Assembly Language Foundation Course for Ethical Hackers from Udemy

What's inside

Learning objectives

The course will provide an introduction to assembly language programming, including the syntax and structure of assembly language code.
Students will learn about the internal workings of a computer system, including the cpu, registers, memory management, and other components.

Understanding reverse engineering: students will learn how to reverse engineer programs and understand how they work using assembly language.
By the end of the course, students will have gained a deep understanding of assembly language programming

The course will provide an introduction to assembly language programming, including the syntax and structure of assembly language code.
Students will learn about the internal workings of a computer system, including the cpu, registers, memory management, and other components.
Understanding reverse engineering: students will learn how to reverse engineer programs and understand how they work using assembly language.
By the end of the course, students will have gained a deep understanding of assembly language programming

Syllabus

Introduction

Who can join this course & what skills needed for this course

This section contains all the important concepts which the student should know before going to program assembly language

Computer system working and the CPU role

Internal components of the CPU

What are the registers inside the CPU ?

Flags of the CPU

Flag Structure of the CPU

Flags working in CPU

Program's memory layout in the computer system

How to view the stack of a program

Hello World in Assembly

Structure of the assembly program

System calls Before Hello World in Assembly

Writing our first Hello World program in assembly

Compiling an assembly program in gcc

Debugging our assembly program

Using C library functions in assembly program

In this module we will learn about data movement in assembly programming

Defining the data in data section in assembly program

Using static symbols in assembly programs

How to define and use data in the bss section

Moving data in Assembly programming

Practical Demonstration of moving data in assembly

More advanced data movements in assembly

Accessing and moving indexed values in assembly

Direct and indirect addressing in assembly

Practical example of direct and indirect addressing in assembly

Concept of indirect address pointer

Accessing indexed memory locations in assembly

How to create a stack frame in assembly

Adding and removing data on stack in assembly

Data exchange instructions in assembly

Setting and clearing the flag bits Carry Flag

Setting and clearning the Overflow Flag in assembly

Setting and clearing the Parity Flag in assembly

Setting and clearing the Sign Flag in assembly

Setting and clearing the Zero Flag in assembly

Understand the fundamental concepts of conditional branching and looping in assembly language, and recognize their significance in altering the program's execution path based on conditions.

Understanding EIP register in assembly

Jump instruction in assembly

what is the work of call instruction in assembly

Conditional jump in indepth in assembly

Using Zero flag as a conditional jump in assembly

Using Overflow flag as conditional jump in assembly

Using Parity flag as a conditional jump in assembly

"Using Numbers in Assembly Programming" involves understanding how numerical data is manipulated and processed within the context of assembly language.

Types of numbers which are used in assembly programming

What are signed and unsigned integers and how unsigned integers are stored

how unsigned integers are stored in memory

Using unsigned integers in assembly program

Concept of how a CPU stores the numbers in memory

Practical demonstration of how CPU stores numbers in memory

How to use signed numbers in assembly program

SIMD registers concept in assembly

MMX registers in assembly

Using mmx registers in assembly to move integers

Understanding SSE registers

Using SSE registers in assembly

What are BCD data types

Storing BCD data types in memory

How floating point numbers are moved

Storing floating point numbers into memory

Storing multiple float values at once

Basic math functions in assembly

Adding numbers in assembly

Dealing with negative numbers in assembly

Concept of detecting carry in addition operation

Writing assembly program for detecting carry flag in addition operation

Understanding overflow concept in addition arithmetic

Practical demonstration of overflow in addition instruction in assembly

Detecting overflow in signed integers addition in assembly

Concept of add carry instruction in assembly

Using ADC instruction in assembly

How binary subtraction works

Using sub instruction in assembly program

Increment and decrement instruction in assembly

Multiplication of two unsigned numbers in assembly

Different ways of multiplications of signed numbers in assembly

How division works in assembly

Bit shifting in assembly programming

Rotating bits in assembly programming

Logical operations in assembly

Using OR, AND and XOR logical operations in assembly programming

Learn all the basic concepts of string manupulation of strings in assembly

How strings are moved in assembly ?

Direction flag in string movement in assembly

Movement of ESI and EDI pointers when DF flag is set in assembly program

How REP instruction works in strings in assembly program

Basics of comparing strings in assembly

How big strings are compared with REP instruction in assembly

LODS and STOS instructions in string movment in assembly programming

Basic concept of how we can encrypt a string in assembly

Encrypting a string in assembly program

How to decrypt the encrypted string in assembly

In this module we will be looking at functions in assembly programming

How to define a function in assembly programming

Using a function in assembly programming

Passing input values to functions in assembly

what are function prolog and epilog with stack frame ?

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Assembly Language Foundation Course for Ethical Hackers with these activities:

Review Computer Architecture Fundamentals

Show steps

Reinforce your understanding of computer architecture, which is crucial for grasping assembly language concepts.

