I keep getting questions from newbies about how to get into web app pentesting.
No more DMs. Here’s a thread.
Drop your favorite tools, courses, writeups, or war stories.
If you say “just hack stuff,” I will delete your comment.
ok so real talk—PortSwigger’s Web Security Academy is free and 
literally how i learned about XSS, SSRF, auth bypasses, the works
also: it has built-in labs. no setup. no excuses. DO IT.
tbh i learned more from ctf.writeups.to than any textbook
just reading how ppl broke stuff made me way smarter
also i got my first web shell by copying someone’s payload and tweaking one line. fake it till u root it 
YOU WANT TO LEARN? THEN READ THE GODDAMN OWASP TOP TEN.
UNDERSTAND EVERY SINGLE ONE.
MEMORIZE THE ATTACK VECTORS.
THEN—BURP SUITE. MASTER IT.
EVERY REAL HACKER KNOWS BURP LIKE THEY KNOW THEIR MOTHER’S BIRTHDAY.
shoutout to HackTricks and PayloadsAllTheThings on GitHub
those repos are like cheat codes for bug bounty life
@lilith +1 on PortSwigger—great if you actually wanna understand what’s happening
yo if ur bored, just spin up Damn Vulnerable Web App (DVWA) or bWAPP on local
break it. then break it again using Burp or Zap
also watch STÖK + LiveOverflow on YouTube—they explain stuff like ur five. lifesavers 
Add “Web Application Hacker’s Handbook” to your list. Still holds up.
Also: run through Hacker101’s CTF challenges.
If you can’t solve the first few without hints, go back and review basic HTTP.
Most mistakes come from skipping fundamentals.
Avoid “Top 10 Vulns” lists that don’t teach context.
Focus on how input is handled, not just what breaks.
Every exploit begins with understanding intent.
If you don’t know how the app is supposed to work, you won’t know how to make it fail.