Going further with these 3 tips

Alright, we are reaching the end of this course, and I would like to conclude this course by giving you some advice to continue your learning and go further in your career as a penetration tester.

First of all, let's talk about CTF platforms.

A CTF (Capture The Flag) is a challenge designed to test and practice your penetration testing skills.

The goal is to get into a system to discover a "flag" (a text file containing a unique code) which validates the success of the challenge.

There are several very popular CTF platforms.

On my side, I mainly use TryHackMe.

There is also Hack The Box, which is an excellent platform, as well as VulnHub.

VulnHub offers free vulnerable virtual machines to download, while Hack The Box offers a paid model with more complex labs.

On TryHackMe, you can create a free account to start, even though access to all the challenges requires a subscription of about 10 dollars per month (or a hundred dollars per year).

I highly recommend creating a free account on TryHackMe and start practicing.

The more CTFs you solve, the more you will develop your practical skills and the more you will progress as a pentester.

Next, I recommend some must-read books.

These are very well written books that I particularly appreciate.

The first is *Tribe of Hackers*.

This book will help you acquire the mindset of a penetration tester by gathering advice and feedback from some of the most talented security professionals in the world.

I also advise you to read Kevin Mitnick's books, especially *The Art of Intrusion*, which is fascinating.

Finally, I suggest *The Pentester BluePrint*.

It is an excellent guide to understand the cybersecurity and pentesting market.

It will guide you if you feel a little lost regarding choices of specialization or certifications to target in the field of penetration testing.

All these books are written in English.

As you know, to progress in ethical hacking and reach a professional level, mastering technical English is essential.

Rest assured, it is a very accessible and simple technical English to understand.

In the continuation of this course, I am going to add challenge resolution lessons (write-ups) in order to show you concretely the methodology of a penetration tester facing different practical cases.

This will allow you to confront varied situations and enrich your knowledge.

I warmly thank you for your trust throughout this course.