Browse courses on Computer Architecture

Show steps

Review CPU components and their functions.
Study memory organization and addressing modes.
Understand the role of registers in program execution.

Read 'Understanding the Machine'

Show steps

Gain a broader understanding of the underlying hardware and software interactions that assembly language enables.

View Make Your Child A Millionaire By 25 on Amazon

Show steps

Read the chapters on CPU architecture and memory management.
Relate the concepts to assembly language programming.

Read 'Hacking: The Art of Exploitation'

Show steps

Gain practical insights into how assembly language is used in real-world hacking scenarios.

View Hacking: The Art of Exploitation, 2nd Edition on Amazon

Show steps

Read the chapters on buffer overflows and shellcode.
Experiment with the provided code examples.

Four other activities

Expand to see all activities and additional details

Show all seven activities

Assembly Language Coding Challenges

Show steps

Sharpen your assembly language programming skills through targeted coding exercises.

Show steps

Solve problems involving data manipulation.
Implement conditional branching and looping constructs.
Write functions and handle stack frames.

Contribute to an Assembly Language Project

Show steps

Enhance your skills by collaborating on a real-world assembly language project.

Show steps

Find an open-source project using assembly language.
Understand the project's codebase and goals.
Identify a bug or feature to work on.
Submit a pull request with your changes.

Create a Disassembler

Show steps

Deepen your understanding of assembly language by building a tool that translates machine code into assembly instructions.

Show steps

Research the structure of executable files.
Implement a parser to extract machine code.
Translate machine code into assembly mnemonics.
Test the disassembler with various executable files.

Build a Simple Keylogger

Show steps

Apply your assembly language skills to create a practical tool for capturing keystrokes.

Show steps

Research keyboard input handling in assembly.
Implement code to intercept keystrokes.
Store the captured keystrokes in a file.
Test the keylogger and refine its functionality.

Career center

Learners who complete Assembly Language Foundation Course for Ethical Hackers will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Reverse Engineer

Reverse engineers analyze software to understand its inner workings, often without access to the source code. This course directly aligns with the core skills needed by a reverse engineer. The assembly language knowledge is essential for disassembling and understanding compiled code. By mastering the concepts taught in this course, such as CPU architecture, memory management, and system calls, a reverse engineer gains the ability to dissect complex programs. The course's explicit focus on reverse engineering provides specific training in the techniques that are useful to the reverse engineer. The modules on conditional branching and looping may be beneficial to a reverse engineer.

See salaries and explore the career path for Reverse Engineer

Malware Analyst

Malware analysts dissect malicious software to understand its functionality and behavior. This course in assembly language provides essential skills for examining malware at its lowest level. A malware analyst can apply the gained knowledge of assembly to reverse engineer malware, identify its functionality, and develop effective defenses. The course's modules on memory management, system calls, and CPU instructions are helpful for dissecting how malware interacts with the operating system. The section on string manipulation could be particularly useful for analyzing how malware handles data. A malware analyst may also find the modules on encryption and decryption useful.

See salaries and explore the career path for Malware Analyst

Exploit Developer

Exploit developers create code that takes advantage of vulnerabilities in software. This course in assembly language builds a strong foundation for understanding how to write exploits, especially those that target low-level vulnerabilities. The knowledge of assembly is helpful in crafting shellcode and manipulating memory directly. The course's sections on buffer overflows and memory management are directly applicable to exploit development. Furthermore, the coverage of system calls and CPU architecture provides the background needed to understand how exploits interact with the operating system. This course provides a hands-on perspective to the exploit developer.

See salaries and explore the career path for Exploit Developer

Vulnerability Analyst

A vulnerability analyst identifies and assesses security weaknesses in systems. This course, with its focus on assembly language, helps a Vulnerability Analyst understand how software interacts directly with hardware. By learning assembly, you gain insight into low-level vulnerabilities like buffer overflows, which are critical to exploit. The course's reverse engineering section directly translates to a vulnerability analyst's need to dissect and understand compiled code. Furthermore, the material on memory management and CPU operations can give an analyst an edge in identifying memory-related vulnerabilities. The modules on data movement and stack frames may also be useful.

See salaries and explore the career path for Vulnerability Analyst

Embedded Systems Engineer

Embedded systems engineers design and develop software for devices with limited resources, such as microcontrollers. Assembly language is often used in embedded systems programming to optimize performance and directly control hardware. This course in assembly language can help an embedded systems engineer understand the constraints and capabilities of embedded processors. The course's modules on CPU architecture, memory management, and assembly instructions are essential for effective embedded systems development. The modules on bit shifting and rotating bits can be useful.

