It is according to our unscientific poll a couple months back. C/C++/C# won by a landslide.

Don

Don't think that sounds stupid at all.

I think different languages suit different people.

And it depends on what you're using it for, are you using it just to learn how to program or you've got a x that need to do y to and you want to learn how?

Take a look at a few tutorials for different languages and go with the one you feel most comfortable with till you've got the basics, then look at a more specific/useful one if it doesn't meet your needs.

I would recommend looking at perl at some point as there's tons of tutorials and documentation out there and I find it very useful.

I admire your desire to learn programming.  That is a path that requires taking “baby steps” and the famous Hello World program really is not a bad place to start even if its over done.  You have taken the first step in programming. What is that? Simply coming up with an idea for a program. Its interesting how many people even with reasonable programming skills get stuck because they cant come up with an idea. It’s a little like trying to write a poem or some music. You might have the skill but not the inspiration.

Once you have your idea, then only experience will tell you if its an idea that will work.
Remember that programs like you suggested are always running in the back of an OS and use up resources.  You have to ask yourself “would that program slow everything down and make the server painful to work with?”  Sometimes its fun just to write a program and see were it takes you even if the results are not what you were hoping.

Is there a way I can start hacking without the programming for now? I am having enough difficulties with my new OS as it is...

Kevan, I remember when I was a kid they use to sell these books in comic magazines that promised to teach the easy secret ninja death blows.  All you needed to know was the “secret” and you would be deadly.  I hope you don’t think that hacking is like that. There is no easy secret techniques out there that will make you a monster hacker that can give you the ability to get into any computer in the world if you desire.  So much depends on what level you want to rise to. 
 
True there are some programs you can learn to use that are just point and click or do a few simple command line entries.  Using Nmap to find a target and then scan it for vulnerabilities from Nessus and then see if you have a corresponding exploit in Metasploit is not really that hard.  The problem is, you really are very limited to a few vulnerable targets out there that you can breach with techniques like that. If you want to be a security tester, what good are your skills if you can only penetrate 5 or 10% of the boxes out there? Are you doing your client any good when testing your security?  They trust you that you are hacking at a high level and if you certify their system as well prepared, they need to count on that because there can be millions of dollars at stake.  If you really want to hack for a living and test networks, you need to go way beyond that.
 
So if you want to be really good you are making a life time commitment in my opinion. Perhaps 4 or 5 years down the road you might feel comfortable enough to feel you can do some decent hacking.  One problem is, once you know something well it is already getting outdated, lol!  To this day I see hackers in 3 levels. The script kiddies that only can breach 5% of the boxes and are limited to tools they find on the internet.  The 2nd level are security professional that use similar tools but have such an expertise and knowledge of networks that they can be very effective. And finally the highest and scariest level of hacker that is not only very skilled with common tools, but might have customized them or maybe written his own. He is a high level programmer and can write his own exploits. He can write his own root kits and Trojans that anti virus cant detect. He understands the OS he is attacking and the network on which it is a part. He has a good idea of firewalls and has a good idea of how to pass through it or if its even possible. He or She is very clever and can see things from a totally different and creative way.  Some people call that thinking outside the box. Whatever.  I hope you can see from my post that there is so much to learn to get really good.  Its kind of like wanting to learn the guitar. Sure you could learn 3 chords and that’s it, but if you want to be a master, you will need to spend years practicing and learning. 

Kevan,
   I was in a mentoring presentation the other day.  One idea that the presenter touched on was delayed satisfaction.  What that means is this:  noticeable results are going to take a while.  Instantaneous satisfaction is only going to happen in a few things and then it is generally limited.  Be patient, keep plugging away, follow the advice that people give you, and explore (test the boundaries) of everything you touch.  Just be conscious of the legal and ethical lines that our society has drawn.  You don't want to go to jail but you do want to push the limits because that is how we grow as individuals and as a society.

Read the advice here.  Seek advice in other places.  Run things so that you make your own mistakes.  And you will find that with time you, and others, will be satisfied with your progress.

Probably a little too deep for here.  But I'll offer it up anyway.
Cutaway

  Hacking is about making programs/software/protocols ( or people, but we'll stick to software for now) do things they werent designed or intended to do.

so how do you make something do something it isnt supposed to do?  9/10 times you need to be really familiar with the thing you are trying to  break. wether it be TCP/IP, routers, PC's, operating systems, etc.  If you want to break it; you need to know everything (or alot at least) about it.

can you fire up nmap with little knowledge and do a port scan, yes of course.  can  you probably get some exploit code compiled and launch it against some IP's and maybe pop a shell, yes of course.   script kidz do it all the time it doesnt mean they know what they are doing or that they are professionals.

becoming a good security professional is about being well rounded in the disciplines of information security.  How do  you do that?  you start with the  basics; hardware (A+), networking (Network+), Operating Systems (Linux+, MS exams), Basic Security (Security+), routers (Cisco), etc.

A good security professional is also (usually) one or more of the following: Help Desk, SysAdmin, Mail guy, router guy, IA guy, database guy, webmaster guy, etc.

you can spend years on all that stuff above but you'll find that those building blocks help you understand what is going on with security and with exploits and that's really the ultimate goal; understanding how things break and then learning how to break them yourself.

what Cutaway said has some real value and i hope you read and take heed

"One idea that the presenter touched on was delayed satisfaction.  What that means is this:  noticeable results are going to take a while."

this is sooo much the case in Security and IT in general.  you keep plugging away and putting information into your brain and experience under your belt and then one day you'll wake up and realize you know more that half the people in the room about X, then later you'll realize you know more that 90% of the people in the room about Y.  it takes YEARS for this.

If you want instant gratificaiton go try another hobby, because you wont get it in IT or Security.

so to answer your question of how i started...

i have a computer science bachelors degreee so i learned the basics of programing and networking, i then started working thru Certifications.  Not to get the certs but more to learn the material (certs vs actual knowledge is whole other discussion). I got  bit by the security bug after going to DEFCON out of sheer luck, after that i had found what i wanted to do with myself.   i built a lab and started learning how to work some of the tools in hacking exposed or in tutorials i read online.  And after making an ass of myslef on forums and asking stupid questions i eventually learned, like we are all hinting to you, that if you ask a good question, you will most likely get a good answer back.  if you ask the question you could have just typed into google you'll probably just get flamed and rightly so. 

most people dont give up what they have learned thru their own hard work easily.  dont expect them to.  ask a good question and you may get a hint on where to look for the answer.  that's probably more than most of us got when we were learning.

sorry if it sounds harsh but that's just the way it is.