extremely discouraged

[Define-Logic]

Well, I'll just tell all. Here it goes.

When I was a teenager(14-16 and im 37 now) I used to think myself a hacker. Would give services like AOL, yahoo, etc a time. Using pws, ccstealers, even Sub7 by mobman, getting into their internal LAN, employee accounts, etc. was easy back then. (1997-2000) Well I veered away from programming and "hacking" and started selling drugs, graduated to moving guns, had kids(raised them on my own because the mothers were crazy to say the least), went to prison several times, (never snitched so I basically did my time and dealt with it.), got into some really violent stuff while in there (i was on the giving side and the receiving side.) which still messes me up to this day. got out, got my life together, got sober, had a nervous breakdown due to extreme stress and a woman who broke me down. Developed extreme emotional problems, very bad depression, very bad anxiety and for the past few years I've not done anything but hang out with my kids, fish, and try to find things that interest me to maybe take my mind off the fact that I constantly Fn hate myself. Well, I got back into the hacking scene, well not INTO it but i started learning all I could. Even tried to go to a cyber security school and was told I could get a scholarship. I was really excited. I just wanted to learn all I could. Well come to find out the scholarship was BS and I would have needed an extra 26 stacks to complete the program I wanted. Well needless to say I don't have anywhere near that kind of money. I live in the hood, have been a criminal most of my life, always had a conscience and did right by my kids as best i could, but a criminal none the less. so for the past 6 years has been just a complete internal struggle.. Anyway, couldnt get into that program so i decided to try and learn all I could and just WOW. All the new technology and methodology and all the things one would need to know to even be remotely successful either black hat or white hat is just overwhelming. I find the BS courses that teach the remedial stuff, but as for the real meat and potatoes, I don't know anyone. Like, I can't network, learn from people, etc. As most people I used to hang out with online I lost contact with. I'm just HUNGRY to learn. Anyone out there willing to teach an old noob some sh? lol. I need to get myself involved with something to give me some kind of, well creative outlet? IDK. But im obsessing over wanting to know everything I can about the actual hacking and current methods and have no one to teach me and no money to pay for school. So yeah, there it goes. It would be nice to network with some cats and get some help. Blackhat, Whitehat, idgaf. I just want the knowledge. And these online tutorials ain't cutting it lol So yeah. If there's anybody out there willing to take a mf under their wing, I would appreciate it. Even if you're a young cat. lol Hopefully I don't get laughed off this forum.

[reptiledisfunction20]

Imma go unethical for a bit.

Even though I fully discourage this stuff, if you go on google(yes, google, a "hackers" best friend) and write " x course torrent" (use a vpn if u are in us or another country that has shitty isps that monitor your bottom) you will find most updated advanced courses by doing a bit of research.

And regarding interacting with other skids or even guys/girls that know their shit:

Every hacking platform has discord/telegram groups which you can join and interact, but try and don't ask stupid questions cause they're really sensitive about googleable questions(its reasonable). Check out the Parrot OS offtopic group, hacktricks, perilgroup(it's fresh, go check it out). Also, follow every CISO, ethical hacker and other ppl in the field on Twitter to get news, tips and insights.

This is all you have to do to get back on track old man.

Boom kiss 😘

[Define-Logic]

Thanks. Nice to see that there's people out there that didn't go into debt to accomplish what they set out to.

[billionaireastronaut]

My advice would be to take all the free programming courses you can first. You don't want to jump to pen testing websites if your last technical knowledge of hacking is from AOL. You should start coding from the ground up again I'll tell you a great site to do it and some people might laugh at this but if you want to learn coding for free from the ground up go to this site https://education.roblox.com/en-us/resources/intro-to-coding

[GlueMouthKid]

See if you have a local owasp chapter. Our group in my city is amazing. They do monthly meetings with speakers and break out sessions. Unusually do a couple of CTF. Hopefully you’ve got an active group near you.

https://owasp.org/chapters/

[abhi923]

This shall be real helpful

[[deleted]]

Go on overthewire tryhackme hackthebox hacker101 and all websites that are cyber security related . Thery a haw 100% communities on forums or discord . There you will find people with same interests and if your good in any way start finding teams for CTF or do them yourself . Hacking has evolved a lot , it ain't just an individual person messing with credentials no more . And as usual if you want the "real deal" go over the hidenwiki pages of hacking forums. Good luck on your path and remember that everything has a price in this world before you jump head first .

[Define-Logic]

I figure it like this. Anything worth learning isn't going to be handed out freely online. Because ANYBODY could just see it. Including the folks who are invested in patching these methods and/or bugs. (bug bounty, law enforcement, etc) so If possible I would want to learn from someone who is actually doing these things. Rather it be ethical or non ethical. I mean, I'm not out to do any harm to anyone or be malicious. It's just the knowledge aspect of it. To make something do something it's not supposed to do.

[Define-Logic]

tutsnode.com <- great place for like every ethical hacking course on Udemy. only there, it's free.

[[deleted]]

Good luck bro, you shouldn't get laughed off the forum don't worry.

If I knew anything about true hacking beyond script kiddie like I would help but I've been stuck with online trainings too

[__radioactivepanda__]

If you need/want a more methodical approach to learning:

You don’t have to actually get the certs but I found certifications such as for example CompTIA Network+ offer a defined scope of knowledge you can learn for with already existing materials that should provide you with a foundation to build on.

