Hey guys,

I'm a little new to the ethical hacking scene (actually I've been interested since studying at TAFE and reading a hacking report for Australian government). I've grabbed a book Ethical Hacking for Dummies (yes I know, quaint) but it seemed like a good start as it does explain a lot of the tools. What advice can you guys give for someone starting out. A bit of background - I am a desktop support engineer at present and have been fiddling around with Windows server (to an extent) and have some Linux knowledge (brought up an Asterisk server using some docos and stuffing around myself with some conf files).

I really would appreciate if you guys can give me some advice on how to get started and what to focus. What types of skills should I be developing? Are there any ethical hackers in Sydney who take some one on as maybe an apprentice or would be happy guide a young one

I really want to get into this space and fight the bad guys