Passionate Beginner with some questions

[FormosaTBM]

Hey guys,  
I know there's probably a post like this everyday asking how to become a Virus/Malware, ReverseEngineer Analyst, so if nobody replies I wont be too offended.  
 

I have done some researches on redit, and If anyone have the time to read through this and can help steer me in the right direction or perhaps let me know of something I may have missed while researching, please let me know!  
 

My Background:  
Not really a Programmer, but have learned a ltitle bit of Java back in the days in college.  
Have studied a little bit of Python through the book Automate the Boring Stuff (first half of the book)  
Have attempted to study some C++ a while back, but only gone through a few chapters.  
Overall, I'm not completely new to programming concepts, but at the same time I have never stuck long enough to really learn any language extensively or put them into a lot of practice.  
 

**Q1**. What Programming Language should I focus on? (ASM) Assembly? C? C++? I think one of the books below even teaches by using Python? The most important is probably Assembly right? But when do C or C++ come into play? Which should I start learning now? I actually don't mind learning Assembly as I've always been fascinatinted with it (especially after seeing how people from demoscene use it to create size-restrictive yet mindblowing visuals.) But should I also learn C or C++ too? How should I Prioritize these programming language? Which should be the primary, secondary,etc?  
 

Also, when it comes to these languages, what's the level of expertise that's required? I mean for something so complex and encompassing as C++, people can literally spend a lifetime and still discover new things about it everyday I'm guessing I should have a solid understanding of how programming works, its concepts, understanding memory usage, things such as buffer overflow, etc. Basically have a firm grasp of how programming works?  
 

**Q2**. From googling and searching redit, I've gathered and listed some of the resources people have been recommending. Books, Forums, IRC Chatrooms. Does anyone have any other recommendations by any chance?  
 
Are there any Virus/Malware researchers, groups,twitters, blogs that you follow religiously?  
Are there any Virus/Malware news,  tracking sites taht you check for keeping yourself informed?  

 

**Q3** What tutorials are most recommended on tuts4you for beginners? I've seen Leans Reversing for Newbies being recommended a lot, but is that still the most suitable and up to date tutorial?
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**Books:**  
Practical Malware Analysis  
Malware Analyst's Cookbook

The IDA Pro Book  
The Art of Memory Forensics  
Practical Reverse Engineering  
Reversing: Secrets of Reverse Engineering  
Metasploit  
The Rootkit Arsenal  
Reverse Engineering for Beginners  
 

**Forums:**  
/r/Malware  
/r/ReverseEngineering  
tuts4you  
kernelmode forum  
woodmann forum  
 

some don't seem very active though, and kernelmode's forum allows you to register, but never replies back with the account activation email  
 

**IRC Chat:**  
freenode: ##re, #openrce, #osxre, #radare, #droidsec, #r_netsec  
efnet: #cracking4newbies  
malwaretech: #malwaretech 

Edited May 20, 2017 by FormosaTBM