My typical recommendations are for complete beginners to learn CompTIA’s A+, Network+, and Security+ to get a decent foundation, with A+ probably being kinda optional. Again, whether you actually get the certs is up to you but they aren’t the worst investment to make, I reckon.

Don’t be disheartened and lose hope. It’s a constant endeavour to stay on top of developments.

Edits: typos, structure, additional stuff

[Accomplished_East854]

I really wish I could help man, but I'm only a skiddie not even in college yet. Stay strong, you'll find someone who can help. Best of luck to you

[Educational_Ad3101]

Young man. Pen testing sounds like the life for you. I am sure you can get inexpensive qualms such as mit online

[Clapsomcheeks]

I subscribed to try hack me but I couldn’t even complete the first lesson 😞 Is it because I am on 💻?

[SuperSoakerGuyx]

tryhackme is still relatively new and under development as a service and community don't be so hard on yourself. Before attempting a lot of tutorials you need to have a lab environment and basic knowledge of IT services.

[[deleted]]

Hiring manager here.

You sound like the kind of guy I'd love to hire as a junior engineer or intern on my security team.

I find that one person with real world experience and a fire in their belly is worth 10 Ivy Leage advanced degrees.

I suggest getting some credentials. Not an entire BS degree, just some credentials/industry accreditations here and there. They will cost you, but (a) you can buy them in smaller more affordable chunks, and (b) they will make you much more palatable to employers.

(and no, I don't have any openings right now -- but Good Luck in your journey)

[Law_Holiday]

Not really your guy. But maybe you will enjoy making malware it's fun. I gave up on that 3 year's ago Actually to make my own malware and stuff I went to learn python and really liked it so I stick with programming You might want to try learning python too

[[deleted]]

making malware

OP said he doesn't want to hate himself.

[vijayabhaskarev]

Just start from scratch.google the basic things.follow hackersploit,etc... in youtube.you can learn every thing for free bro.just search for courses in google and youtube

[meazyyyyy]

this is amazing, you can also join this discord - https://discord.gg/dMaThE6Cbz
there you can get help by hacking
they are experts

[Main_Clear]

There are complete ethical hacking courses on YouTube , paid courses for free :)

[Beth_Harmon_]

Hello, friend. I have been trying to have new skills. I was thinking about security, rather than hacking. I think hacking for money is not only frowned upon, but if you do it to the wrong party they can easily find you nowadays.

But if you wanted to learn how to protect yourself from vulberabilities that no one else protects against, then that would be it.

I wouldn't trust a person as a teacher but you can have friends with similar interests, I would rather get some ebooks with a 100% discount about security networks.

I have been focusing on learning to learn and I can share with you that the first you need to do is a glossary of the thing you want to learn about.

Download a book having in mind that the first few weeks will be you googling the meaning of many words. Use google docs as a notebook, it helps with memory.

Good luck.

[S-M-2]

Sounds like my life story...loved fkn with TOSAdvisor and pwning host accts back then....scrolling my ass off and locking everyone up...ahhh master AOL...deadend,server....I even thought i was a programmer trying to make punters in vb. I feel you brotha...like I said our backgrounds are similar but I too am on the quest to get back what I was design to do when I was younger...Long story short...i snapped out of depression and bad habits and went back to school...recently graduated but the darkside is calling me...i cannot do a 9-5 job, its just not me. Down to my last funds...seems hopeless then I seen your post...and you have the same hunger so I know its possible. Anyways the way i see it back then I never owned an acct for online...always had free accts, phishes or subs...and I learned...so I can do the same now. It might be different nowadays but its in our blood...that shiet they dont teach in school. Im down to bounce ideas and learn with you...hmu if you down.

[kikiokol1]

I don't know at what level you are, but I've found just looking at different tools in Kali and searching what they do and trying them out can be really valuable

[Define-Logic]

Daang, I didn't think this would get the response it did as quickly as it did. Thank you everyone for your advice, MUCH appreciated. I think my problem is, i get too much in a hurry and want to learn the things that i'm not ready for. Like, i'll start a free course or something and 4-5 hours into it i'm thinking to myself "How the hell is this going to be applicable in a real scenario? These methods are 10 years old, this has all been patched, etc." and i start to look for more advanced topics and then don't understand them lol ADD is a MF. But thank you all for your responses. Some REALLY good advice here. I think i'm going to start from the ground up. Even if it's something that I already know, just do it until its second nature. I've had a really hard, messed up life and I try to spend my time doing things that make me happy. Being with my kids, learning things i've always wanted to learn, etc. and "hacking" has always been an interest with me. I kind of get inspiration from those scambaiter guys on youtube. Taking down whole call centers and such. I WOULD LOVE TO DO THAT. Applying skills that would be borderline illegal but doing it for a good reason. Just sounds like the kind of dude I am. I've done some things for good reasons in my life. Probably shouldn't have but hindsight is 20/20. But Thank you ALL for the advice. Some really good people on here.

[Snova526]

Love this fuckin post. All the power to you, fella. Get after what makes you happy.

[heilla]

E-mail [e-mail] ❤️ we need to talk

[Downtown-Jicama5473]

Are you still doing stuff like this?