What’s the Best Beginner Path Into Cybersecurity and Ethical Hacking?

Linux is free and can be used without removing Windows. A virtual machine is a beginner-friendly way to experiment safely, while WSL gives you access to many Linux command-line tools directly inside Windows. Focus on understanding how the system works instead of memorizing commands, then build small practice environments before attempting more advanced challenges.

Cybersecurity involves a lot of independent research, so getting comfortable finding and understanding documentation is part of the skill. Start with basic operating-system and networking concepts, then learn about operational security, authentication, permissions, phishing, and common social-engineering risks. Only practice against systems you own or have explicit permission to test, and use official account-recovery procedures for old accounts rather than trying to bypass logins.

Professor Messer is a solid starting point for broad networking and security fundamentals. NetworkChuck and David Bombal are useful for beginner networking, Linux, and IT topics. Once you’re comfortable with the basics, John Hammond and Hackersploit cover more practical security concepts. PortSwigger’s Web Security Academy is also free and provides excellent guided web-security exercises.

Don’t jump into advanced security labs immediately. A good progression is IT fundamentals, networking, Linux basics, security fundamentals, web security, and then practical labs. Learn the Linux command line, file permissions, processes, networking commands, and basic shell scripting. You can try Linux in a virtual machine alongside Windows or use Windows Subsystem for Linux, so replacing Windows isn’t necessary. For practice, start with beginner material and move to hands-on platforms once the fundamentals make sense.