Can I study computer security at university

Good advice from squirrology. The only other thing is what made you want to switch to Computer Security, and how much do you know about the subject already?

Reply 3

OP

Thanks for the reply , I've been studying and learning about the subject for about a year but just with resources like YouTube and looking at the university's websites to see what I would be studying.

Reply 4

I think as long as you've a good idea what you are letting yourself in for you should be fine. Some modules are trickier than others (e.g. cryptography) so I would get as much experience learning that as possible before you start.

Reply 5

OP

Thanks any more topics that I should look into to learn the most.
And a different topic , do you recommend any laptops for this course?

Reply 6

The only thing I would suggest laptop wise is either windows or linux for the OS. Most of the main Cyber Security tools are for windows or linux. Also windows has the most known exploits, so its good to see why its so vunerable.

Cyber Security is a pretty broad area. You have areas like network security, cryptography, computer forensics, information security, software security, malware, hardware security, biometerics....

Any area that jumps at you in particular so far?

Reply 7

OP

Well only looked at topics lightly but cryptography looks very diifcult .Regarding laptops are we looking at £1000 for a good enough laptop or cheaper?

Reply 8

nutz99

As long as you get at least 2 A levels/BTEC passes plus GCSE in Maths & English at least a grade C then you should be able to get in somewhere, with probably a foundation year. You should be aware that any computer security course has to include programming as a mandatory module.

Is this the type of course you are looking for:

https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/bsc-computer-and-information-security

http://courses.southwales.ac.uk/courses/1142-bsc-hons-computer-security-including-foundation-year/

Might improve your chances of getting in if you teach yourself a little programming, maybe Java.

Reply 9

Try and figure out your area of interest before you buy anything. Go to any crypto party meetups or owasp meetups near you. Or CTF meetups too. You can find out a lot just by going to those places. Theres no point in you droping £1000 on a laptop if you are going to to constantly running dynamic malware analysis on it, for instance. Some ransomware is so sophistcated, for instance, it knows if you are running it in a sandbox. It will still encrypt all your files.

I run a Macbook Pro 13 myself but only because I got a great deal on a 2nd hand machine and I wanted to see the exploits for Mac (as in how could I break it). Turns out its not as hard as Apple would have you believe lol.

Hardware wise, most modern laptops will be fine. Like I said, the best Cyber Security tools are written for Windows and Linux.

Reply 10

OP

Original post by nutz99

As long as you get at least 2 A levels/BTEC passes plus GCSE in Maths & English at least a grade C then you should be able to get in somewhere, with probably a foundation year. You should be aware that any computer security course has to include programming as a mandatory module.

Is this the type of course you are looking for:

https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/bsc-computer-and-information-security

http://courses.southwales.ac.uk/courses/1142-bsc-hons-computer-security-including-foundation-year/

Might improve your chances of getting in if you teach yourself a little programming, maybe Java.

Yeah that's the courses I'm looking at , where would I learn programming like java for begging?

Reply 11

nutz99

Original post by Kieranspring

Yeah that's the courses I'm looking at , where would I learn programming like java for begging?

Youtube or somewhere like EDX. Plenty of resources out there.

Reply 12

As an introductory language to learn basic programming concepts, Java is grand but be aware Java isn't really used a lot in Cyber Security.

While malware could be written in any language, the main languages used in Cyber Security are Assembly, C, Javascript and Python for automation. Bash too. Assembly and C have a very very steep learning curve though.

There are plenty of online courses for Java. Code Academy has something to start you on.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 13

OP

Just starting using EDX for the first time and looks amazing for learning , just wondering any courses on there that you would recommend for beginners.

Reply 14

Again, Cyber Security is a big area. It really depends on what you want to focus on. Having some understanding of coding will help I haven't used EDX much but Udemy was excellent for learning Python. Go with courses with a lot reviews and with a lot of of good ratings.

Also try and go for courses with Capstone projects, as this forces you to actually write some code of your own, instead of just aping what the instructor is doing (you'll never learn to code that way IMO).

If I had to go with suggesting something, understanding the basics of coding may help you prior to going in to a Cyber Security degree. I would say the following types of courses would be beneficial

1) Coding fundamentals
2) Object Oriented Programming
3) Algorithms/Data Structures

In that order. In terms of what language to learn all of the above in, your preferences should be:

1) Python
2) JavaScript
3) Java

Java is great, but it's not really something you encounter a whole lot in cyber security generally. You'll see a good bit of Python and JavaScript though. Stay away for C and Assembly as they are low level languages and very tricky to get in to if you have no prior CS or EE experience.

Reply 15

OP

Original post by jestersnow

Again, Cyber Security is a big area. It really depends on what you want to focus on. Having some understanding of coding will help I haven't used EDX much but Udemy was excellent for learning Python. Go with courses with a lot reviews and with a lot of of good ratings.

Also try and go for courses with Capstone projects, as this forces you to actually write some code of your own, instead of just aping what the instructor is doing (you'll never learn to code that way IMO).

If I had to go with suggesting something, understanding the basics of coding may help you prior to going in to a Cyber Security degree. I would say the following types of courses would be beneficial

1) Coding fundamentals
2) Object Oriented Programming
3) Algorithms/Data Structures

In that order. In terms of what language to learn all of the above in, your preferences should be:

1) Python
2) JavaScript
3) Java

Java is great, but it's not really something you encounter a whole lot in cyber security generally. You'll see a good bit of Python and JavaScript though. Stay away for C and Assembly as they are low level languages and very tricky to get in to if you have no prior CS or EE experience.

That's great thanks. I have been looking through university courses and there is also different names and courses like cyber security ,computer security and computer security and forensics , just wondering what is the difference?

Reply 16

Original post by Kieranspring

That's great thanks. I have been looking through university courses and there is also different names and courses like cyber security ,computer security and computer security and forensics , just wondering what is the difference?

Marketing for the most part. Cyber Security/Information Security/Computer Security are interchangeable terms mainly. The most important thing to look at is the university's background in Cyber Security and the modules they offer.

Reply 17

NecroKamios

9

I would argue that the list of languages given by jestersnow be revised to:

1) Python
2) JavaScript
3) C

I would imagine that learning assembly would go over your head but at least know what it is and how it works. C is not too low level provided you already know Object Oriented Programming (OOP), Python provides this. C does not have OOP support but is commonly used because it is a language that is very close to hardware operation and the software drivers are often written for it (hence its importance in security).

As he says, 'Java is great, but it's not really something you encounter a whole lot in cyber security generally.' So don't waste time on it. You will have learned what you have needed to learn for the most part from Python. In reality, chances are that it will take you some time to get through Python and JavaScript so by that point I would expect you to be able to make your own decisions. I don't think you should be done with the above for at least 2 years.

Another thing, learning the language is great, but don't forget to actually create programs with it. Scrolling above I'm seeing comments like start on CodeAcademy or Udemy courses, but those are not really helpful beyond interactive syntax checks. I would suggest buy/borrow some books that have exercises and can bring you through beginner material slowly and with practice.

Googling around, some of the names for beginner Python books are:
* Automate the Boring Stuff with Python.
* Learn Python the Hard Way

Apart from that, I agree with jestersnow.

Reply 18

OP

Hi just wondering does anyone know any events for cyber security where I can go to look to get more information

Reply 19