Author: hyd3sec

Hackthebox.eu VIP… Worth it?

Yeah… it kinda is

For those of you who are newer and are using Hackthebox.eu as a learning platform… let me let you in on a little secret… it’s okay to use walkthroughs sometimes. Guess what? You can only get the walkthroughs for hackthebox’s machines for retired machines… which you only have access to on VIP. It’s only 10 Euros a month and you can cancel whenever. That’s less than 2 Starbucks coffees for a ton more value in terms of learning.

Ignore those people who say you should never use a walkthrough because it’s showing that you’re giving up… I’m somewhat new to pentesting and guess what… I am a fast learner and I like to learn things quickly. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll spend (sometimes) hours on a box before I resort to a walkthrough if I need it… but guess what… once I finally resort to it I will NEVER forget what I did wrong or what I missed.

After all… you’re learning to exploit machines… and this stuff isn’t easy… otherwise everyone would be doing it. On here you’ll find some HTB walkthroughs because I think it’s just good for the community for me to share my findings… that’s how we all get better.

User: hyd3

Hey. I go by hyd3. I’m working towards getting into penetration testing and cybersecurity. As I begin my journey in this path, I wanted somewhere to document all my thoughts, insights, learning, and frustrations.

We strive to learn from each other… that’s the name of the game here, isn’t it?

I’ve always had a passion for cybersecurity and actually stumbled upon penetration testing on accident. I was a guest at a local ISSA chapter meeting and before sitting down for the chapter meeting, someone pulled me and a few friends aside to a side conference room. They were a penetration testing company and wanted to bring people in to teach them how to do CTF stuff. I was intrigued.

I decided I was gonna put grad school on hold and get some IT certs, so I got Network+ and Security+… now what? Off a whim, I bought my first book related to pen testing: The Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing by Patrick Engebretson. I was hooked (I’ll review this book in one of my posts). I couldn’t put the book down. I found myself waking up by 4, 3 hours before I needed to be up, and not stopping until midnight or so until I finished the book.

What next? I found @thecybermentor’s youtube channel and was hooked. I started with his 11 episode zero-to-hero penetration testing and continued to find myself sacrificing sleep and free time to quench my thirst to know more.

So here I am, writing a blog. I wanted to share my thoughts with others that are up and coming penetration testers too… because I know I’m not the only one who wonders things like what to focus on to progress and what’s worth it and what isn’t…

6/18/2020 – I guess it’s time for an update. Since December, I’ve also obtained eLearnSecurity’s eJPT, eCPPT, and OSCP. I’m addicted to hackthebox and think I’m finally grasping a strong foundation of the hacker mindset.