Getting Your Hands Dirty
Now that the syntax of C feels more familiar and some fundamental programming concepts have been explained, actually programming in C isn't that big of a step. C compilers exist for just about every operating system and processor architecture out there, but for this book, Linux and an x86-based processor will be used exclusively. Linux is a free operating system that everyone has access to, and x86-based processors are the most popular consumer-grade processor on the planet. Since hacking is really about experimenting, it's probably best if you have a C compiler to follow along with.
Included with this book is a Live CD you can use to follow along if your computer has an x86 processor. Just put the CD in the drive and reboot ...
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