Fun Fact: There is a hacker attack every 39 seconds. ⏲️💻
What is hacking?
Hacking is the process of exploiting weaknesses and breaching defenses of computer networks and systems.
Sounds pretty sinister, right? Well it can be.
What is ethical hacking?
Ethical hacking, also known as penetration testing, is the process of legally breaking into computers. Ethical hackers mimic the actions of malicious attackers to identify and rectify vulnerable areas. ☮️
🦸 Ethical hackers are known as “white hats.”
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TLDR: Best Hacking Courses and Books
🔥 Best Hacking Course 🔥
Complete Ethical Hacking Bootcamp: Zero to Mastery
(Use our promo code FRIENDS10 for 10% off)
💥 Best Hacking Book 💥
Linux Basics for Hackers on No Starch Press
Best Hacking Courses: At a Glance
| Interactive or video-based learning | Level | Duration | Support | Certificate | Cost | |
| Complete Ethical Hacking Bootcamp: Zero to Mastery | Video | Beginner | 26 hours | ✅ | ✅ | $39 per month or $279 per year for all courses and Learning Paths |
| Web Security & Bug Bounty: Learn Penetration Testing: Zero to Mastery | Video | Beginner | 10.5 hours | ✅ | ✅ | $39 per month or $279 per year for all courses and Learning Paths |
| Ethical Hacking Course: Learn Ethical Hacking From Scratch: BitDegree | Video | Beginner | 27.5 hours | ✅ | ✅ | $26.65 for the course |
| Ethical Hacking: System Hacking: Pluralsight | Video | Beginner | 4 hours | ✅ | ❌ | $29 per month or $299 per year for all courses |
| Hacking and Patching: Coursera | Video | Intermediate | 15 hours | ✅ | ✅ | $49 per month for the course |
Best Hacking Courses #1
Complete Ethical Hacking Bootcamp: Zero to Mastery
Like all others on our list of best hacking courses, Zero to Mastery is video-based. But it’s got something the others haven’t got: Andrei Neagoie.
Andrei is an instructor renowned for his courses like Complete Web Developer. In addition, he spent time as a Senior Software Developer in both Toronto and Silicon Valley. With over 450,000 students, we think Andrei’s making a positive impact in the developer world.
In fact, Adil was lost before he found Zero to Mastery:
Complete Ethical Hacking Bootcamp has a second instructor, Aleksa. He’s a Penetration Tester with over 5 years of XP in cyber security and ethical hacking. 👀
No system is safe…
– Aleksa
⚡ Zero to Mastery is one of our favorite platforms. Learn why in our Zero to Mastery review.
Course Layout
Complete Ethical Hacking Bootcamp is a bootcamp-style course for beginners where you’ll learn ethical hacking and penetration testing from scratch. You’ll discover actual techniques used by “black hat hackers” and learn how to defend systems against them.
🎩 “Black hat” hackers use their hacking skills for evil. 🙉🙊🙈
With 22 modules, you’ll conquer:
- bypassing firewalls
- 5 phases of penetration testing
- performing vulnerability analysis
And much, much more.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:
- write your own ethical hacking tools in Python
- create trojans, viruses and keyloggers
- gain access to any type of machine
So grab your hacker sunglasses, hacker hoodie and Hackers soundtrack.
We recommend this course for any aspiring cybersecurity professional.
💰 Cost: $39 per month or $279 per year for all courses and Learning Paths
⏲️ Duration: 26 hours
📉 Level: Beginner
🖥️ Format: Video
💪 Support: Yes
🎖️ Certificate: Yes
Use code 👉 FRIENDS10 👈 at checkout
and SAVE 10%
Best Hacking Courses #2
Web Security & Bug Bounty: Learn Penetration Testing: Zero to Mastery
Web Security & Bug Bounty is another course on Zero to Mastery. But it’s got some key differences.
As opposed to the bootcamp-style of The Complete Ethical Hacking Bootcamp, you’ll find a 10.5 hour course that focuses on:
- hacking websites
- fixing vulnerabilities
- improving web security
It’s all done under the scope of becoming a bug bounty hunter.
A bug bounty is a program that websites and organizations use to reward developers for reporting bugs.
Course Layout
In Web Security & Bug Bounty, you’ll learn penetration testing from scratch. With this you’ll learn how to hack and attack vulnerable systems and make money from bug bounty hunting. With 21 modules, you’ll explore:
- information gathering
- HTML injection
- broken authentication
- bruteforce attacks
- SQL injection
And beyond.
💰 Cost: $39 per month or $279 per year for all courses and Learning Paths
⏲️ Duration: 26 hours
📉 Level: Beginner
🖥️ Format: Video
💪 Support: Yes
🎖️ Certificate: Yes
Use code FRIENDS10 at checkout and SAVE 10%
Best Hacking Courses #3
Ethical Hacking Course: Learn Ethical Hacking From Scratch: BitDegree
BitDegree has a similar layout to Udemy: the courses are video-based, plentiful, and sales are frequent. It’s a good platform for beginners.
Strap in: Learn Ethical Hacking from Scratch is a whopping 27.5 hours.
🏟️ We’ve recently become fans of BitDegree. Read our BitDegree review to learn more.
Course Layout
In Learn Ethical Hacking from Scratch, you’ll take an ethical approach to discovering and fixing system vulnerabilities.
With 13 modules, you’ll explore:
- basic commands
- footprinting
- penetration testing
- WPA2 cracking
- system hacking
And much, much more.
