Community Shares Free Hacking Practice Platforms
A list of 10 free platforms for learning penetration testing and ethical hacking is being shared within the cybersecurity community. The resources highlighted include TryHackMe for interactive training and Hack The Box for its vulnerable machines. PortSwigger's Web Security Academy, VulnHub, and Root-Me were also recommended for hands-on practice.
- TryHackMe is generally considered more beginner-friendly, utilizing guided, step-by-step learning paths, whereas Hack The Box is geared towards users with existing foundational knowledge, offering more complex, unguided challenges that mirror professional penetration tests. - PortSwigger's Web Security Academy is a free training center created by the developers of the widely used Burp Suite tool, and it provides continuously updated materials and interactive labs focused on web application security. - VulnHub operates as a repository of free, downloadable virtual machines that are intentionally designed with vulnerabilities, allowing users to practice hacking techniques in a local lab environment. - The Root-Me platform contains over 600 challenges and more than 175 virtual environments, covering a wide range of topics from network and web vulnerabilities to forensic analysis and cryptanalysis. - For those pursuing certifications, the CompTIA PenTest+ exam is an intermediate-level certification that costs approximately $392 and consists of up to 85 multiple-choice and performance-based questions. - The Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) exam from EC-Council is a four-hour, 125-question multiple-choice test; pass rates vary between 60% and 85% depending on the exam version. - A more advanced, hands-on certification is the Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP), which requires a nearly 24-hour practical exam and is preceded by the mandatory "Penetration Testing with Kali Linux" course. - Employers often look for junior penetration testers to have a foundational understanding of TCP/IP, Linux and Windows administration, and basic scripting in languages like Python or Bash, which are prerequisites for certifications like the OSCP.
