Overview

Aspiring hackers will learn foundational programming in C and assembly languages from a veteran hacker and develop the skills to create their own hacking tools. Your spellbook for code close to the metal. In hacker circles, heavy wizardry means code that trades on intimate knowledge of a system-the kind that speaks its private dialects and bends its rules. Heavy Wizardry 101 teaches you to write it. You'll build shellcode, backdoors, droppers, and worms from scratch, working at the instruction level where magic happens. Every project is implemented for four architectures- x86_64, ARM, MIPS, and RISC-V. You'll write the same program four times, seeing exactly what stays constant and what changes. Each chapter starts with architecture fundamentals, such as memory layout, calling conventions, and stack mechanics, then walks through complete working implementations on Linux in safe, contained environments. Learn to- Write position-independent shellcode and programs that execute in constrained memory spaces Implement TCP reverse shells that bypass basic network restrictions Build executable droppers that embed and deploy payloads without detection Create self-replicating worms that propagate across networked systems Write basic port scanners to discover services in a network Port low-level code between architectures by understanding instruction-level differences Whether you're a penetration tester who wants to stop depending on Metasploit, a security researcher analyzing malware, or a systems programmer who needs to understand how computers work, this book gives you the skills to build and reason about code at the lowest level.

Full Product Details

Author:   David Martinez Oliveira
Publisher:   No Starch Press,US
Imprint:   No Starch Press,US
Weight:   0.369kg
ISBN:  

9781718504424

ISBN 10:   171850442
Pages:   304
Publication Date:   09 June 2026
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   To order  

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Introduction Part I: Into the Machine: Awakening Code Spells Chapter 1: Spell of the Binary Oracle: When Hardware Whispers in Opcodes Chapter 2: Spell of Essence: Distilling C to Its Primordial ASM Chapter 3: Spell of Rebirth: Transmuting Greetings into Shellcode Chapter 4: Spell of Overflowing Frame: Mastering Stack Secrets Chapter 5: Spell of the Undead: Writing a REPL to Animate a Botnet Part II: Onto the Network: Unveiling Mystic Gateways Chapter 6: Veil of Shadows: Unlocking Hidden Backdoors Chapter 7: Veil of Ash: The Dropper That Leaves No Flame Behind Part III: Through the Network: Casting Crawlers Chapter 8: Casting the Twin Serpent: Summoning a Two-Headed Worm Chapter 9: Casting the Lone Strand: Single-Stage Wormcraft Chapter 10: Casting the Lost Hosts: Conjuring Network Scanners Appendixes: The Forge Appendix A: The Sorcerer's Forge: Preparing Your Workshop Appendix B: Secrets of the Forge: Arcane Tricks for Low-Level Tools Index

Reviews

""Heavy Wizardry 101 is a well-organized and accessible introduction to low-level programming in assembly for Linux, crafting multi-stage shellcode loaders, network and binary tools, and ELF binaries using only standard, open-source GNU command-line tools."" —Sergi Àlvarez i Capilla (aka pancake), Author of radare2

Author Information

David Martinez Oliveira, aka Pico, has been writing code close to the metal since the 1990s, building software for computer vision, communications systems, laboratory equipment, and AR/VR/MR applications. A longtime GNU/Linux user, he explores security and low-level system internals both professionally and for fun.

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