An introduction... into something exciting (My 'Hello, World')

First of all a brief introduction…

So Hello everyone!
As I’m sure you have guessed, I’m very new here, and have had a keen interest in pen-testing for a long time but never really found anywhere to begin or even where to look, as it can be a very taboo subject if you need to explain it to somebody and have to drop the “hack” bomb (depending on who you talk to), it does seem to have a lot of stigma around it.
I am from a programming background, I have been programming since I was roughly 13-14, self-educated of course and have been a software developer for the past 4 years.
I would be happy to talk to anyone who is willing, and am always happy to talk as I don’t really know anyone who is very technology-orientated, even at my job people tend to avoid anything too technical like the plague, so it is very nice to meet all of you.

… And on to some questions that I have.
First of all, I keep hearing that some basic knowledge in computer networking is fairly essential, however this seems very vague on such a broad subject.
Now I do know some about networking, however being self-taught I wouldn’t be surprised if there are certain gaps in my knowledge, and I’d like to see if I should look a bit further into computer networking, or if what I know currently is adequate, for starting out.

Secondly, doing a lot of the programming myself I understand that it isn’t really 100% necessary to remember exact syntax and such while coding, knowing that it is in your arsenal of tools, knowing the situation and how it can/should be used is more than enough, as syntax is always a short Google Search away. However does this transfer on to this side of things?

Finally, I found that when I was learning to program, I had one of my teachers to mentor me… And now that I am a bit more proficient in it, I reach out and try to help others. If anyone is willing to mentor or even just talk in general, so I can get my feet wet or just talk and bounce ideas off of with some conversation, would be greatly appreciated.
And by mentor, I don’t mean actively teach, I mean someone to be a go-to with questions they might have or something of the sort. I’m very aware that teaching isn’t the easiest thing to do, and can be fairly time consuming, on both parties.

Thanks a lot for reading, I wish you luck! :smile:

Type your comment> @Rawrsome said:

First of all a brief introduction…

… And on to some questions that I have.
First of all, I keep hearing that some basic knowledge in computer networking is fairly essential, however this seems very vague on such a broad subject.
Now I do know some about networking, however being self-taught I wouldn’t be surprised if there are certain gaps in my knowledge, and I’d like to see if I should look a bit further into computer networking, or if what I know currently is adequate, for starting out.

The advice is solid, but the hard thing about advice is that it takes knowledge to see the value of it.
One might argue that since you ask the question, the advice may apply to you, but you’d better judge that yourself. Not knowing you, it’s hard to assess what would be a practical path for you.
To give you a more practical answer: just go do some boxes. If your questions are about 'why can’t I connect to/from, …", then you might need more knowledge in the networking department. It helps to know the pieces, so that you can understand why you can’t connect.

Much of pentesting is awareness. And there are many factors hidden in the network layers. Let alone the very specific flaws in protocols… the hole goes as deep as you jump man…

Secondly, doing a lot of the programming myself I understand that it isn’t really 100% necessary to remember exact syntax and such while coding, knowing that it is in your arsenal of tools, knowing the situation and how it can/should be used is more than enough, as syntax is always a short Google Search away. However does this transfer on to this side of things?

This field is insanely huge… either you have a stellar, near inhuman memory or you’ll better take good notes.

Finally, I found that when I was learning to program, I had one of my teachers to mentor me… And now that I am a bit more proficient in it, I reach out and try to help others. If anyone is willing to mentor or even just talk in general, so I can get my feet wet or just talk and bounce ideas off of with some conversation, would be greatly appreciated.

The forums is a far option. The discord channels are another good option. Or if an opportunity passes to join a team, that might be a valid path as well.
I like to learn alone, so I’m no help. But if you ask practical and specific question, I’ll mostly feel compelled to answer.

Good luck on the journey man. And welcome.