10 Best Reverse Engineering Courses and Certifications Online

Reverse engineering is the process of analyzing a product, component, or system to understand its design and functionality. This technique is widely used in various industries, such as software development, manufacturing, and engineering. With the rise of online learning platforms, individuals can now access a wide range of reverse engineering courses from the comfort of their homes. These courses offer learners the opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge in reverse engineering and apply it to real-life scenarios. In this article, we will explore some of the best reverse engineering courses available online.

Here’s a look at the Best Reverse Engineering Courses and Certifications Online and what they have to offer for you!

10 Best Reverse Engineering Courses and Certifications Online

1. Reverse Engineering 6: Reversing .NET with dnSpy by Paul Chin (Udemy) (Our Best Pick)

The Reverse Engineering 6: Reversing .NET with dnSpy course, taught by Paul Chin, is designed to teach students how to decompile and debug .NET programs written in C# and VB.NET using dnSpy. The course provides an introduction to reverse engineering and covers various topics such as debugging, memory dumping, reverse jumps, and instruction modification.

Participants will learn how to use tools like dnSpy, de4dot, and UnconfuserEx to reverse engineer .NET programs. The course covers areas such as patching with dnSpy, serial phishing, creating keygens, .NET software protection, de-obfuscation, unpacking and dumping .NET assemblies, and protecting .NET programs from being reversed.

The course includes practical exercises where participants will practice reversing on programs called crackme’s, designed specifically for the course.

The course is divided into various sections, including an introduction to .NET programs, installing dnSpy, introduction to crackme 18, patching with dnSpy, serial phishing with dnSpy, creating a C# keygen, installing visual studio to create a GUI keygen, creating a GUI keygen in C#, introduction to .NET software protection, installing .NET reversing tools, protecting .NET software with Confuser 1.9, deobfuscating Confuser 1.9, protecting .NET software with ConfuserEx, and unpacking ConfuserEX.

The course comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, making it a risk-free investment for individuals interested in learning reverse engineering and debugging for .NET programs. Students will have access to additional resources for further study after completing the course.

2. Game Hacking: Cheat Engine Game Hacking Basics by Paul Chin (Udemy)

This course titled “Game Hacking: Cheat Engine Game Hacking Basics” is designed for individuals who are interested in learning about reverse engineering and memory hacking specifically using Cheat Engine. The course instructor, Paul Chin, provides a beginner-friendly approach and personal guidance which is often lacking in YouTube tutorials. By the end of the course, participants will be able to apply their basic skills to hack the open source free game, Assault Cube – a 3D first person shooter game.

The course focuses on memory hacking using Cheat Engine, a powerful tool commonly used in game hacking to modify in-game attributes such as Health, Ammo, Position and more. Unlike traditional reverse engineering tools which require patching the program file, Cheat Engine allows the program to be loaded into RAM memory first, then hacking is done there. Participants will learn about the difference between memory values vs. pointers, data structures, how to scan memory and create Cheat Tables, pointer scanning and writing scripts to inject code into process memory.

The course consists of several sections, including Introduction, Installing Cheat Engine, Installing, Configuring and Playing Assault Cube, Memory scanning for health, Memory Scanning For Ammo and the Freeze Technique, Introduction to Pointers and Data Structures, Finding Static Addresses Using Pointers and Data Structures, Introduction to Pointer Scanning, Using Pointer Scan to find the Health Static Addresses, Introduction to Code Injection & Assembly Editing, Writing Scripts To Inject Code, Differentiate Players vs Enemies When Writing Scripts by using Commonality Scans, 3D Coordinate System and How To Scan For Unknown Values, Teleporting: Pointer Scanning & Freeze Method to find address for Z coordinate, and Resources for Further Study.

Overall, this course provides a comprehensive introduction to game hacking and reverse engineering using Cheat Engine. The instructor, Paul Chin, is available to answer questions and guide and mentor participants throughout the course.

3. Mobile Security: Reverse Engineer Android Apps From Scratch by Flip Cortex (Udemy)

The Mobile Security: Reverse Engineer Android Apps From Scratch course is an introductory course that caters to both new and experienced professionals in the field of cyber security. The course focuses on Android reverse engineering and aims to teach students how to analyse suspicious Android apps and determine their malicious intent. Android is a widely used operating system and is therefore a common target for cyber-criminals. The course will provide students with the fundamentals of Android security and applications, guiding them through the process of developing a basic Android application to gain insight into the inner workings of an Android APK.

The course assumes that students have little or no knowledge of Android security and will therefore provide a general understanding of Android security and applications. Upon completion, students will have the knowledge required to analyse suspicious APKs and a basic understanding of Android security. The course syllabus includes topics such as Course Requirements, Intro to Android, Course/Lab Setup, Developing a Basic Android App, Analyzing Android Apps and Case Study: Analyzing an actual ransomware and developing a decryption tool.

