My beginner fliendly “guide” on how to get started with reverse engineering.

After 22 long years of self discovery and therapy I’ve come to the realization that I really like being good at things that make me suffer mentally. This is why in 2022 I’ve started showing interest in the reverse engineering industry. Ever since I’ve collected a lot of material that has helped me in my learning journey and that I will share with you.

!!I’d like to clarify that I’m SELF TAUGHT and STILL A BEGINNER so I will be updating these lists quite often!!

But first of all…why would you learn reverse engineering? In short:

• you want to suffer
• you like watching assembly code for 100 hours straight
• you want to make cheat engines or crack software
• you want to become a malware analyst/vulnerability researcher

In my case, I’ve been playing a lot of CTFS since 2019 and the reverse category has been my favourite. So with that said…here are my lists/tips:

For CTFS:

• Learn C.
• Static analysis: learn to use any decompiler/dissasembler of your choice (IDA/Ghidra/Binja/Cutter). Personally I use Ghidra but I’ve tried them all.
• Dynamic analysis: learn to use any debugger of your choice. I use gdb with the peda extension. I haven’t used gdb as much in CTFS, I usually analyze the binary statically.
• Start learning some x86/x86-64.
• Unfortunately start learning some python, will need it for challenges that have custom encryption.
• Play PicoCTF picogym challenges. Easy, fun and extremely beginner friendly.
• Play reverse category from HackTheBox
• …

Tips for CTFS:

• USEFUL COMMANDS file, strings, ltrace, strace…
• WATCH A LOT OF VIDEOS AND READ WRITEUPS!!! I can’t stretch this enough. If you are completely new at this you NEED to have some sort of reference.
• NOT EVERY CHALLENGE IS A GOOD REVERSE CHALLENGE. Some have been an absolute pain in the ass to solve/understand. Others are unsolvable.
• BE PATIENT. Some challenges have took me 15 hours to solve.
• THE MORE YOU PLAY, THE MORE YOU LEARN.
• …

From a “professional” view:

• Binary exploitation playlist by LiveOverFlow really helped me understand how this all works.
• Watching malware analysis videos by John Hammond.
• TryHackMe rooms: Introduction to AntiVirus, Basic Static analysis, AV Evasion: Shellcode, Intro to malware analysis, Yara, Basic Malware RE, MAL: REMnux - The Redux.Dissecting PE Headers and probably more…
• Modern binary exploitation lecture by RPISEC
• Github with a lot of RE resources
• …

General tips:

• Be consisent. It’s hard I know.
• Set small goals every week. Are you going to watch the first 5 videos of a playlist? Are you going to complete a tryhackme room? Are you going to solve a challenge? You decide.
• You aren’t dumb. Everything takes years of practice. Be patient.
• Make it fun for yourself. I like rewarding myself after solving a difficult challenge or learning a complex topic.