Hands-On Ethical Hacking Crash Course: Linux Fundamentals, Nmap, Gobuster and Web Enumeration

Cyber security instructor Declan Middleton walks through a practical ethical hacking crash course, starting from core Linux fundamentals and progressing to network scanning, web enumeration and HTTP request interception. Everything is demonstrated safely and legally inside a local CTF lab using Parrot OS and an intentionally vulnerable VulnHub machine called Explorer.

■ Linux Fundamentals
- Terminal basics: ls, cd, pwd, mkdir, rm, cat, echo, cp, mv, nano/micro, file, du, find
- System and network: history, man, grep, ifconfig, ip a, ping, netdiscover, uname, hostname
- Privileges and users: sudo, adduser, passwd, usermod, deluser, chmod 755
■ Hacking Toolchain
- Nmap: basic scans, -sV, -sC, -A, -p-, -sS stealth, decoys and saving output with -oN
- Web enumeration: WhatWeb, curl, Gobuster, ffuf directory and subdomain fuzzing, Nikto
- Burp Suite: proxy interception, request analysis and the Repeater tab
■ Lab Setup and Automation
- Installing Parrot OS and the Explorer machine in VirtualBox, /etc/hosts configuration
- Bash scripting for automated recon, plus mentions of Python, Searchsploit, Wappalyzer and ProxyChains

This is suited to beginners and aspiring penetration testers who want to move from theory to hands-on practice in a legal lab environment. By following along you will gain working command line skills, understand how each tool fits into a penetration test workflow, and build your own simple recon automation.