laguage (C++, C, Visual C++) advice sought

Hi! I am wanting to develop my programming skills, and am looking for advice from seasoned programmers. In a nutshell, I would like to start coding my own tools, and would love to start down the right path from the get go.

I work in the security arena, and my tools I would like to develop are ones that you find today (scanners, filters, integrity checkers, etc.). My dilema is I have no idea what language (starting with just 1, then branching out) I should focus on. So far, from my research, I am leaning towards C++ because I understand it's portable to most OSs. However, I am wondering about Visual C++ because much of my work is on NT.

Any advice, personal experiences, pitfalls, plusses, etc. are greatly appreciated, either posted here to e-mail me directly at [email protected]

Also, if you have your recommendations of books, web sites, etc. I would love any of that information as well. I am looking to start learning in the new year, to have some basic tools developed for 2002. I've given myself a year to learn (not sure if that's too much or not enough, realizing of course learning curves, etc.)

sincerely,

[email protected]