Question

How can I study hacking?

Answer 1

In my blog, I have written a detailed article describing the process of becoming a hacker.
Let me copy-paste that here for you. It's quite a long answer so bear with me. (Link given at the bottom)

Nowadays, every other college or school student wants to be a hacker. Due to media hype, the term hacker is considered both cool and criminal at the same time. Now, since my blog is basically about my journey into hacking, I receive many emails on how to become a hacker. "I'm a beginner in hacking, how should I start?" or "I want to be able to hack my friend's Facebook account" are some of the more frequent queries. In this article I will attempt to answer these and more. I will give detailed technical instructions on how to get started as a beginner and how to evolve as you gain more knowledge and expertise in the domain. Hacking is a skill. And you must remember that if you want to learn hacking solely for the fun of hacking into your friend's Facebook account or email, things will not work out for you. You should decide to learn hacking because of your fascination for technology and your desire to be an expert in computer systems.

"Being a hacker is lots of fun, but it's a kind of fun that takes lots of effort. The effort takes motivation."

The hacker mindset
In order to become a hacker, you must start thinking like one. We encounter all kinds of technology in our real life. Look at them from a hacker's perspective by thinking of ways to hack them. Hacking is not only about computers. It is also about how you use logic and ingenuity to solve the problems you encounter in your day today life. Nothing is really hack-proof. Auto-rickshaw meters, electronic voting machines, electronic doors, biometric systems, cars and even a yatch have all been hacked in the past. Whenever you encounter any technology, think about how it can be exploited to perform another action. You should possess a natural curiosity for solving puzzles and taking up challenges.

Know your technology
Becoming a hacker is no easy task. It will not happen in days or weeks. It will take you many months and  even years to reach to the level where you can call yourself a hacker. The main reason for this is that being a hacker requires a lot of technical know-how. If you want to hack a computer, it only seems logical that you first know how it works, right? You should be familiar with the ins and outs of computers and know a little bit about everything in the IT domain. For this, you need to learn many things. This learning phase is when most aspiring hackers will give up.
General IT knowledge:
·         Learn how to install Windows and Linux. Use VirtualBox or VMware to           practice this.
·         Learn networking concepts like IP address, subnets, TCP/IP, OSI model,           LAN,WAN
·         Functions of switch, router, firewall, access point etc
·        What is DNS, DHCP, SNMP, ARP, NAT?
·         What is HTTP, FTP, Telnet, RDP, SSH, POP, SMTP, SSL, NetBios?
  
      These bullet points are just bare minimum concepts, and you have to learn them thoroughly. For instance, you need to know how data travels through the OSI layers, and the role of each layer in the data transfer.      I would recommend taking a networking course  such as CompTIA's N+ certification. 

Hope it will help you