Chapter 3 / Tools and Operating Systems
An English reading edition of Toni Angelchovski’s “The Hacker’s Path”.
Every craft begins with tools. The operating system is the workshop; understanding makes those tools useful.
Your workshop
The guide introduces Kali Linux, Parrot Security, BlackArch and Tails as different approaches to security work and privacy. Choose according to your task and your understanding, rather than treating a tool collection as a substitute for knowledge.
The tools
- Nmap: discover hosts, ports and services.
- Wireshark: examine network traffic and protocols.
- Metasploit: study and validate vulnerabilities in authorised targets.
- Hydra and John the Ripper: test authentication and password strength in a controlled scope.
- Burp Suite: inspect web requests and applications.
- sqlmap, Aircrack-ng, Nikto and Netcat: specialised tools to understand particular systems and communications.
A place to learn
Virtual machines provide a useful workshop for experiments and training. A live USB or dual boot offers another way to explore. Use a lab you control and learn what each command actually does.
“Without understanding, every command is just text. With understanding, it is a door to a new reality.”