Who this book is for

This book is designed for anyone who wants to learn how a penetration test works. The layout of the book allows the reader to follow along with what they are learning on a chapter-by-chapter basis, and apply it to their real-life penetration tests. The great thing about the topics in this book is that even though the book is written by applying the knowledge you are learning into practical use, it is not required to use the book in that method. Just reading through the book will allow you to understand the penetration testing process from start to finish.  Prior knowledge about networking and Linux would be an advantage; however, it is not required to follow the concepts covered in this book.  Additionally, having a prior understanding of security and penetration tests at a base level will definitely be advantageous but not required due to lots of examples within the book.