To learn how to properly secure a system you first must know the system inside and out. The only way to learn this is to have access to some servers. Now there are many ways to get access to servers, one is to already be a system administrator for your company, school, etc. Another way is to play around on the Internet and get access to somebody else’s network. This is a very bad way to do business, unless you like having long heart to heart talks with your local FBI field agent. The best way is to have your own network at home to setup and configure as you see fit. This article will show you how easy and relatively cheaply you can have your very own network.

There are many issues that need to get resolved in building your own network. First you must get at least three computers (You only really need two for a network, but I recommend you have at least three). You need to get a hub and some cables and network cards for your computers, and then decide what operating systems that you want loaded onto your new network.

First get some extra computers. If you're not Bill Gates and you can't afford to go out and buy three new machines at $1000 apiece, that’s OK. Start by looking around at garage sales, swap meets and even your local Goodwill store. All you really need is a few 486 Intel boxes or low end Pentiums these machines are for home use and don’t need to be high end production servers.

Next you need to get some networking hardware. Cheap network cards can be purchased for around $5 at discount computer stores. A small 4 port 10baseT hub can be purchased for around $20. Then the only thing that you need is some cable and you're ready to go.

The last major issue is to decide what operating systems to install on your network. Unless you have somebody that can give you a copy of one of Windows' servers such as NT4.0 or Windows 2000 advance server, you will want to look at cheaper or free operating systems such as various versions of Linux or FreeBSD. Still, Windows servers can be used at home for evaluation purposes only without any legal issues cropping up. I recommend that your lab consist mainly of Unix based operating systems, since they are the most prevalent OS on the Internet.

If you don’t have any experience in building networks, all of the installation and configuring of a network can seem over whelming. Use your favorite search engine to look for how-to’s and installation instructions. They are located all over the net.

Once the network in installed and configured you're ready to start learning how it works and how to exploit it. From there you’re well on your way to learning the art of information security.