Linux Basics for Hackers
Getting Started with Networking, Scripting, and Security in Kali
OccupyTheWeb's introduction to Linux from the angle that hackers and pentesters actually need it: shells, networking, scripting, and Kali tooling.
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- Authors
- OccupyTheWeb
- Published
- 2025
- Publisher
- No Starch Press
- Pages
- 264
- Language
- English
Read this if
Beginners with no Linux background who need just enough fluency to follow security tutorials, run security tools, and not get lost. Required prerequisite for most pentest, OSCP, and CTF starting paths.
Skip this if
Anyone who already uses Linux daily. The book is intentionally introductory; experienced users will find every chapter familiar.
Key takeaways
- Linux fluency for security work is a small, finite skill: shell, file ops, services, networking commands, basic scripting. The book covers exactly that and nothing more.
- Type every command. The book is muscle-memory training disguised as a reference; passive reading wastes the time.
- Kali is a defaults-and-tooling distro, not a different OS; understanding base Linux means you'll never be confused when the tool isn't pre-installed.
Notes
Pair with Penetration Testing (Weidman) for the workflow context and PortSwigger Academy for the web complement. The 2nd edition (2025) refreshes commands and tooling for current Kali / Debian; if you're shopping, get this edition. OccupyTheWeb's blog (Hackers-Arise) has continuing material in the same style.
What to read before
What to read before Linux Basics for Hackers →Beginner · 2019
Foundations of Information Security
Jason Andress' compact tour of the field: confidentiality / integrity / availability, identification and authentication, network and OS controls, written for newcomers and adjacent disciplines.
Beginner · 2021
How Cybersecurity Really Works
Sam Grubb's gentle, exercise-driven introduction for non-specialists who need a working mental model of attacker behaviour and basic defence.
Beginner · 2019
The Pragmatic Programmer
Thomas and Hunt's career-defining set of practical heuristics for writing software professionally — orthogonality, broken-windows, DRY, tracer bullets, and the underlying argument that craftsmanship is a posture, not a process.
What to read next
What to read after Linux Basics for Hackers →Intermediate · 2018
Social Engineering
Christopher Hadnagy's broad procedural reference on social engineering as a discipline — recon, pretexting, elicitation, microexpressions, and the structured engagement model his consultancy operationalized.
Intermediate · 2024
Black Hat Bash
Nick Aleks and Dolev Farhi on getting offensive work done with the shell: privilege escalation tooling, lateral movement, and pipelining bash with the rest of the toolkit.
Intermediate · 2007
Linux Firewalls
Michael Rash, author of psad and fwsnort, on building and operating Linux-native packet filtering and intrusion-response tooling. Pre-nftables in detail but conceptually durable.
Explore similar books
Alternatives to Linux Basics for Hackers →Beginner · 2021
How Cybersecurity Really Works
Sam Grubb's gentle, exercise-driven introduction for non-specialists who need a working mental model of attacker behaviour and basic defence.
Beginner · 2019
Foundations of Information Security
Jason Andress' compact tour of the field: confidentiality / integrity / availability, identification and authentication, network and OS controls, written for newcomers and adjacent disciplines.
Beginner · 2019
The Pragmatic Programmer
Thomas and Hunt's career-defining set of practical heuristics for writing software professionally — orthogonality, broken-windows, DRY, tracer bullets, and the underlying argument that craftsmanship is a posture, not a process.