Philians found that BitDegree puts his brain into gear:
💰 Cost: $26.65 for the course
⏲️ Duration: 27.5 hours
📉 Level: Beginner
🖥️ Format: Video
💪 Support: Yes
🎖️ Certificate: Yes
Best Hacking Courses #4
Ethical Hacking: System Hacking: Pluralsight
Pluralsight is another video-based platform. And at 4 hours, Ethical Hacking: System Hacking is a great course for students with a short attention span.
About the Instructor
For over 15 years, Dale Meredith has been a Certified Ethical Hacker and EC-Council instructor.
🤑 Is Pluralsight worth the cash? Check out our Pluralsight review.
Course Layout
Ethical Hacking: System Hacking takes a more nefarious approach to teaching hacking such as:
- finding your target
- taking control of a system
- grabbing intellectual property
But in actuality, you’ll be learning how to hack ethically. 😉
There are 7 modules where you’ll learn how to pwn your targets:
💰 Cost: $29 per month or $299 per year for all courses
⏲️ Duration: 4 hours
📉 Level: Beginner
🖥️ Format: Video
💪 Support: No
🎖️ Certificate: Yes
Best Hacking Courses #5
Hacking and Patching: Coursera
Coursera is a platform that uses a blend of videos and accompanying articles to teach concepts. This is the only platform on our list of best hacking courses that is intermediate.
⛏️ Is Coursera worth your time? Read our findings in our Coursera review.
Layout
In Hacking and Patching, you’ll learn how to hack web apps with vulnerabilities. With 4, week-long modules, you’ll explore how to:
- deposit and hide Trojans
- patch web apps
- use security design patterns
- hack web apps
And learn general hacking methodology.
💰 Cost: $49 per month for the course
⏲️ Duration: 15 hours
📉 Level: Intermediate
🖥️ Format: Video
💪 Support: Yes
🎖️ Certificate: Yes
Best Hacking Books
6. Linux Basics for Hackers
↘️ Ideal for: white hats, hacking newbies
↘️ Topics covered: networking, scripting, security
Get ready for awesome, because Linux Basics for Hackers is arguably one of the best hacking books out there. This book will take you on a tutorial-style journey where you’ll discover:
- Linux command line basics
- BASH basics
- package management
- logging
- the Linux kernel
And much more all within the scope of Kali.
Kali Linux is designed for penetration testing and digital forensics.
Sounds a little dry, right? WRONG.
It’s with these skills that you’ll learn how to:
- cover your tracks
- use Tors and proxy servers
- scan open ports for targets
- listen to wireless networks
And even build your own hacking tools.
🔥 Geena’s Hot Take
Linux Basics for Hackers is definitely the coolest on our list of best hacker books. It’s no wonder, considering it’s a No Starch Press release. ❤️
You’ll get the foundation you need to enter and manipulate systems. In fact, you’ll gain the power to destroy 😱 (not that you should use it).
Some Guy recommends Linux Basics for Hackers to the white hats of the hacker community:
7. The Pentester BluePrint: Starting a Career as an Ethical Hacker
↘️ Ideal for: white hats, entry level security professionals
↘️ Topics covered: role of a penetration tester, pentester skillset, employment
The Pentester BluePrint teaches you how to start your career as an ethical hacker. You’ll learn:
- the role of a penetration tester
- how to discover vulnerabilities in systems, networks and applications
- how to get a job as a pentester
And beyond.
8. Hacking: The Art of Exploitation, 2nd Edition
↘️ Ideal for: C programmers, hacking newbies
↘️ Topics covered: C programming, security, network traffic
Hacking: The Art of Exploitation teaches readers how to hack systems using C programming. You’ll learn how to:
- corrupt system memory
- outsmart common security measures
- gain access to remote servers
- redirect network traffic
- crack encrypted wireless traffic
And much more.
Now while this book is a bit older (2008), hackers say it’s still one of the best hacking books out there:
9. Penetration Testing: A Hands-On Introduction to Hacking
↘️ Ideal for: hacking newbies
↘️ Topics covered: penetration testing, mobile hacking
Penetration Testing is a hands-on guide that uses virtual lessons to teach you how to:
- crack passwords and wireless network keys
- test web applications
- launch exploits
- bypass antivirus software
And much more.
You’ll also dabble in the art of mobile hacking.
Best Hacking Courses and Books: Conclusion
Today we looked at the best hacking courses and books including:
🔥 Best Hacking Course 🔥
Complete Ethical Hacking Bootcamp: Zero to Mastery
💥 Best Hacking Book 💥
Linux Basics for Hackers
So if you’re a hacking newbie, grab your white hat and get ready to hack with these best hacking courses and books.
Hackers are also reading:
- 16 Best Linux Books This Year [Linux for Beginners & Beyond]
- 7 Best Ubuntu Books [Plus Linux Bonus Books]
- 8 ABSOLUTE BEST Linux Training Courses and Certifications This Year (plus PROMO CODES)
What is hacking?
Hacking is the process of exploiting weaknesses and breaching defenses of computer networks and systems.
What is ethical hacking?
Ethical hacking, also known as penetration testing, is the process of legally breaking into computers. Ethical hackers mimic the actions of malicious attackers to identify and rectify vulnerable areas.
What are the best hacking courses?
While there are a few good hacking courses out there, our favorite is the Complete Ethical Hacking Bootcamp on the Zero to Mastery platform.
What is the best hacking book?
Get ready for awesome, because Linux Basics for Hackers is arguably one of the best hacking books out there..