[hacking resources]

I finished reading: >https://www.linuxcommand.org/tlcl.php I have a good Python background, but 0 knowledge on SQL and Networking/protocols. Since I do not even know what I do not know, I'm not sure what to do. How would I go from my nearly non existent skill to pwning a library database (hypothetically speaking)? I'm willing to go a step beyond and I learn fast. I've been recommended CTFs in the past but I just don't know what I'm doing. Where do I go from here? I would really appreciate specific resources that I can follow progressively.

I've recently finished Tanenbaum's Modern Operating Systems book. It gave a very good insight into OS internals. It has case studies on Linux, Windows and Android at the end to give you a high level overview of how these OSs work in practice. I'd highly recommend! Tanenbaum has another book on Networking that I plan to get. If its as detailed as his OS book it should be the only resource I need for a while. In general OP, I think you should study tech until you begin to understand how to exploit it yourself. This may seem daunting but in reality its quite liberating and is definitely the right way to do things. Don't just look for 'how to break into X' guides, or you'll always be dependent on them!

before studying security you have three basics skills like networking, computer systems/architecture and programming, essentially core cs curriculum the best thing you can do is to expose yourself ot as much different topics as you can, essentially become a sponge and absorb knowledge the best and only way to do this is by grinding ctfs, you want to jump straight into it as soon as you can 1)computer stuff, searching information, networking >skip A+ >https://tryhackme.com/room/introtonetworking https://tryhackme.com/room/googledorking >CompTIA Network+ study guide Google anything you don't understand, you don't need 1k page books that explain in detail how physical layer works, you can find this information whenever you will need it anyway Pirate books, courses, do whatever you want, there's just too much stuff to list and if you have too much resources you wouldn't know from which to start, this is the mistake most people do 2)ctf intro >https://overthewire.org/wargames/bandit/ this is a staple, focused on linux but there are other wargames on the website like natas for web Btw, read writeups. There's no point to keep bashing your head against the wall because you can't solve the challenge, read the writupe until you can get any further (but obviously at least try to solve it, take some notes, also look at different writeups for the same challenge because they most likely have small differences and you will learn more) >https://play.picoctf.org/practice picoctf is an annual ctf competition aimed for highschoolers, those who run the event compiled the tasks from previous editions and now you have the picogym which is always available, it also has the webshell so you can practice stuff directly from your browser without having to run your vm main ctf categories are cryptography, pwn, forensics, web, binary exploitation, if you want to read more: https://primer.picoctf.com/ and https://trailofbits.github.io/ctf/ start with general skills category (it's a mix of everything), then pick the category you are most interested in you can always get back to pico and overthewire, move on to tryhackme whever you feel like 3)ctf core >https://tryhackme.com start getting your feet wet, has a lot of handholding altough some content is paywalled, make an account and start with (those are guides on how to connect to their vpn to start attacking boxes, unless you want to pay and use their webshell) https://tryhackme.com/room/openvpn and https://tryhackme.com/jr/welcome then go to rooms and search for easy ones, start with them, do linux and windows, learn tools as you go, take notes especially on privesc, write your own writeups so you can have some material in your hands to check if you have doubts, keep in mind that they are just ctfs at the end and most likely you will encounter similar ones >https://www.hackthebox.com/ I don't have much to add, academy is nice, there should be a list floating around with boxes similar to OSCPs updated as for 2022 there many many others like vulnhub, smashtestack, hackthissite, rootme, crackme, those that I listed above should keep you busy for a while