Great Resources For Anybody Interested In IT & Cyber

I am not an ethical hacker by any means or a security researcher and I don’t do any type of threat analysis for a job. I don’t even work in the IT field. I started to become interested in ethical hacking and cybersecurity in general a couple of years ago – that’s actually how I was introduced to Linux. Since then I have realized that I wouldn’t really thrive in an office type workplace and with all of the layoffs in the IT and tech industry recently – I would be battling against some heavyweights. I’ve also realized that my passion is creating videos but that’s not what this post is about.

Then What’s It About?

I recently logged back into Reddit, which I haven’t done since the whole API drama, and I noticed that somebody commented on a post that I made like eight or nine months ago on r/ethicalhacking. I frequented that subreddit a lot in the past and while I was there, I noticed that so many newcomers would always post the same question.

Hey guyz so I really really really want to make ethical hacking my life long career and I have a passion for computers and I’d just love to be an ethical hacker – HOW DO I START?!

Because of this question, which would be asked multiple times a day, I decided to make a post and list a bunch of different resources for beginners, intermediate and even advanced people that want a list of for anything from cybersecurity blog posts and news, creators on youtube that focus on the subject, podcasts and much more. It is of course still over on r/ethicalhacking as it’s pinned to the top of the subreddit – I wanted to create that list somewhere else in case Reddit blows up or some shit and then all of the great content and resources that are on that website disappear or something lol. So that’s what this post is – a backup ;)

Websites:

https://notes.siira.io/ – This is Linux Journey. If you don't know anything about Linux and the command line then start here. Seriously, start here.

TryHackMe.com – this website is great and teaches a lot of those fundamentals that you need. There’s a free tier but I suggest paying 10 bucks a month if you can because it’s well worth it for the extra courses that you can get.

HackTheBox – this is more intermediate. They’re vulnerable boxes that you can practice on. Basically CTF’s (Capture The Flag) they also have an academy site that’s like THM but I think tryhackme is still a better bang for your buck academy wise.

ITPro.Tv – This website has a bunch of courses for everything. Linux, Windows, MacOS, networking, hardware, etc. Literally everything.

Youtube.com – You may think that this isn't as good as the other websites but I swear that there are some really good tutorials on youtube. I'll go into some people to watch below.

Teachers

The Cyber Mentor

This guy is amazing. He has a YouTube channel (search ‘the cyber mentor’) and has tons of good videos. He has a free 15 hour ethical hacking course right on his channel that’s got great information. That’s a portion of a paid course that he has on his website. Go to www.TCM-security.com and there is an Academy tab somewhere near the top. The full course called Practical Ethical Hacking is like 30 bucks I think? Completely worth it. I highly suggest checking out the free 15 hour or so video on YouTube and if you like that – get that PEH course. 30 bucks is nothing in this space and you get it forever. He’s also got other courses on there that are well worth it.

Professor Messer

He's a good guy to watch to learn about networking and all the CompTIA exams. You don't have to get certified but it will help you greatly when it comes to finding a job. Just search him on YouTube and you’ll find him. I can’t stress how important it is to get a good foundation on networking before jumping into the hacking part. I messed up when I first started because it is boring to learn. It’s just dry. Learning about TCP/IP protocols, the OSI Model, etc. at face value it’s boring as fuck. But when you realize that you need this information to be a good pen tester (or just working in IT) it helps. Hell, I’m still working on getting better with networking myself.

HackerSploit

This guy is one of the best on YouTube. He is extremely detailed and I don't think you're going to find someone that is much better than him in my opinion.

John Hammond

He is up there with Hackersploit and The Cyber Mentor. He's got tutorials but he also has a lot of in depth videos about malware and a lot of different cybersecurity related topics.

Mental Outlaw

Good youtuber to check out to learn about security news as well as Linux topics.

David Bombal

Great information as well as very good interviews with cybersecurity and IT professionals.

Network Chuck

The most mainstream youtuber of this whole list, but he still know's what he is talking about for the most part. His videos are a great starting point if you don't know who any of the other people in this list. Some people may find him a bit too overzealous and annoying but the information he provides is pretty solid.

Podcasts To Listen To

News/Articles/Blogs