Have you ever wondered what it takes to become a security researcher or pentester? Feeling lost watching random YouTube videos while not understanding a single thing or how to apply them? TryHackMe.com‘s new learning path will guide you step-by-step on what you need to know to start from the very basics!

TryHackMe.com/path/outline/presecurity teaches many different contents such as:

• Cyber Security Introduction
• Network Fundamentals
• How The Web Works
• Linux Fundamentals
• Windows Fundamentals

For those who are totally new to the tech field, the learning path teaches basics stuff such as the difference between public and private IP addresses (see Fig 1), what are MAC addresses, the structures of MAC addresses which I did not even know the first half of the address is the vendor’s ID (see Fig 2), and many more!

You will also be taught different network protocols such as ICMP and ARP, how that network protocol works. These are very important as it helps the newcomers to grasp on network security related issues such as pinging host in Nmap port scan, how ARP is related to man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack, and many more.

During the explanation of each concept, animations are also included so that they will be easier to understand. This is very helpful when you are learning a new concept. Some of these animations can even interact!

For those not new to the tech field, there can also be concepts that you might have missed out on. For example, while going through the learning path, I got to know that there is a length limit to subdomains in the Domain Name System (DNS). Besides that, it was also a refresher course for me as there are concepts I have already forgotten such as the different types of domains, the existence of root DNS servers, and many more!

For those who are new to GNU/Linux, the learning path will teach you the fundamentals of Linux commands, SSH, Cron (important when you learn about Linux privilege escalation in the future), and the add-apt-repository which helps you to manage the software in your Linux system and allowing easy updates of them. You will also be learning about the log files which are useful for system administrators or if you are interested in blue teaming in the future. Once you go through this learning path, you will be more confident to try out Linux if you haven’t!

If you do not have a virtual machine installed with GNU/Linux, fear not! There is a Linux machine that will be launched at the right side of your browser for you to interact. This way, you do not have to install Linux before starting this learning path.

For those who are already used to Windows, the Windows fundamentals are still helpful as they teach about MSConfig, user management, the command-line interface, and many more. You will also learn about the Windows task scheduler which is similar to Cron in GNU/Linux. Besides that, going through the lessons may help you to become a Windows power user level. If you are a Mac user, do not worry if you need to install Windows. A Windows machine will also be launched in the browser for easy access.

Therefore, do give it a try whether you are new to the tech field, new to cybersecurity, or a cybersecurity professional! There are always things to learn! If you are interested, go to TryHackMe.com/path/outline/presecurity and start the learning path today!