// Prerequisites
What to read before Practical Reverse Engineering
If Practical Reverse Engineering feels too steep at advanced level, here is what to read first. Lighter books in the same topics that build the prerequisites this one assumes.
01 · 2019
Rootkits and Bootkits
Matrosov, Rodionov and Bratus on persistent, deeply-embedded malware: kernel rootkits, MBR/UEFI bootkits, and the forensic techniques that surface them. Strongly Windows-internals oriented.
Advanced4/5Alex Matrosov, Eugene Rodionov, Sergey Bratus02 · 2012
Practical Malware Analysis
Still the gold standard textbook for static and dynamic malware analysis on Windows.
Intermediate5/5Michael Sikorski, Andrew Honig03 · 2011
The IDA Pro Book
Chris Eagle's deep manual on IDA Pro, the disassembler that defined a generation of reverse engineering. Useful even with Ghidra in the picture, since most malware-analysis literature still assumes IDA.
Intermediate4/5Chris Eagle04 · 2009
Les virus informatiques : théorie, pratique et applications
Éric Filiol's reference French-language treatment of computer virology. Formal theory, infection mechanisms, offensive and defensive applications, with academic rigor rare on the topic.
Advanced5/5Éric Filiol05 · 2024
Evasive Malware
Kyle Cucci on the anti-analysis arms race: sandbox detection, anti-debug, anti-VM, packing, and the analyst-side tooling and tradecraft that get past those layers.
Advanced4/5Kyle Cucci06 · 2007
Techniques virales avancées
Specialized follow-up to Filiol's Les virus informatiques. Dives into advanced malicious-code attack techniques and their defensive analysis.
Advanced4/5Éric Filiol07 · 2022
The Art of Mac Malware, Volume 1
Patrick Wardle's deep dive on macOS malware analysis: persistence patterns, injection techniques, anti-analysis tricks, and the macOS-specific tooling needed to triage real samples.
Advanced4/5Patrick Wardle08 · 2003
Hacking the Xbox
Andrew "bunnie" Huang on the original Xbox: hardware modding as the entry path into reverse engineering, plus a frank account of the legal fight that followed.
Intermediate4/5Andrew "bunnie" Huang