The course content includes prerequisites to ensure students have a basic understanding of cyber security, followed by a general introduction to Android. The course/lab setup provides students with the tools required to analyse Android apps, followed by developing a basic Android app to gain insight into an Android APK’s inner workings. The course then moves on to teach students how to analyse Android apps and concludes with a case study on analysing a real ransomware and developing a decryption tool.

The Mobile Security: Reverse Engineer Android Apps From Scratch course is an essential course for anyone looking to gain insight into Android security and reverse engineering. The course provides students with the tools and knowledge required to analyse suspicious Android apps, identify malicious intent, and develop decryption tools. The course is designed for both newcomers and experienced professionals and will provide the fundamentals required to start a career in mobile security.

4. Reverse Engineering 1: x64dbg Debugger for Beginners by Paul Chin (Udemy)

The Reverse Engineering 1: x64dbg Debugger for Beginners course is designed to teach individuals how to reverse engineer and debug software using x64dbg in just one hour. This course is perfect for those who are interested in getting started in the field of Reverse Engineering, including software developers who want to learn how software works internally and reverse engineers who want to fix bugs where the source code is not available.

Participants will learn how to use x64dbg by solving a simple CrackMe challenge – a small program created to test a programmer’s reverse engineering skills. The course is suitable for absolute beginners and experienced professionals alike, as the instructor takes learners from zero to hero.

The course covers topics such as disassembling programs into assembly code, dynamic analysis, setting breakpoints and stepping through code, modifying program behavior, and patching programs. Participants will also receive additional resources and tools to continue their learning beyond the course.

The course is backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee, giving individuals the confidence to enroll and start learning how to reverse engineer and debug programs in a fun and easy way. The course is divided into sections, starting with an introduction and ending with additional resources.

Overall, the Reverse Engineering 1: x64dbg Debugger for Beginners course is a comprehensive and accessible introduction to reverse engineering, suitable for individuals with no prior knowledge of reversing, as well as experienced professionals looking to expand their skill set.

5. Reverse Engineering and Malware Analysis Fundamentals by Paul Chin (Udemy)

The “Reverse Engineering and Malware Analysis Fundamentals” course is designed for individuals who are completely new to reverse engineering and malware analysis. The course instructor, Paul Chin, will walk learners through the basics of reverse engineering and malware analysis, gradually progressing to more advanced topics. The course offers a highly practical approach, with no boring theory or lectures, but rather plenty of practical walk-throughs. Tools such as tridnet, bintext, pestudio, cff explorer, regshot, procdot, fakenet, wireshark, process monitor, process hacker, xdbg, Ghidra, and more will be introduced and explained.

The course covers a wide range of topics, including lab setup, tools, OS fundamentals, virtual memory and the PE file, Windows internals, malware components, static analysis, dynamic analysis, network analysis, unpacking standard and custom packers, dumping memory, and more. It is suitable for anyone who has no background on malware analysis, hobbyists who want to learn how to reverse engineer and analyze malware, students interested in pursuing a career in malware analysis, and hackers who are looking for additional tools and techniques to reverse software.

The prerequisites for the course are just a windows PC and an interest in malware analysis or software reverse engineering. The course is divided into several sections, including an introduction, lab setup, tools installation, static and dynamic analysis, assembly language basics, and reverse engineering of various malware samples, including ransomware and the Simda Trojan. The course also includes resources for further study.

Enrollment is open, and learners can expect to gain practical skills in reverse engineering and malware analysis. By the end of the course, learners will have the fundamentals of malware analysis under their belt and can further their studies in this field. Even if learners do not intend to take up malware analysis as a career, the knowledge and skills gained in reverse engineering and analysis would be beneficial to reverse software as well.

6. Reverse Engineering: Ghidra For Beginners by Paul Chin (Udemy)

This course, titled “Reverse Engineering: Ghidra for Beginners,” offers an introduction to reverse engineering using Ghidra on both Linux and Windows operating systems. Ghidra is a free, powerful tool used for reverse engineering, malware analysis, and exploit analysis that competes with IDA Pro and is even used by the NSA. This course is designed for software developers and reverse engineers who want to learn how software works internally and how to understand Linux and Windows binaries. The course will cover how to use Ghidra by solving Linux and Windows CrackMe challenges.

The instructor, Paul Chin, will begin the course by showing students how to install Oracle Virtual Box and Java SDK, as well as Kali Linux on the virtual machine. The first section of the course focuses on reverse engineering Linux executable files. In the second section, students will learn how to install Ghidra for Windows and reverse analyze Windows programs. The course will also cover how to reverse GUI CrackMe’s, identify program entry points, find the main functions for command line interface apps, and WinMain for GUI-based apps.

By the end of the course, students will have the basic skills to start reversing and analyzing Linux and Windows binaries. The course covers topics such as disassembling programs into assembly code, decompiling programs to C code, static analysis, understanding Windows APIs, using string search and defined strings, visualizing the call stack using function graphs and function call trees, solving Crackmes, and more.

