Day 1/100: How the Web Works

100 Day Series — 1 | Cybersecurity from Scratch

Hey!

You found this post, so you’re probably like me — trying to learn cybersecurity from scratch. And if you’re anything like I was a few years ago, you’ve already seen phrases like:

“Hack the HTTP requests”
“Intercept traffic using Burp”
“Modify headers and cookies.”

And you’re thinking “Uhhh… what’s even happening behind a website?”

We’re not hacking anything yet.
We’re just going to understand what actually happens when you open a website.

Because here’s the truth: If you don’t know how websites work, you can’t break them properly.

The Web Is Just a Conversation

You open your browser.
You type something like www.0x595.com.
You hit Enter.

Boom — pictures, buttons, profiles, likes. Magic, right?

But here’s what actually just happened in the background:

DNS Lookup:
Your browser asks: What’s the IP address of 0x595.com?
The DNS server says: “Here, try this: 1x3.x5.x7.89”

1. Connection:
   Your browser connects to that IP — usually over port 443 (that’s HTTPS).

Request:
Your browser sends a message like this:
GET / HTTP/1.1 
Host: 0x595.com 
Cookie: session=abc123Response:
 The server replies with HTML, CSS, JS — the stuff that builds the webpage.Render:
 Your browser reads all that code and shows you Instagram.

Real Example: The “Login” Request

When you log into a website, your browser might send something like this:

POST /login HTTP/1.1  
Host: example.com  
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded  
Cookie: csrf=xyz  

username=admin&password=123456

That’s a real request.

And as a hacker, this is your goldmine:

• Maybe the site lets you change username=admin to another user
• Maybe the password isn’t protected
• Maybe there’s no CSRF protection
• Maybe you can replay it or tamper with it

All of that… comes from understanding this one little message your browser sends.

Try This Right Now (5-Minute Mini Lab)

This is your first step into seeing the web like a hacker. No tools needed.

1. Open Google Chrome or Firefox
2. Go to any website (e.g., example.com)
3. Press F12 (opens Developer Tools)
4. Click on the “Network” tab
5. Refresh the page
6. Click the first thing that loads

Now look closely. You’ll see:

• Request URL
• Method (GET/POST)
• Headers
• Cookies

That’s the real stuff behind websites.
That’s where we’ll be working from now on.

Key Takeaways from todays learning is

• Every website you visit is just a back-and-forth conversation using HTTP.
• Your browser sends a request, and the server sends back a response.
• The magic of hacking happens between those two points.
• Start using DevTools today. Train your eyes to see requests and read headers.

Coming Up Tomorrow

Tomorrow, we’ll set up your hacking lab:

• Install Burp Suite
• Connect it to your browser
• Intercept your first real request
• Understand what it means to modify traffic

And don’t worry, I’ll walk you through all of it — step by step

- 0X595