Putting it all together..What to do?

-New member - First Post :hello:
Arite here's the deal:
I'm only 14...However I've been into computers since I was 11. So for three years I've been reading all these tutorials..most outdated and what not. Now I've been reading a lot around AntiOnline. So I know all these little tricks like wow I know how to get an IP address and spot forged e-mail etc...but really I've got nothing...I see everyone ansering posts knowing everything, you all know you're stuff. I want to have that knowledge...Lol it sounds stupid but I want to get to the point where I can be like the guy in Enemy of the State. :confused:
Thanks, -=Royal-T=-

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Wisdom begins in [flip]wonder[/flip]

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Did you want all computer knowledge in a reply post or something? Or what? I don't really think there was a question there buddy.

Sorry for not being specific there buddy, :err:
I just meant where do I start reading? Just give me a small outline of what to read. Point me in the right direction.
-=Royal-T=-

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Wisdom begins in wonder.

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What you're really asking for is what comes with experience. What you have been doing the past few years, is what you should be doing. Over time, you will gain knowledge, and then you will be the one answering questions. But this isn't just for computers, it is the way life works.

You say you have been reading stuff around AO; but what? Stuff from the forums, of the Text files and playing around with the programs? If you haven't, I suggest you start there. You can find links to those sections, on the Site Menu.
And of course, there is Google. But I presume you already know about that. heh.

Thanks, that's more like what I was looking for. Nice reality check :D
thanks again
-=Royal-T=-

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[gloworange]He who is intelligant, knows nothing.[/gloworange]

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Maybe it's time to start expanding your library with real big heavy UNIX books and manuals. I'd also recommend playing around with a programming language.

Since you're young, you should start planning ahead, setting goals for yourself.

e.g.
finish a website, learn cgi, script, bench 400lbs. ya know.. small things.

and if you plan to pursue computer science... Math is very important.

Thanks...
Lol and I like that bench 400 lbs. I thought that was funny, got a nice laugh.
Quote: 14 year olds are amused by the slightest little things :)
-=Royal-T=-

I'm just happy to see someone ask what they can do to get ahead vs. show me the quick and dirty way to do it.

I have to second what is already being said in this post, what you want will come with experience but only if you absorb the right things. Read, read and read some more. Try and hang out with the IT director at your school, also he/she should have some ideas for you on where to intern during the summer or after school. Yeah you'll be working for free but get in with the right person or shop and it could really jumpstart your knowledge since you'd be exposed to a variety of situations.

Good luck!

Welcome --

Ditto what TechieChick said - you're at the start of a fantastic voyage of discovery - and if you approach it with the right attitude (which you seem to have) AO is a great harbour on that journey.

May I also recomend www.tuxedo.org - This is the homepage of Eric S. Raymond (author of the sendmail binary, the "how to be a hacker" FAQ and keeper of the jargon file). If you're new to security and havn't been here yet it's a day (or two) well spent ;).

CU on AO. :thumbsup:

I think most of what you want comes from experiences and phases you go through. Like when I got my domain name, I started going crazy learning html and java and css. That kind of thing gives you loads of experience. After a while, you'll find something online that interests you, maybe how to uncap a cable modem or something, you'll get into, learn everything about it, and move on to something else. And if you frequent antionline you'll find questions you may also be asking and learn things by checking out the replies.

And to the persom who gave me neg antipoints for my earlier posting, the one where I did not know what RoyalT was talking about, I was not trying to be aggressive, just wonder what he was talking about, I am not that much older than him anyways. Don't just give neg antipoints for nothing like that.

komal. Don't bitch about antipoints or people will just throw more your way. :)

OK, ok, let me make amends. Sorry RoyalT if you considered what I wrote in my first post kind of mean, I did not mean to be, I honestly did not know what you mean with your first post. OK? So people please stop giving neg points for this, I was not trying to bother him or anybody else. Just joking around.

lol it's arite.
-=Royal-T=-
Quote: A good friend will bail you out of jail, but your best friend will be sitting there right next to you saying "that was ****ing awesome!"

nice to see someone with the right attitude: it's what separates the true geeks (my term for the winners of society with all the knowledge, sorry if you don't like the term :) ) from the script kiddies. Thank God you didn't just go 'hey, is there program I can download which hacks a computer if you type in the owner's name and click a button?'..................;) you'll do great here

I think education is pretty important; I took computer science(as i'm sure everyone else has) it's a good start. I also read pretty much everything that i can get my hands on, including all the antionline stuff! Here's my list of what I'd suggest to learn.
1) OS(Win, *.nix)
2) Languages(C first, then Java, VB, CGI, then scripting languages)
3) Internet technology

Hope that helps.

Since I am only a year old than you RoyalT and only got into computers about two years ago, I can only pass along my words of encourgement and advise you to learn a programming language as soon as you can. Once you get past the first step, everything seems to get a lot easier.

