If you decide to get into a new hobby or learn computer security (very useful for web application programmers, and everyone else who would not like to become a victim of hackers), then you do not need to go to the store for a new computer. However, there are a few things you can consider when choosing a new computer

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Best laptop for machine learning International business: competing in the global marketplace
You need a laptop with a well-supported by some normal driver (from here) wifi (monitor mode is required)

A powerful compact Best laptop for machine learning for a HACKER? Installed operating system KALI LINUX, a debian-based distribution, tailored for penetration testing or pentesting, and, in general, the huge range of its capabilities, depending on the goals of the user.

HP Envy x360 Convert 15

The HP Envy X360 Convertible Laptop is designed to help students get started with coding and software development. Its large 15.6-inch display offers plenty of room to work with, and its AI capabilities let you build apps that learn from your behavior. With a fingerprint sensor, you can quickly unlock your device and access your files.

Pentester computer on VPS/VDS

VDS is the same as VPS, i.e. virtual dedicated/private server. If you are familiar with virtual machines and have ever installed a system in VirtualBox, then VPS is the same, only instead of running a virtual machine on your computer, we rent resources from a hosting provider (most often, these servers are used for web servers , not for pentesting).

It would seem, why pay for rent if you can install it on your computer in the same free VirtualBox? The question is absolutely correct and many do just that - they install it on a local computer.

However, the VPS option is not without meaning. For example, if you are bruteforcing passwords on websites (naturally with the permission of the owner - we are not offenders ... in extreme cases, through Tor ...), then this can drag on for days, weeks, months ... If you keep it on all this time your computer, then you will run up for electricity a little less than if you rented a dual-core VPS with 2 GB of RAM for 400 rubles. Well, all the advantages of VPS: fast stable Internet connection, round-the-clock work, etc.

By the way, I'm serious: do not use VPS for vulnerability analysis and even port scanning without prior permission. Or ALWAYS use Tor. People serving VPS are much more likely to encounter violations (mostly different spammers, copyright infringements, etc.), there is a special person / team who responds to abuse. And if you scan someone from your home computer and it doesn’t matter to your Internet provider, then the hosting staff reads all the complaints received (even those automatically generated by programs, for example, in response to the fact that you scanned the ports on whose -some computer) and asks you to fix violations ... In general, Tor ...

VPS is a great choice for pentesters who specialize in web applications, especially when:

  • website cloning (even without Tor)
  • brute forcing credentials of both web applications and various services that have remote login
  • long scanning of web applications for vulnerabilities
  • scanning large subnets

You can’t do without a VPS for phishing (for example, a clone of the original site to swindle logins and passwords from simpletons), DNS spoofing and a number of other attacks.

If anyone is interested, here is my OS for pentesting in the cloud (I installed Arch Linux + BlackArch repo), made a public web interface for my favorite programs:

Well, “to the load” VPS allows you to organize your own web server, mail server, file storage, cloud for cooperation, ownCloud, VPN, well, anything that Linux can do with a white IP. For example, I organized monitoring of new versions of programs.

VPS allows you to install both a computer with a command line interface and a graphical desktop environment. As they say, “the taste and color ...” all markers are different, but personally I am an ardent opponent of installing an OS with a graphical desktop environment as a server. If only because it's just expensive - for comfortable work you need to buy tariff boards with 2+ gigabytes of RAM. And even this may not be enough, depending on the running programs and their number.

Having a VPS as a hacker computer has its advantages, and for some it may be the only option (if it is not possible to install Linux as a second system, as well as in a virtual computer).