
The site remains focused on security and ethical hacking. The news and magazine sections showcase frequently updated content specifically for hackers or those learning to hack.
The four major sections of the site include:
- HITBSecNews: This popular blog provides security news covering every major industry. Major topics include major platforms like Microsoft, Apple, and Linux. Other topics include international hacking news, science and technology, and even law.
- HITBSecConf: This is an annual conference drawing in hacking professionals and researchers from around the word. It’s held every year in the Netherlands.
- HITBPhotos: A simple collection of photo albums, mostly covering images from the yearly conference.
- HITBMagazine: This page highlights the quarterly print magazine that Hack In The Box used to send out to subscribers until 2014. Even though the blog section of the site is still active and frequently updated, no additional print magazines are being produced.
This site is less of a place to go for actually technical hacking tips, and more of a daily spot to get your latest fix of online hacking news.
HITB is a great resource for news for anyone interested in the latest gossip throughout the international hacking community.
4. Hack This Site!
Hack This Site.org is one of the coolest, free programmer training sites where you can learn how to hack. Just accept one of the challenges along the left navigation pane of the main page.
The site designers offer various “missions”. This is where you need to figure out the vulnerability of a site and then attempt to use your new-found hacking skills (you’ve carefully studied all of the articles on the site, right?) to hack the web page.
Missions include Basic, Realistic, Application, Programming and many others.
If you’re able to figure out how to properly hack any of the most difficult missions on this site, then you’ve definitely earned the title of “hacker”.
5. Cybrary
If you’re looking to kick start a career in white-hat cybersecurity, Cybrary is a great resource. Here, you’ll find hundreds of free courses covering areas like Microsoft Server security, doing security assessments, penetration testing, and a collection of CompTIA courses as well.
The site includes forums, practice labs, educational resources, and even a job board. Whether you’re just starting to consider a cybersecurity career, or you’re already in the middle of one, this site is a good one to bookmark.
6. Exploit Database
Whether you’re a white hat or a black hat hacker, the Exploit Database is an important tool in any hacker’s toolbelt.
It’s frequently updated with the latest exploits affecting applications, web services, and more. If you’re looking to learn more about how past hacks worked and were patched, the Papers section of the site is for you.
This area includes downloads of magazines that cover many of the biggest exploits to ever hit the world in the past decade.
Learning How to Be a Hacker
More industries continue to gravitate toward a cloud based approach. The world keeps moving more of its critical data to the internet. This means the world of hacking and counter-hacking is only going to grow.
Cybersecurity is a booming field, and a good one to get into if you’re looking for a lucrative, future-proof career.
If you’re interested in the history of hacking, our list of the world’s most famous hackers and what happened to them is a fascinating read. The lesson to learn is simple. Black hat hacking may sometimes pay more, but white hat hacking ensures that you’ll stay out of trouble.
Read the full article: The 6 Best Websites to Learn How to Hack Like a Pro
