Wardog,
Fact of the matter is that no one here is going to help you with learning to become a cracker. What you can learn here is how to better sercure that which you already own. If you want to learn about networking, security, etc, then reading material and classes are going to be your best bet. Go to your local book store and read everything you can get your hands on. I don't have a list of suggested titles, but subjects should begin with some of the following : TCP/IP primers, network topology guides, anything along those lines will aid you in the long run (be forewarned, this barely scratches the surface of the materials. For Classes, Cisco Certifications, Net+ certs and any programming you can get. Along with all this networking material, you should be getting to know all your OS's as well. Don't subject yourself to just a *nix or windows world. Knowledge is power in all aspects of life, technology is just the same. If you can't get the cash up for the hard copy materials, then there is a wealth of information out there on the web (Newsgroups and RFC's (extremely dry reading material) will be your friend.)

If your intentions are noble, then my definitive answer is read all that you can handle, and then read more even still.

Regards,
chefer


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*nix systems are powerful, but most of the market revolves around windows for now. Knowledge about all will make you a more proficient engineer.

RFC's can be located here
A good public news system can be located here

remember, knowledge is power, ignorance is bliss. What makes you happier?
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