Good Luck!

Jaguar291

Patience is the best advice I can offer right now RoyalT. It's easy for me to get frustrated sometimes about topics I don't know anything about, but if you keep hammering away, it will usually click with you. I like Elliente's list of things to learn as well.

1) OS's are the backbone of all this, so it's a good idea to learn one inside and out. Many people choose a 'NIX flavor for this, because so many systems on the internet are using some flavor of 'NIX as their OS. If you have the means, try to get a test system that you can play with, and start installing different OS's. The best way to learn is by doing. Just don't do on anything you can't afford to break.

2) Programming languages are a great way to understand the logic behind a lot of things. You'll find that many programs are merely helpful user interfaces for something that can be done manually. Even text editors are simply user interfaces for saving words to a file, instead of having to compile a script that takes in each line you type and save it to disk. Start with some simple languages like BASIC, or shell scripting, and move up from there. Look for things that are called HIGH-LEVEL languages. These are the ones that are the most human readable. LOW-LEVEL languages are the ones that are most computer readable. Assembly, for example is a low-level language that is about as close to machine language as a human can get without knowing binary better than their own language.

3) Network technology is how we're all connected, and it's an important thing to learn. It's fun to play with network hardware (hubs, switches, routers, etc). When you get good with one machine, it's time to branch out to many! :bigsmile:

Good luck!

Roswell -
As another newbie I read your post with great interest - it was very insightful. I hope you don't mind but I will be copying it to keep as a reference to refer back to in my own pursuit of knowledge. My experience began on the hardware side of computing but branched quickly to the software side when I started having OS problems early on. I've been learning by jumping in with both feet which is not the easiest thing to do. Thank you for the great outline.

RoyalT, welcome to the site and I admire your post and gave you some greenies for it. First off you are asking for and have found a bunch of what are called mentors. These are people that share and teach becuse you asked to learn. Mentors are good many of the post's I see are from well established good people here that wish to pass on what they know to one that has an open mind, you will go a long way because you asked the right way :)

Wow, that was refreshing. Been a while since I have seen a question that was actually well thought out before it was posted. Now, seeing as you called this thread "putting it all together..." you have gotten quite a bit of good advice, but its in a lot of different places, so...

learn an OS (not just how to point and click, but learn it)
learn to program
learn new technology (internet/networking technology especially)
set goals
experience experience experience

People used to complain about the old MCSE NT4.0 certification. You could read a couple of books and get the certification. Why is this bad? Because certified people didn't know **** about what they were doing. They were getting paid good money, and had no idea what they were actually looking at because they had never seen it before. Reading is great, but retaining that information is hard if you don't actually use it. It is also hard to understand if you don't know why you need it. If you can, test your knowledge in a controlled environment (home network if you have more then one computer and your family will let you).

The goals thing is also very important. Stay on the right path and decide what you want to do. Besides benchpressing 400 pounds (I never got past 380 ;) ) what do you want to do? Network Administration, System Admin, Security consultant, etc etc? Decide where you want to be in 1/5/10 years. I know this may seem crazy at 14 (I was there once) but it makes a difference. Once you know what you want to do, you can start specializing in what you want to learn.

Anyway, if you continue to make well phrased questions, you will continue to get good help. Your off to a great start, so keep it up. Oh yeah, btw, the guy in Enemy of the State doesn't exist...

I agree with the other peoples that have posted.

Learn a programming language
read as much as humanly possible
USE what you have learned
ask questions! :eek:
Set goals to make what you are learning worthwhile!

I have been where you are before and understand what you are going through. I first got interested in computers at age 10 when my school got an apple computer and scheduled time for every student to be able to play learning games. (I played oregon trails the most) Once I saw how much could be done with a computer I set a goal to learn how to make these cool computer games. While my goal has changed my method of obtaining it hasn't. I am now in a job where I do desktop support, network support, server maintenance and telecom support for a company of 5000+ people. I have no certifications and no formal training yet here I am. Just remember that anything is possible and never give up on your dreams and you will one day be able to answer questions in a similar manner as the techie gurus you see in movies and read in these and other forums!

May Everyone Find the Happiness That They Deserve!
Raisor

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People used to complain about the old MCSE NT4.0 certification.

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i thought this one died out? isnt the new one is MCSE Win2K and XP?

s0nIc> Thats what I said...the OLD mcse nt4.... It no longer exists. With the 2K/XP certs, they have changed parts of the tests, so it is a LOT harder to pass without haveing some hands on experience....

well you could try some different programming languages;
here are a few that ive used and know a little about, visual basic (nice easy for beginners), c++ is a good one to try after a while, can be tricky to debug but is worth it.

if you havnt already, you could also try some html coding (in notepad or your fav text editor), also try linux out if you want, buy a book on it that comes with some form of it on cd (redhat is popular).

and of course theres the forums here at antionline, much can be learnt if you have the time to read them :-)