For anyone that has no idea where to start and is looking for a treasure trove of info - here is a link to a fav site where you can pull tons of reference material. It's one that I have had in my favorites for quiet some time and found rather useful many times and still find myself checking out from time to time. Plush who doesn't like free books and free downloads.
Free Hacking and Hackers Books - Free Computer, Programming, Mathematics, Technical Books, Lecture Notes and Tutorials
A Collection of Free Hacking and Hackers Books
freecomputerbooks.com