Basic Netrunning Guide

Before you jack into the Net, you gotta ghost yourself. No corp goons tracking your moves, no black ICE frying your rig. Best bet? A solid VPN. ProtonVPN’s got Swiss security, no logs, and Tor over VPN if you wanna layer deep. Mullvad’s the real deal too, privacy-maxxed, no logs, and lets you stay anon with cash payments. Pro move? Stack Tor on top, double your obfuscation, stay in the shadows. Use burner emails, avoid linking accounts, and never leave a trail that leads back to you. Remember, the moment you get sloppy, someone’s watching.

If you wanna be a ghost, you gotta learn from the legends. Kevin Mitnick, top-tier cyber cowboy, laid it all out in "The Art of Invisibility." It’s the bible on staying off the grid—how your data’s tracked, how to dodge it, how to build a ghost protocol that keeps you safe. Social engineering, burner phones, encrypted comms—it’s all in there. Absorb it, live it. One slip, and you’re on some corp list, flagged, watched, maybe worse. Play it smart.

Your terminal is your weapon, and Metasploit is the arsenal. Wanna crack systems? Scan for weak spots? Run payloads? That’s your tool. Know it, master it, and turn vulnerabilities into entry points. But no decker rolls out half-loaded—you need the full suite. That’s where Kali Linux comes in, your cyber deck stacked with recon and intrusion tools. Nmap for scanning the grid, Wireshark to sniff packets, John the Ripper to shred passwords, Burp Suite to crack web defenses, SQLmap to punch holes in databases, and Aircrack-ng to pop WiFi shields. But don’t stop there—look into other netrunner OS options like Parrot Security OS and BlackArch Linux. Each has its own specialized set of tools for reconnaissance, exploitation, and post-exploitation work. Dig deep, learn the tools, master the craft.

Avoid using Windows if you value your privacy. That bloated, backdoored corp OS is a netrunner’s worst enemy. If you absolutely must use a mainstream OS, go for something like Fedora. Better yet, boot up Tails for truly ephemeral, anonymous sessions that leave no trace. And don’t think Apple’s macOS is your holy grail either—it might have decent privacy compared to Windows, but it’s still corporate-ware, locked down and riddled with telemetry. Apple markets security, but they hold the keys. Real privacy comes from open-source alternatives.

For mobile, ditch the stock Android and iOS setups. If you’re running a Pixel, flash GrapheneOS—hardened, de-Googled, and built for security. If you’re stuck with other hardware, LineageOS with microG can strip out a lot of tracking bloat while keeping usability intact. Always opt for open-source software where you can, because closed-source means trusting corps that don’t have your back.

Learning the art? You gotta get your hands dirty. Hack The Box lets you test your chops in real-world environments. TryHackMe gives you the training wheels before you go full netrunner. Cybrary’s got the courses, Udemy and Coursera got the deep dives, and if you wanna trade secrets, hit up r/netsec or jump into hacking Discords. Keep your ears open, your code tight, and your presence low. Never trust anyone too much, and never reveal more than you have to. Anonymity is your armor—keep it strong.

Final tip—stay anonymous. The Net’s a wild place, but you don’t wanna end up blacklisted. Test in controlled environments, sandbox your ops with virtual machines, and never let your OPSEC slip. The game’s always changing, the corps are always watching, and the best runners keep evolving. Always assume someone’s looking for you, always stay two steps ahead, and never stop learning. Now slot in, boot up, and carve your legend. Just make sure no one knows your name when you do.