How I Learned Linux Basics (For Absolute Beginners)

When I started learning cybersecurity, I didn’t know what ls or cd meant. I didn’t have money for courses. No one believed in me. Most days, I felt like giving up.

But I wanted to understand hackers. Not the fake ones. The real ones, the ones who move in silence, break systems, and stay unseen. I realized that if you want to hack, you must first speak Linux.

So I started alone.

What I Learned (The Real Basics)

I didn’t jump into coding or hacking right away. First, I had to learn how Linux thinks.

Here’s what I focused on:

File System Hierarchy
Understanding /home, /bin, /etc, /var was like learning the rooms in a house.

Basic Commands
ls, cd, pwd, mkdir, cat, nano, chmod, whoami. These weren’t magic, just tools. I practiced them until they felt natural.

Permissions (rwx)
This one hit deep. Seeing chmod 755 wasn’t just syntax; it was power. Who gets to read, write, execute? I started noticing permissions everywhere, not just in systems, but in life.

Users & Privileges
sudo felt dangerous. It was like stepping into a higher level, one I hadn’t earned yet.

How I Learned It (Free Resources Only)

I used zero paid tools. Everything was free:

TryHackMe – I completed "Linux Fundamentals Part 1."
It was hands-on and browser-based. No setup, just learning. I repeated rooms three times until I could do them without thinking.

YouTube – I watched The Cyber Mentor and NetworkChuck.
I rewound every command I didn’t understand. I typed everything myself, no copy-paste.

My Own Machine
I installed VirtualBox and Kali Linux, which are free. I broke it, fixed it, and broke it again.

I didn’t rush. I stayed on the basics for weeks. I knew that if the foundation is weak, the hacker falls.

One Tip for Others Like Me

If you’re quiet. If you’ve been used. If you feel behind. If you have no money and no one cheering you on…

Start small. Stay consistent. Don’t compare.

You don’t need premium tools. You don’t need fame. You just need to show up every day, even for 20 minutes.

Type the commands. Break things. Fix them. Take notes. Write one thing you learned.

One day, you’ll run sudo su and realize:

“I’m not the same person who started.”

And that’s when the real journey begins.

I’m still learning. But I’m no longer invisible—not to myself.