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A Hacker Recommends Hacking Books

August 11, 2023

Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_tNote: This essay is the work of a real and still-alive dinobaby. No smart software involved, just a dumb humanoid.

Hacxx, a self-identified posting freak, has published a list of “20 Best Free Hacking Books 2023.” I checked the post on Sinister.ly and noted that the list of books did not include links to the “free” versions. I asked one of my research team to do a quick check to see if these books were free. Not surprisingly most were available for sale. O’Reilly titles were free if one signed up for that publisher’s services. A couple were posted on a PDF download site. We think the list is helpful. For those interested in the list and where the books Hacxx says are “the best”, we have arranged them in alphabetical order. Authors should be compensated for their work even if the subject is one that some might view as controversial. Right, Hacxx?

  1. Advanced Penetration Testing https://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Penetration-Testing-Hacking-Networks/dp/1119367689 [Less than $30US]
  2. Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing https://www.amazon.com/Basics-Hacking-Penetration-Testing-Ethical/dp/0124116442?tag=50kft00-20
  3. Black Hat Python: Python Programming for Hackers and Pentesters https://www.amazon.com/Black-Hat-Python-Programming-Pentesters/dp/1593275900?tag=50kft00-20 [Less than $33US]
  4. Blue Team Handbook: Incident Response Edition https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Team-Handbook-condensed-Responder/dp/1500734756?tag=50kft00-20 [Less than $17]
  5. CISSP All-In-One Exam Guide https://www.amazon.com/CISSP-All-One-Guide-Ninth/dp/1260467376?tag=50kft00-20 [Less than $60US]
  6. Computer Hacking Beginners Guide https://www.amazon.com/Computer-Hacking-Beginners-Guide-Penetration-ebook/dp/B01N4FFHMW/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2TKYVD64M3NLS&keywords=.+Computer+Hacking+Beginners+Guide&qid=1691702342&sprefix=computer+hacking+beginners+guide%2Caps%2C91&sr=8-1 [$1US for Kindle edition]
  7. Ghost in the Wires https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Wires-Adventures-Worlds-Wanted/dp/0316037729?tag=50kft00-20 [Less than $20US]
  8. Gray Hat Hacking: The Ethical Hacker’s Handbook, Sixth Edition https://www.amazon.com/Gray-Hat-Hacking-Ethical-Handbook/dp/1264268947?tag=50kft00-20 [Less than $46US]
  9. Hackers Playbook 2 https://www.amazon.com/Hacker-Playbook-Practical-Penetration-Testing/dp/1980901759/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3OWZ8UCLX5ANU&keywords=.+The+Hackers+Playbook+2&qid=1691701682&sprefix=the+hackers+playbook+2%2Caps%2C85&sr=8-2 [Less than $30]
  10. Hacking: Computer Hacking Beginners Guide https://pdfroom.com/books/hacking-computer-hacking-beginners-guide/p0q2J8GodxE [Free download]
  11. Hacking: The Art of Exploitation, 2nd Edition https://www.amazon.com/Hacking-Art-Exploitation-Jon-Erickson/dp/1593271441/ref=sr_1_1?crid=BY25O5JGDY95&keywords=Hacking%3A+The+Art+of+Exploitation%2C+2nd+Edition&qid=1691702542&sprefix=hacking+the+art+of+exploitation%2C+2nd+edition%2Caps%2C116&sr=8-1  [Less than $30US]
  12. Hash Crack: Password Cracking Manual https://www.amazon.com/Hash-Crack-Password-Cracking-Manual/dp/1793458618?tag=50kft00-20 [Less than $15]
  13. Kali Linux Revealed: Mastering the Penetration Testing Distribution https://www.amazon.com/Kali-Linux-Revealed-Penetration-Distribution/dp/0997615605?tag=50kft00-20 [Less than $40US]
  14. Mastering Metasploit https://github.com/PacktPublishing/Mastering-Metasploit-Third-Edition [No charge as of August 10, 2023]
  15. Nmap Network Scanning at https://nmap.org
  16. Practical Malware Analysis: The Hands-on Guide https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Malware-Analysis-Hands-Dissecting/dp/1593272901?tag=50kft00-20 [Less than $45US]
  17. RTFM: Red Team Field Manual https://www.amazon.com/RTFM-Red-Team-Field-Manual/dp/1075091837/ref=sr_1_2?crid=16SFXUJRL3LMR&keywords=RTFM%3A+Red+Team+Field+Manual&qid=1691701596&sprefix=rtfm+red+team+field+manual%2Caps%2C104&sr=8-2 [This version is about $12US]
  18. Social Engineering: The Science of Human Hacking https://www.amazon.com/Social-Engineering-Science-Human-Hacking-dp-111943338X/dp/111943338X/ref=dp_ob_title_bk [Less than $21US]
  19. Web Application Hacker’s Handbook https://edu.anarcho-copy.org/Against%20Security%20-%20Self%20Security/Dafydd%20Stuttard,%20Marcus%20Pinto%20-%20The%20web%20application%20hacker’s%20handbook_%20finding%20and%20exploiting%20security%20flaws-Wiley%20(2011).pdf [This is the second edition]
  20. Web Hacking 101 https://pdfroom.com/books/web-hacking-101/E1d4DO6ydOb [Allegedly free]

Stephen E Arnold, August 11, 2023

Written by Stephen E. Arnold · Filed Under cybersecurity, News, Publishing 

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