--- product_id: 286867 title: "The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing: Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing Made Easy" price: "SAR 116" currency: SAR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.com.sa/products/286867-the-basics-of-hacking-and-penetration-testing-ethical-hacking-penetration store_origin: SA region: Saudi Arabia --- # Proven 4-step penetration testing method Step-by-step beginner-friendly guide Covers 15+ essential hacking tools The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing: Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing Made Easy **Price:** SAR 116 **Availability:** βœ… In Stock ## Summary > πŸš€ Unlock your ethical hacking potential β€” don’t just learn, dominate the digital frontier! ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing: Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing Made Easy - **How much does it cost?** SAR 116 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.com.sa](https://www.desertcart.com.sa/products/286867-the-basics-of-hacking-and-penetration-testing-ethical-hacking-penetration) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - β€’ **Updated & Relevant:** Includes the latest tools like Social Engineer Toolkit and Meterpreter to keep you ahead of the curve. - β€’ **Career-Ready Skills:** Gain practical knowledge from a real-world penetration tester and university instructor. - β€’ **Engaging & Accessible:** Enjoy a readable, almost pleasure-like experience that turns learning hacking basics into a rewarding journey. - β€’ **Master the Essentials:** Dive into Kali Linux, Nmap, Metasploit & more with hands-on labs designed for beginners and pros alike. - β€’ **Structured Learning Path:** Follow a clear, four-phase methodology that demystifies complex penetration testing workflows. ## Overview This second edition book offers a comprehensive introduction to ethical hacking and penetration testing, covering over 15 modern tools including Kali Linux, Nmap, and Metasploit. Designed for beginners with no prior experience, it presents a clear four-step methodology and hands-on exercises authored by a professional penetration tester and educator. Highly rated and widely recommended, it’s a foundational resource for anyone aiming to break into offensive security. ## Description The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing, 2nd Ed. serves as an introduction to the steps required to complete a penetration test or perform an ethical hack from beginning to end. No prior hacking experience is needed. You will learn how to properly utilize and interpret the results of modern day hacking tools, which are required to complete a penetration test. Tool coverage includes Backtrack and Kali Linux, Google reconnaissance, MetaGooFil, DNS interrogation, Nmap, Nessus, Metasploit, the Social Engineer Toolkit (SET), w3af, Netcat, post exploitation tactics, the Hacker Defender rootkit, and more. The book provides a simple and clean explanation of how to effectively utilize the tools and introduces a four-step methodology for conducting a penetration test or hack. You will be provided with the know-how required to jump start your career or gain a better understanding of offensive security. The book walks through each of the steps and tools in a structured, orderly manner, allowing readers to understand how the output from each tool can be fully utilized in the subsequent phases of the penetration test. This process allows readers to clearly see how the tools and phases function and relate. Β· The second edition includes updated information covering Kali Linux as well as focusing on the seminal tools required to complete a penetration test New tools added including the Social Engineer Toolkit, Meterpreter, w3af and more! Each chapter contains hands-on examples and exercises that are designed to teach you how to interpret the results and utilize those results in later phases Written by an author who works in the field as a Penetration Tester and who teaches Offensive Security, Penetration Testing, and Ethical Hacking, and Exploitation classes at Dakota State University. Review: Pleasure Reading for Geeks - This book was excellent. The author clearly states in the beginning that this isn't the Alpha-Omega hacking text, and is just meant to prepare you for more. I find this to be a *bit* of an understatement. I also have THP2 (Hacker playbook) and the CEHv9 study guide. I just want to compare these three: THP2 seems great, but is sometimes hard to read - it seems to assume that you already know what you're doing, so the learning curve is rough. The CEHv9 SG - This was the first book that I really picked up on the topic, outside of the CompTIA Sec+ Text. At first, It was good, then I got a little bored, and picked up this book by Mr. Engebretson. I loved EVERY second of reading this book. It's challenging, but Pat really goes to lengths to make sure the reader is keeping up. The text is almost entirely based in Kali (though with a bit of tinkering I was able to also follow along with my Ubuntu 16 machine also), and it was never boring or dull. It almost felt like pleasure-reading instead of studying/learning. Oh, and by the way.. I don't remember that any of his examples/labs just didn't work -- kind of a big deal. After completion of this book I went back to the CEHv9 study guide, and found it hard to read, because it was a bit too *basic*. However, I was able to start getting more into THP2; Gives you the warm fuzzies when you realize that you might be up to par.. A coworker mentioned an interest in the field (We currently do PC/Network Support & Administration) when he saw me reading the CEHv9 Study Guide, and I pointed him to this book instead. Review: Very Basic But Helped Me Get Started! - I purchased this book for a course I was taking for a Master's program. Before reading this, I have never "hacked" a thing in my life. I didn't even know where to start. After completing the reading of this book I was able to successfully attack another machine and get access to it (all legally of course because it was all done in a VM environment that I own). It's a very enjoyable read. The writing is entertaining and educational. I believe from beginning to end I spent about 6 to 8 hours reading it. If you follow along with the examples in the book and try things yourself, you can spend a considerable amount of time in this book. After I read it cover to cover I went back through to try the examples. There are many suggestions at the end of each chapter on how you can continue learning or practicing more of the concepts presented. These suggestions often go far beyond the basics (so they seemed) and help sharpen certain skills. I have not researched or attempted any of these additional suggestions but many of them sounded very interesting and worth taking a look at. As mentioned in the title, this is a basics course. You learn the very basics of many tools that can set you on a solid path to a penetration testing career. If you are new to this field and looking to get a solid foundation on hacking and penetration testing then I would highly recommend this book. If you already have a solid foundation of hacking because you were self taught or are in the industry then most of this book will be irrelevant and elementary, but could be a good review. He does a great job at