How to Hack Something ?

This question was from Shubham Tambe.

In popular media, hackers are often portrayed as villainous characters who illegally gain access to computer systems and networks. In truth, a hacker is simply someone who has a vast understanding of computer systems and networks. Some hackers (called black hats) do indeed use their skills for illegal and unethical purposes. Others do it for the challenge. White hat hackers use their skills to solve problems and strengthen security systems.These hackers use their skills to catch criminals and to fix vulnerabilities in security systems. Even if you have no intention of hacking, it's good to know how hackers operate to avoid becoming a target. If you're ready to dive in and learn the art, this wikiHow teaches you a few tips to help you get started.

1) Part 1 of 2: Learning the Skills Needed to Hack

1

Understand what hacking is. Broadly speaking, hacking refers to a variety of techniques that are used to compromise or gain access to a digital system. This can be a computer, mobile phone or tablet, or an entire network. Hacking involves a variety of specialized skills. Some are very technical. Others are more psychological. There are lots of different types of hackers that are motivated by a variety of different reasons.

2

Understand the ethics of hacking. Despite the ways hackers are depicted in popular culture, hacking is neither good nor bad. It can be used for either. Hackers are simply people who are skilled in technology who like to solve problems and overcome limitations. You can use your skills as a hacker to find solutions to problems, or you can use your skills to create problems and engage in illegal activity.

• WARNING:

  Gaining access to computers that don't belong to you is highly illegal. If you choose to use your hacking skills for such purposes, be aware that there are other hackers out there who use their skills for good (they are called white hat hackers). Some of them get paid big bucks to go after bad hackers (black hat hackers). If they catch you, you will go to jail.

3

Learn how to use the internet and HTML. If you are going to hack, you'll need to know how to use the internet. Not just how to use a web browser, but also how to use advanced search engine techniques. You will also need to know how to create internet content using HTML. Learning HTML will also teach you some good mental habits that will help you with learning to program.

4

Learn how to program. Learning a programming language might take time, so you need to be patient. Focus on learning to think like a programmer instead of learning individual languages. Focus on similar concepts in all programming languages.

• C and C++ are the languages that Linux and Windows were built with. It (along with assembly language) teaches something very important in hacking: how memory works.

• Python and Ruby are high-level, powerful scripting languages that can be used to automate various tasks.

• PHP is worth learning because the majority of web applications use PHP. Perl is a reasonable choice in this field as well.

• Bash scripting is a must. That is how to easily manipulate Unix/Linux systems. You can use Bash to write scripts, which will do most of the job for you.

• Assembly language is a must-know. It is the basic language that your processor understands, and there are multiple variations of it. You can't truly exploit a program if you don't know assembly.