student@hack3rs:~$ cat how-to-use-this-site-safely.md
How to Use This Site Safely (Ethics and Authorized Practice)
Use this site for white-hat, defensive learning only. Practice in environments you own or are explicitly authorized to test, and build habits that prioritize safety, evidence quality, and professional discipline.
prerequisites
- $Interest in white-hat network security learning.
1. Authorization Comes First
Only test, scan, capture, or inspect systems and networks you own or are explicitly authorized to assess. This includes school networks, employer systems, public Wi-Fi, and cloud environments.
Even 'just learning' actions can cause alerts, service disruption, or policy violations if performed without scope and permission. Professional defenders treat scope as part of the work.
When in doubt, stop and confirm authorization before proceeding.
2. Use Labs and Defensive Goals
The material on hack3rs.ca is designed for labs, troubleshooting, validation, detection, monitoring, and incident response learning. Choose defensive learning goals: baseline traffic, logging, patch validation, exposure checks, and triage workflows.
Treat tools as workflow components, not toys. Ask what question you are trying to answer, what evidence you need, and how you will validate the output.
Document scope and commands even in your own lab. This builds the same habits expected in real operational environments.
3. Respect Data Sensitivity
Logs and packet captures may contain credentials, tokens, internal hostnames, and personal data. Store and share them carefully, and use sanitized or lab data for teaching whenever possible.
Limit retention and access to what is necessary for learning. Practicing good handling habits early helps you avoid future mistakes in professional environments.
If you encounter real sensitive data unexpectedly, stop, secure it, and do not expand collection beyond what is authorized.
safe-use-checklist
- $Use only owned or explicitly authorized systems.
- $Define defensive learning goals before running tools.
- $Document scope, commands, and evidence collected.
- $Handle logs/PCAPs as sensitive data.
- $Stop and confirm authorization when unsure.