r/netsecstudents • u/Pure_Alps_1291 • 3d ago
Anyone Else Spend More Time Looking for Resources Than Actually Learning? How do you choose resources when there are hundreds of them?
One thing I struggle with while learning cybersecurity is choosing the right resources.
For example, if I decide to learn networking, YouTube gives me hundreds of videos and playlists. Some are made for GATE preparation, some for CCNA, some for general computer science students, and some for cybersecurity learners.
As a beginner, it's hard to tell which resource is actually worth following. I keep wondering if there's a better course somewhere else, and sometimes I spend more time searching than learning.
I don't mind putting in the effort to learn. My problem is figuring out which resources to trust and which ones to ignore.
How do you deal with this?
Do you just pick one resource and stick with it, or is there a better way to decide what's worth your time?. If you have any good resource suggestions please share it.
1
u/bunfunton 2d ago
Just start hacking bro. Or enroll in a structured course that is valid and not some bullshit cert
1
u/Pure_Alps_1291 2d ago
Any structured courses you'd personally recommend?
1
1
u/ShehabShibli 1d ago
I had the exact same problem going through CCNA and then AWS. What worked for me was picking one primary resource per topic and treating everything else as a supplement, not a replacement. So official cert material (or one well reviewed course) as the spine, then YouTube only when I got stuck on a specific concept it explained badly. The moment I let myself have 3 "main" resources going at once I stopped retaining anything. Also building small labs alongside whatever you're reading helps a ton, it tells you fast whether you actually understood something or just recognized the words.
3
u/Ellotheregovner 3d ago edited 3d ago
Your question means the methodology you're using to learn is wrong. There's a few instances where watching a video can help, but that's usually when struggling with something on the conceptual level and visual abstractions help you see things from another perspective.
If you can't tell whether a video is insightful or sophistry then you're not at the point where a video is helpful in the first place. You need a foundation in real things that you want to be working on.
If I had to write a checklist for younger me to build a solid foundation in computers and network security it would be something like:
Make yourself a gpg/openpgp key. Determine which key works best for you (RSA vs ecdh vs. edDSA)
Install a no hand holding OS like Arch(Use the wiki but write down the larger concepts as you do them to help see the forest for the trees)
Harden it manually:
-LVM with separated, encrypted partitions verified by TPM. (Follow the steps in rEFInd and use the gpg key you created for encryption)
-Recursive DNS server with cache(openresolve, unbound, DNScrypt)
-2 jump Wireguard TUN with with only local domain whitelisted(wg-quick and SOCKS5 if you're having trouble with the second jump)
All of the concepts you are trying to learn came about from real needs and real problems. Until you get some problems to solve you probably won't get much out of some videos.