taking a beginning to end approach pointing out areas that some often overlook that could help you be more successful. I don't know if Patrick Engebretson has written other books but based solely on my experience with this one I will certainly be looking for more from him. ## Features - Used Book in Good Condition ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #409,740 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #21 in Content Management #89 in Management Information Systems #136 in Software Testing | | Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 539 Reviews | ## Images ![The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing: Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing Made Easy - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/617SdCbD0wL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pleasure Reading for Geeks *by S***A on November 12, 2016* This book was excellent. The author clearly states in the beginning that this isn't the Alpha-Omega hacking text, and is just meant to prepare you for more. I find this to be a *bit* of an understatement. I also have THP2 (Hacker playbook) and the CEHv9 study guide. I just want to compare these three: THP2 seems great, but is sometimes hard to read - it seems to assume that you already know what you're doing, so the learning curve is rough. The CEHv9 SG - This was the first book that I really picked up on the topic, outside of the CompTIA Sec+ Text. At first, It was good, then I got a little bored, and picked up this book by Mr. Engebretson. I loved EVERY second of reading this book. It's challenging, but Pat really goes to lengths to make sure the reader is keeping up. The text is almost entirely based in Kali (though with a bit of tinkering I was able to also follow along with my Ubuntu 16 machine also), and it was never boring or dull. It almost felt like pleasure-reading instead of studying/learning. Oh, and by the way.. I don't remember that any of his examples/labs just didn't work -- kind of a big deal. After completion of this book I went back to the CEHv9 study guide, and found it hard to read, because it was a bit too *basic*. However, I was able to start getting more into THP2; Gives you the warm fuzzies when you realize that you might be up to par.. A coworker mentioned an interest in the field (We currently do PC/Network Support & Administration) when he saw me reading the CEHv9 Study Guide, and I pointed him to this book instead. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very Basic But Helped Me Get Started! *by D***L on June 8, 2015* I purchased this book for a course I was taking for a Master's program. Before reading this, I have never "hacked" a thing in my life. I didn't even know where to start. After completing the reading of this book I was able to successfully attack another machine and get access to it (all legally of course because it was all done in a VM environment that I own). It's a very enjoyable read. The writing is entertaining and educational. I believe from beginning to end I spent about 6 to 8 hours reading it. If you follow along with the examples in the book and try things yourself, you can spend a considerable amount of time in this book. After I read it cover to cover I went back through to try the examples. There are many suggestions at the end of each chapter on how you can continue learning or practicing more of the concepts presented. These suggestions often go far beyond the basics (so they seemed) and help sharpen certain skills. I have not researched or attempted any of these additional suggestions but many of them sounded very interesting and worth taking a look at. As mentioned in the title, this is a basics course. You learn the very basics of many tools that can set you on a solid path to a penetration testing career. If you are new to this field and looking to get a solid foundation on hacking and penetration testing then I would highly recommend this book. If you already have a solid foundation of hacking because you were self taught or are in the industry then most of this book will be irrelevant and elementary, but could be a good review. He does a great job at taking a beginning to end approach pointing out areas that some often overlook that could help you be more successful. I don't know if Patrick Engebretson has written other books but based solely on my experience with this one I will certainly be looking for more from him. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great general overview - best for beginners *by C***S on October 5, 2014* This is a very good introduction to a method of penetration testing. It's called "basics" for a reason. It's short compared to most introductory books on this topic, but it makes the information a bit more digestible. It gently walks you through, in broad strokes, the process of a "typical" pen test. It's written in a non-technical style, so it's easier to understand for the newcomer. The book does not go in-depth with many of the topics. It wouldn't be feasible, and then it wouldn't be an intro book anymore. There are books dedicated to just protocols alone. So if you are hoping for more explanations or tutorials on understanding things like TCP/IP - this is not it. What I like best about this is that it assumes you have virtually no knowledge of the security field, can operate a computer with some skill, and understand how to follow directions. The high-level view is really best for the true novice, and helps to take away some of the intimidation of the field. The downside, as is any technical book based on technology/internet, is that the information can get outdated or become inaccurate in a hurry. With a page limit for this kind of book, the author has to selectively choose what sources and references will appear in relation to the topic. The core principles stay the same, regardless, so don't get too upset if a site that's listed as an example is no longer functioning or the commands in bash have changed. And one tangential bit/words of encouragement: if you are interested in infosec/cyber security but have no "formal" training/education, don't be afraid. Try it out. Something like this takes time and practice to get good at. (But also don't become a tool jockey - a good pen tester is well-rounded and is constantly adapting.) ## Frequently Bought Together - The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing - Hacking: The Art of Exploitation, 2nd Edition - Penetration Testing: A Hands-On Introduction to Hacking --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - πŸ›’ **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** β€” Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** β€” Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - πŸ’° **No Hidden Fees** β€” All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - πŸ”„ **15-Day Free Returns** β€” Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - πŸ”’ **Secure Payments** β€” Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** β€” Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.com.sa/products/286867-the-basics-of-hacking-and-penetration-testing-ethical-hacking-penetration](https://www.desertcart.com.sa/products/286867-the-basics-of-hacking-and-penetration-testing-ethical-hacking-penetration) --- *Product available on Desertcart Saudi Arabia* *Store origin: SA* *Last updated: 2026-08-25*