This course is suitable for anyone interested in learning reverse engineering on Linux and Windows executable files, including absolute beginners with no prior knowledge of reversing.

7. Reverse Engineering 2: Windows GUI Programs by Paul Chin (Udemy)

The course entitled Reverse Engineering 2: Windows GUI Programs is aimed at teaching students how to reverse engineer graphical user interface programs using xdbg. This course is a continuation of the first course in this series, Reverse Engineering 1: x64dbg Debugger for Beginners, where the focus was on command line programs. The course will provide practice by using crackme programs written specifically for this purpose.

In this course, students will learn how to disassemble programs into assembly code, perform dynamic analysis, set breakpoints, and modify program behavior. They will also be taught how to patch programs, use intermodular and call stack methods, work with hardware breakpoints, and patch EAX register values. Additionally, the course covers the trial period software’s registration process and how to understand it.

The content of the course is divided into several sections, including an introduction to Windows GUI programs, analyzing PE files, setting up x64dbg, and setting breakpoints on strings. There are also sections on pushing parameters to the stack, bypassing messages, and bypassing using xor assembly. Additionally, the course covers registration file checks, analyzing crackme 2, removing Nag screens, and analyzing crackme 3.

Furthermore, there are sections on extending trial periods, autogenerated serial keys, patching EAX register values, hardware breakpoints, memory patching, and xAnalyzer. The course also includes a practical exercise, Serial Phishing, and other resources for further study. Overall, this course provides detailed knowledge on how to reverse engineer Windows GUI programs using xdbg.

8. Reverse Engineering and Exploit Development by Infinite Skills (Udemy)

The Reverse Engineering and Exploit Development Course is a computer-based training program that is designed to provide an in-depth understanding of various software vulnerabilities and how they differ among different operating systems. This course is intended for beginners who are interested in pursuing a career in security, penetration testing, and reverse engineering.

The course is instructed by Philip Polstra, an expert in the field, and covers topics such as reversing compiled Windows applications using fuzzing, stack overflows, and heap overflows. Additionally, the course also teaches how to reverse compiled OS X, Linux, and Android applications. The course content also includes how to find other vulnerabilities, such as website and database vulnerabilities, simple exploits, web exploitation, and ARM exploitation.

The course is divided into 12 sections, including Getting Started, Reversing Compiled Windows Applications, Reversing Compiled OS X Applications, Reversing Compiled Linux Applications, Reversing Android Applications, Finding Other Vulnerabilities, Simple Exploits, Exploit Payloads, Making Exploits Harder To Detect, Web Exploitation, ARM Exploitation, and Future Directions. The course is designed to provide students with working files, allowing them to follow along with the instructor throughout the lessons.

Upon completion of the course, students will be fully capable of identifying vulnerabilities and developing exploits to target them. The course is an excellent resource for individuals who want to gain a comprehensive understanding of reverse engineering and exploit development for software security.

9. Expert Malware Analysis and Reverse Engineering by Abhinav singh (Udemy)

The Expert Malware Analysis and Reverse Engineering Course, taught by Abhinav Singh, is a beginner to expert series that covers the fundamental concepts of malware analysis and reverse engineering. This course is designed to help information security professionals understand the complicated steps of static and dynamic malware analysis. Upon completion, students will be equipped with the necessary skills to conduct malware incident response investigations and analyze advanced persistent threats.

The course offers over 4 hours of content that focuses on the key skills required for effective analysis of web threats. Additionally, the course is fully interactive and community-driven. Students will learn about static and dynamic malware analysis and its various steps, file format analysis of standard formats like PDF, Flash, Word, Excel, etc., and the cyber kill chain and how it applies to malware attack life cycle.

Students will also gain a deep understanding of relevant tools that can help in uncovering complex malware traits, the basics of Reverse Engineering, and how it can be used to analyze advanced malware behavior. The course also covers incidence response and report generation skills for information security professionals.

The course is broken down into four sections: Course Introduction & Overview of Cyber Kill chain, Getting started with analyzing malicious Files, Network-Based Analysis, and Forensics, and Portable Executable File Analysis & Reverse Engineering. Students can post their queries and doubts in the course, and the instructor will be available to help them in their learning curve.

10. Reverse Engineering with Radare 2 by Geri Revay (Udemy)

The “Reverse Engineering with Radare 2” course, taught by Geri Revay, introduces the Radare 2 reverse engineering framework, a free and open-source alternative to IDA Pro, which can be challenging to use. The course focuses on getting students comfortable with Radare 2’s syntax, configuration, and navigation through binary files. Additionally, the course covers information gathering, cross-referencing, runtime debugging, and binary patching. The course is not focused on assembly, and though it covers some techniques, it does not aim to teach everything.

The course is primarily hands-on, with exercises that students are encouraged to complete themselves. The practical nature of the instruction is emphasized, as the majority of the learning experience comes through doing the exercises rather than watching the videos. The course is divided into three sections: preparation, reversing with Radare2, and what is next. Upon completion, students will be able to use Radare 2 for binary analysis.