See salaries and explore the career path for Embedded Systems Engineer

Security Researcher

Security researchers investigate system vulnerabilities and develop exploits. This course on assembly language provides a foundation for understanding how software interacts with hardware at a very low level. This foundation is helpful to researchers who want to find vulnerabilities that are not detectable using high-level programming languages. The course's discussion of reverse engineering provides skills for analyzing compiled code and identifying potential weaknesses. The CPU architecture and memory management sections are also pertinent to understanding exploit development. A security researcher can also use the knowledge of registers and system calls to create novel attacks. The modules on assembly instructions would be very useful to a security researcher.

See salaries and explore the career path for Security Researcher

Firmware Engineer

Firmware engineers develop the low-level software that controls hardware devices. Assembly language is often used in firmware development due to its ability to directly manipulate hardware. This course provides the foundational knowledge needed to write and debug firmware. The course's coverage of CPU architecture, memory management, and assembly instructions is directly applicable to firmware development. Firmware developers can then use this knowledge to optimize performance and manage resources efficiently. The modules on storing data types and memory locations may be beneficial to the firmware engineer.

See salaries and explore the career path for Firmware Engineer

Penetration Tester

Penetration testers, or ethical hackers, assess the security of systems by simulating attacks. While many penetration testing tools operate at a higher level, a solid understanding of assembly language provides a significant advantage. A penetration tester may use this knowledge to analyze custom software, reverse engineer compiled binaries, and craft exploits for specific vulnerabilities. The course's focus on reverse engineering is incredibly valuable, as is the coverage of memory management and CPU architecture. Penetration testers need to understand how systems work at their most fundamental level, and this course provides that insight. The modules on conditional branching and looping may be useful for the penetration tester.

See salaries and explore the career path for Penetration Tester

Security Engineer

Security engineers are responsible for designing, implementing, and managing security systems. A deep understanding of assembly language helps a security engineer understand the underlying workings of software and hardware, allowing them to design more robust defenses. This course may help the engineer analyze potential vulnerabilities and understand how exploits work. The sections on reverse engineering and memory management provide a deeper understanding of software behavior. Security engineers can leverage this knowledge to make informed decisions about security architecture and configurations. The modules on assembly instructions and data movement may be helpful for security engineers.

See salaries and explore the career path for Security Engineer

Operating System Developer

Operating system developers work on the core software that manages computer hardware and provides services for applications. An understanding of assembly language is beneficial for understanding how an operating system interacts with the hardware. This course can help an operating system developer write low-level drivers, optimize performance-critical sections of the kernel, and debug hardware-related issues. The course's sections on CPU architecture, memory management, and system calls provide essential knowledge for operating system development. The modules on advanced data movements and stack frames may be especially useful.

See salaries and explore the career path for Operating System Developer

Compiler Developer

Compiler developers create the software that translates high-level code into machine code. Understanding assembly language is helpful for a compiler developer to ensure that compiled code is efficient and correct. This course gives insight into the output of compilers and how code is executed at the machine level. The course's coverage of CPU architecture, assembly instructions, and memory management provides a foundation for understanding compiler design and optimization. The modules on numbers in assembly programming may also be relevant.

See salaries and explore the career path for Compiler Developer

Computer Architect

Computer architects design and develop computer hardware. A deep understanding of assembly language is useful for computer architects to understand how software interacts with hardware. This course may help a computer architect make informed design decisions. The course's modules on CPU architecture, registers, and memory management are directly relevant to computer architecture. While a computer architect typically requires at least a master's degree, this course may provide a helpful background. The modules on conditional branching and looping may be of use.

See salaries and explore the career path for Computer Architect

Game Developer

Game developers create video games for various platforms. While most game development relies on high-level languages, knowledge of assembly language can be useful for optimizing performance-critical sections of a game engine or for reverse engineering existing games. This course on assembly language can provide a game developer with a deeper understanding of how code is executed on the hardware. The modules on SIMD registers and math functions in assembly may be helpful for optimizing graphics and physics calculations. The course's section on string manipulation may also be useful for game developers.

See salaries and explore the career path for Game Developer

Software Developer

Software developers create applications for computers and other devices. While most software development is done at a high level, understanding assembly language can provide a deeper understanding of how code is executed. This course may help a software developer write more efficient code, debug complex issues, and understand the limitations of the underlying hardware. The course's coverage of data movement, stack frames, and function calls can provide insight into how programs work at a lower level. The modules on memory in assembly programming may be helpful.

See salaries and explore the career path for Software Developer

Technical Writer

Technical writers create documentation for software and hardware products. While a technical writer may not need to write assembly code, understanding its concepts may help them document low-level aspects of a system accurately. This course provides a foundation in assembly language programming, which may improve the quality and depth of technical documentation related to system architecture, low-level programming, or security. A technical writer may find the modules on data movement and stack frames helpful.

See salaries and explore the career path for Technical Writer

Assembly Language Foundation Course for Ethical Hackers

What's inside

Learning objectives

Syllabus

Save this course

Activities

Career center

Reading list

Share

Similar courses