When I was first starting this site I looked around a few different training courses, tried a few and was not really impressed with any until I took ‘The Complete Ethical Hacking Masterclass Beginner To Expert’ Course by HackerSploit.
As you can see by my review it was the PERFECT course at the time for me and I think it is a fantastic intro course into hacking and also for getting an understanding of Linux Kali and its tools.
The course was taught by one Alexis Ahmed who was an impressive teacher who really knew what he was talking about and who does more courses On his Hackersploit Academy from ‘The Complete Linux System Administration Bootcamp’ to ‘Malware Analysis & Reverse Engineering Fundamentals Course’ ( I am eyeing up this one to do in 2020) and more, give them a look.
Alexis Ahmed, an experienced full-stack developer, an expert in Linux, ethical hacker, and trainer who I have got to know since taking his course.
I reached out to him to ask about some question since the post I did about his course was ridiculously successful and I have multiple people each week asking me about the course and if they should take it to which I usually say YES, go and take it NOW!
It is not just the courses though where you can learn from him, he has a very popular YouTube channel with excellent content on Hacking and Development which is where I originally discovered him, It was actually this video I found when looking up about Dmitry and looking for demonstrations.
Not only that but he runs ‘HackerSploit Cybersecurity’ who are penetration testers that work as an independent team and identify any vulnerabilities and data security risks that enterprises may have. As well as running the ‘HackerSploit Blog’ that has more ethical hacking & penetration testing tutorials AND the ‘Hackersploit Forum’ for like-minded folk to go and discuss or get help in all thinks ethical hacking.
Very, very busy man and so was extremely happy when he agreed to have a few words with me, and here they are:-
After finishing up the course that I just did, it is clear to see that you love teaching, is this something you have always thought of doing or has it just grown naturally?
Thank you for your kind words, it is something I discovered in university, and is the reason I started my YouTube channel, my peers would always ask me for solutions to various problems and I would typically respond via email. I finally decided to try recording a walk-through for a solution, and it turns my peers loved it and it got shared around.
I knew some Linux beforehand and now after the course am bedded in regarding Ethical Hacking and Cyber Security but if you could go back to yourself and make a little learning plan with like Networking, Linux, Python etc what order would you tell yourself to learn and what advice would you give?
I would start off with the fundamentals of OS’s (Windows, Linux), then the fundamentals of networking (TCP/IP, protocols and the OSI layer), I would then focus on learning how to become effective at Linux while picking up on bash scripting, I would then work on a project using Python to teach myself the essentials. As for the advice, I would recommend taking it easy and concentrating on one aspect until I have mastered or become reasonably competent in it.
You have the Pentesting business, training courses, YouTube etc, what are the plans for 2020 and on?
My plans for 2020 are to grow my audience and reach more students with the aim of improving their skill-sets and giving them a better career trajectory.
You have such a broad range of skills, is there a specific part of ethical hacking you enjoy more than the others?
Yes, I personally love hacking Linux and working with the kernel, it is more of an obsessive hobby now.
What resources, either certain books, websites etc would you say helped you the most in learning and what would you recommend now in 2019 for people getting started?
I would always recommend Cybrary as a beginner resource, it is a great starting point for many students I have mentored. https://pentesteracademy.com is also a great resource for students getting into penetration testing.
What do you think is the best way of learning between messing about in a home lab or playing CTF’s?
It really depends on your skill level, CTF’s usually have an additional factor; time, which can be a negative if you are starting out. I would recommend getting comfortable with what you are doing before taking the additional challenge of a CTF.
How did you get started in all of this?
I got started with hacking when I was about 12 or 13, it all began with me installing Ubuntu and getting my hands wet with programming. I began learning about hacking windows and developing viruses and macros (not the best place to start). I was then introduced to an old friend named “Backtrack”, this was my first foray into actual penetration testing and engagement with targets, I began learning how to use the various tools, their possibilities and their limitations and how they can be used effectively, after which I began taking working on VulnHub boxes and getting my certifications.
Between all the sites and the training, you give how do you keep your own skill levels up?
I usually have quite demanding penetration testing projects that I work on throughout the year. This help maintains my skill level, as for the improvement of my skills, I personally love CTF’s and Bug Bounties as they encourage research and improvement.
What is the next training course you will be releasing next?
I am currently working on a Malware Analysis training program.
Do you think Python is an integral part of ethical hacking or do you think you can get by without it?
Absolutely, you can get by without it, but it is an absolute gem to have in your armoury. The ability to write your own scripts when you need them is extremely useful.
Please give him a follow, like, subscribe etc at all the following places and check out his sites and courses too.
- Hackersploit Twitter = https://twitter.com/hackersploit
- Alexis Twitter = https://twitter.com/alexis_hsploit
- Hackersploit Facebook = https://www.facebook.com/HackerSploit/
- Hackersploit YouTube = https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0ZTPkdxlAKf-V33tqXwi3Q/videos
- Hackersploit Patreon = https://www.patreon.com/hackersploit
- Hackersploit Udemy = https://www.udemy.com/user/alexisahmed/
- Hackersploit Blog = https://hsploit.com/
- Hackersploit Forum = https://hackersploit.org/
- Hackersploit Cybersecurity = https://hackersploit.io/
- Hackersploit Discord = https://discordapp.com/invite/j3dH7tK