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📚 Learning Path // My Hacker Journey

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🇬🇧 English | 🇭🇺 Magyar

No fake motivation. No “10 steps to success” bullshit.
Just my path, my grind, my mindset.

🔥 How I built my skills

Forget generic “watch YouTube + buy a $10 Udemy course” advice.
Here’s how I actually leveled up to pentesting and red team work:

  • Hack The Box & TryHackMe grind → hundreds of boxes, focus on methodology not just flags
  • Realistic labs & certifications → CRTA, real AD environments, full-chain exploits
  • Bug bounty → private invites after building reputation (Hackrate contacted me directly)
  • Books over hype → The right ones are game-changers

📖 Books that shaped my skills

These are not “optional reads”. These are must-reads.

Bug Bounty / Web Focus

  • The Web Application Hacker’s Handbook (2nd Edition) – Dafydd Stuttard & Marcus Pinto
    The bible of web hacking. Everything from recon to exploitation to chaining bugs.
  • Web Hacking 101 & Real-World Bug Hunting – Peter Yaworski
    Easy to read, pure practical examples. Perfect before diving into WAHH.

Red Team / Advanced Exploitation

  • Advanced Penetration Testing – Will Allsopp
    Adversary simulation, real-world attack chains, post-exploitation.
  • Red Team Development & Operations – Joe Vest & James Tubberville
    The mindset and tradecraft of a professional red team operator.

🧠 Mindset matters: Red Team vs Bug Bounty

Red Team Mindset

  • Goal: Objectives over exploits (impact > CVEs)
  • Approach: Covert, stealthy, persistent
  • Skillset: AD attacks, phishing, C2, pivoting, post-exploitation
  • Mentality: “What would a real threat actor do to remain undetected?”

Bug Bounty Mindset

  • Goal: Report valid bugs (impact & reproducibility matter)
  • Approach: Fast recon, high target coverage, automation where possible
  • Skillset: Recon automation, web exploitation, chaining web bugs
  • Mentality: “How can I turn a small bug into critical impact?”

🛠 My learning rules

  • Grind daily – Even 30 minutes > 0.
  • Manual recon first – Tools don’t replace thinking.
  • Revisit machines – After weeks, new approach = new learning.
  • Don’t mix paths – Separate red team focus from bug bounty/web hacking.
  • Documentation is a weapon – Notes save hours in future ops.

🚀 Beginner tips that actually work

  • Start with easy/medium HTB machines → learn methodology
  • Build a home lab → Kali, Windows, AD, vulnerable apps
  • Use books + practice together → don’t just “read”, implement what you learn
  • Get visible → writeups, blog, community contribution = opens doors
  • Join bigger communities (HTB forums, THM Discord, LinkedIn posts)

📅 My daily workflow

  • Coffee ☕ + VPN + focus music 🎧
  • 20–30 min recon (nmap, ffuf, subdomain enum, manual analysis)
  • Exploit phase if target found → test payloads, script, pivot
  • Log everything → working payloads, failed ideas, timestamps
  • Every day = small win (flag, bug, note, script improvement)

This is my real path, no shortcuts.
If you want to go deeper: contacts@nosecpwn.eu
Or in Hungarian:
🇭🇺 Olvasd magyarul