What do you want?

[Pack3t SynAck3r]

I am not really "hacking" at the moment, i am getting interested in html and dreamweaver(just started) i plan on coming back to VB later down the line i love the IDE its really noob friendly. But for all or most of my learning i go to lynda.com now, costs money but i like it. If i had one recommendation i would say start a hjt training course, lots of people are interested in learning it myself included and most training sites are backlogged so i am sure you would get some more members. Just because they are leaning hjt doesn't mean there not black hat but at least your attracting the right crowd more or less.

HiJackThis is an antiquated program. Ever since TrendMicro purchased it several years ago the development on that utility has been stagnant. Any malware that can be detected using HJT can be removed with malwarebytes or super anti-spyware. One of the biggest issues is that it has no 64bit OS support, which when you consider 90% of all new windows boxes has the 64bit architecture it is pretty retarted. All the effective advanced malware that is in circulation today HJT can't even touch. HJT could be used as a noob training tool, but you need a more complete profile of a system to ascertain the extent of an infection. OTL is my personal favorite, think of it as HJT on steroids. OTL's only downfall is that it has no embedded rootkit detection or removal techonology(not to worry though because I have a healthy obsession with rootkits (RK's). In order to be effective at obliterating an infection from a sophisticated piece of malware you need to have mastered a number of tools, utilities and the ability to code when there is no utility available for removal. The only person I am aware of in here that is fully qualified to train is myself(I make my living from computer and network security and I do malware research as a hobby/public service) and I use my own discretion to decide who I do or do not train. First rule of thumb though if you are interested is you have to prove your own machine is without infection. If you are inclined you must post your HJT log in a new thread in the virus and malware removal section http://mcompute.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?fid=62and we can go from there. I will walk you through the rest of the process of creating/analyzing logs and using the utilities that are necessary to disinfect/repair, and give you an explanation as to why if you need it. If you have a HJT log that is showing an infection then we will fix the easy stuff that is visible first and dig deeper afterwards. Familiarizing yourself with all the information HJT logs show is essential though in order to learn OTL. OTL uses a lot of the same naming and labeling nomenclature, but on average the log files are 8 or 9 times larger. The HJT analysis is for your learning, normally for a removal I was doing I would just skip it and use OTL first.
Having a deep understanding of Windows is a necessity and you will be forced to learn a lot of Windows' functionality in order to be successful.
You are paying for lessons? That is ridiculous...completely.
I have no problem with the color of anyone's hat, black, white or gray. Good and evil are a point of view, any real "hacker" has a great knowledge of both the dark and the light. What defines you is how you use your knowledge and ability. Dogmatic once sided views with regards to computers is counter-intuitive and pointless. 99% of the nubs on HF are NOT hackers, they are script kiddies and Warez Doodz. There is a huge distinct difference. Script kiddie fags get chased out of here real quick, because anyone stupid enough to listen to what they have to say or download what they tell you to will get sodomized by them. If they don't leave there are a few of us that will make them miserable until they do. Let anybody come in, it is pretty easy to sniff out the people that are full of shit.
And seriously, paying for lessons is insane, you need to force yourself to be able to learn with your own abilities and the occasional Google search when necessary to fill in the gaps of comprehension.