Linux for Hackers // Start with HacktheBox

When it comes to learning ethical hacking, there are several resources available. However, not all of them are created equal — some will offer the bare minimum in terms of their content, while others will leave you drowning in a sea of information. Enter HackTheBox: a platform that offers unique challenges for security enthusiasts to test their skills while receiving feedback from the community. In this article, we’ll give you the lowdown on what HackTheBox is and how you can get started with it today!

here is the link

Linux for Hackers // Start with HacktheBox

1. What is HackTheBox?

HackTheBox is a website that provides a platform for penetration testing challenges. It is used by security enthusiasts, ethical hackers, and professionals to test their skills.

Every month, founders and moderators from the HackTheBox community choose a variety of penetration testing tasks and share them with the community. The challenge gives you an hour to conduct the penetration test, and the results are published alongside the challenge.

The learning area for HackTheBox is its community, and this is where you’ll find people who can answer almost any question you throw at them. And it isn’t just beginners who are accepted — more experienced hackers and pentesters also help out. In addition to learning new and useful hacks and testing techniques, HackTheBox also offers virtual challenges that you can try with no prior knowledge. For example, you might be looking for new techniques for securing services such as games, social media, or email systems.

So whether you’re looking for an ethical hack or want to gain more knowledge on security in general, HackTheBox should be highly recommended.

HackTheBox launched in 2016 and currently has over 900 challenges from a variety of interesting categories. To avoid manual entry and completion, participants are strongly encouraged to join the challenge and provide feedback in the community. There are currently plenty of categories to choose from — you can choose between application, database, network, network and endpoint, local (personal or cloud), password cracking, Application Security, Backdoors, and PHP/MySQL infections.

From what we’ve found, the learning area is a great way to kick off your hackles. As with all platforms allowing you to share your results and ask for help, you’ll find community members willing to walk you through the operation of the application, connect you with more experienced hackers and discuss the most performing techniques.

For those who want to skip the learning aspect, the exercise is straightforward to fulfill.

2. Why should you try HackTheBox?

HackTheBox is a great way to test your skills and challenge yourself to see how you would perform in a real-world situation. The lessons you learn here will apply to other areas of your life and career. Many of the issues you will find on HackTheBox can be found in real-world applications or systems. So, if you’re looking to up your game and explore new opportunities, then HackTheBox is an excellent place to start. It’s a project-based approach designed to give you a challenge that could lead to real-world results later down the road.

The HackTheBox project is focused on problem-solving through challenges. The platform was launched a little over a year ago, but there are already many extensions and themes available that you can use. However, what makes HackTheBox so exciting is that the community is dedicated to providing professional and up-to-date advice to help you on your journey.

One of the first lessons you will need to prepare for is the selected theme or learning objectives. Once you have these in mind, you’ll be able to browse different lessons and submit your entry. The theme you select also determines what type of participant you will be — beginners, intermediate or advanced hackers. Each of these learning objectives covers a broad spectrum of topics, ranging from ethical hacking to SQL injection.

One of the best parts about HackTheBox is that you aren’t required to give any presentation or demo in your entry. This means you can choose your learning objectives based on what you feel like learning. The platform also offers partnerships with Top 500 Companies around the world, which gives you a chance to showcase your cybersecurity skills and showcase your knowledge.

One of the most important figures to focus on is your Vulnerability Score. This is a representation of how well you have prepared to take on an attack. Before submitting your entry, you will be asked to connect your account to an existing account that has already been accepted by the community.

3. How can you get started with the platform?

The first thing you need to do is create an account. Once you’ve done that, Facebook will ask you to fill out personal details, like your hometown, your gender, your relationship status, and your job details. This information will be used to personalize your post on their platform, which is usually how they’ll contact you for content opportunities.

You can’t miss the opportunity to let people know how much you enjoy their hack. If you’re looking for a way to simply share your security findings, then look no further.

Facebook promises that the best way to boost your visibility is to share your findings with the community. You can select whether you’d like to simply share a conclusion or also quantifiable findings. From there, they’ll put together a post that highlights what you found. Many people consider this the gold standard of ethically hacking.

For your account to be ‘active’, Facebook will need to know that you’ve spent time on HackTheBox. You can engage with this by sharing the challenges you’ve completed, sharing the tool that aided you in the process, and even sharing specific tools you find to be useful.

When you complete a challenge, Facebook will ask you to share some sort of feedback. The best type of feedback would normally be screenshots because this gives you a chance to upload that information to track down exactly what went right/wrong.

Some other feedback forms Facebook is known to use include: screenshots of code that worked, videos of how a vulnerability was found, and screenshots of links to further reading. There are also some complex forms that you need to fill out such as revision history.

After sharing your feedback, you’ll be contacted by Facebook via direct message. You can either accept their offer and receive an exclusive ‘thank you’ or decline, or simply tell them to check their privacy policy.