Hack the Box Meetup Vancouver, WA

How to get started with the Hack the Box Vancouver, WA Meetup group.

Meetings

We meet online in our Discord server the second Saturday of every month at 12pm Pacific time.

Getting Started

1. Join our meetup group and attend our next event: https://www.meetup.com/hack-the-box-meetup-vancouver-wa/
2. Join Hack the Box, if you haven't already: https://app.hackthebox.com/invite
3. Get your computer prepped (see below).

This is a great overview of how to begin your ethical hacking journey: https://www.hackthebox.com/blog/learn-to-hack-beginners-bible

Getting Your Computer Prepped

Though there are many ways to get your computer set up, we recommend using virtualization software, downloading a pre-built Kali Linux virtual machine and using that to connect to Hack the Box.

Download and Install Virtualization Software

1. Download VMware Workstation Player: https://www.vmware.com/products/workstation-player/workstation-player-evaluation.html
2. Once downloaded, right-click the file and click Run as Administrator
3. Follow the on-screen instructions
4. Restart your computer

Download Pre-built Virtual Machine (VM)

1. Download Kali Linux VM from: https://www.kali.org/get-kali/#kali-virtual-machines
2. Click on the VMware option
3. Once downloaded, unzip the file (download 7zip to unzip the file: https://www.7-zip.org/download.html)
4. Open VMware Workstation Player
5. Click Open a Virtual Machine
6. Navigate to the unzipped folder from above and select the file ending in .vmx
7. Make any needed changes to the assigned resources
8. Click the play button to start the VM
9. Default username/password: kali/kali

Source: https://www.kali.org/docs/virtualization/import-premade-vmware/

Connecting to Hack the Box

From within your Kali Linux VM:

1. Log in to your Hack the Box account: https://app.hackthebox.com/
2. Click CONNECT TO HTB
3. Click Machines
4. Click OpenVPN
5. In VPN ACCESS, choose a the region you're in, or the closest region available
6. In VPN SERVERS, choose the server with the lowest latency (number on the right)
7. Click DOWNLOAD VPN
8. Open a terminal in Kali and run (replacing username with your username): sudo openvpn ~/Download/lab_username.ovpn

Source: https://help.hackthebox.com/en/articles/5185687-introduction-to-lab-access

Troubleshooting

Sometimes things go sideways.

VPN

If you're not able to connect establish a VPN connection to Hack the Box:

1. Verify you're running the openvpn command with root privileges
2. Try changing the VPN server you're connecting to and then re-download the VPN connection pack

Machines

If the box you're working on isn't responding or working quite right:

1. Reset the box

Other

If the issue you're experiencing isn't listed above, check this page for the issue: https://help.hackthebox.com/en/articles/5185536-connection-troubleshooting