Basic 15 - Spoiler free Walkthrough
Basic 15 - Spoiler free Walkthrough
rolling | 11119 Reads | Basic 15 http://www.hellboundhackers.org/challenges/basic15/index.php
Mission Clue: For this mission you will need to find a secret file using a common technique to find hidden directories.
Alright, as the clue says, "use a common technique to find hidden directories." Well, first off: what is a hidden directory?
Scroll on over to Wikipedia and you'll find out a hidden directory is a hidden file (a directory folder) which is not shown to a user by default." Simple enough - now, suppose we visit a website you've "made" that has a working login system. I think it's safe to assume that the majority of the people who login there would like to keep their credentials (username and password) safe from everyone else. So, you decide to store all the usernames and passwords in a directory on your website called "/log&pas/". Now, you don't want everyone knowing that directory is there so you have to make it hidden from the public. BUT, not only do you have to make it hidden from the public, you have to make it hidden from search engines and other tools the public can use to find your website and/or pages on your website.
Lets head on over to Google and see what they have to say when we search for "block a search engine." Oh boy, a plethora of links that we need popped up on how to block a search engine (aka as a spider). Well, I clicked the first link and gathered from it that there's a certain file that is the standard for robot exclusion (basically a file that solely is made for telling a search engine "the directories in this file are NOT to be shown).
So, now that we know what this file is called, why don't we try seeing if basic 15 contains this file by adding it to the end of the URL. If all has gone well, the file should load the contents of which directories are not to be shown to the public.* Why don't we try going to the directorie(s) that we're not suppose to see and find out what's in them. Oh look at that…
Access Granted: Hope this article helped you
*If locating to the file didn't work, here are some tips to make sure you are doing it correctly. -The file is supposed to seem plural. Don't try to fix it by taking off that last letter. -Remember, in the URL bar we're going from one directory into another, so we don't need any other junk in the URL bar besides the basic directories -If you haven't got it by now, keep trying.
korg 16 years ago
No spoilers you just about defined the directory and gave the answer. Noone should need an article for this challenge I would hope.
rolling 16 years ago
The point of this article is to explain how to professionally think it through. Hence… Walk through. There is no answer given IMO, just hints to it :) Try writing an article sometime… you'll understand why i wrote it the way i did.
rolling 16 years ago
Seriously… Idk why people enjoy flaming someone who is explaining something. I should just delete this article if all people are going to do is complain. This is to explain to someone who is foreign to it and doesn't understand what it is. Some times you beat a challenge but you just don't know how it works, this article answers that.
rolling 16 years ago
http://www.hellboundhackers.org/search.php
No articles come close to describing this either so i don't know what you meant moshbat
korg 16 years ago
None of these go into specific detail, Challenge tut's should give just enough to push in the right direction not start defining the challenge. " I clicked the first link and gathered from it that there's a certain file that is the standard for robot exclusion "
rolling 16 years ago
Does this help you understand it or does it just tell you how to do it. Flame me if you wish but I just wanted people to understand instead of asking around for the answers.
@Korg again, I've seen Ops give away huge clues like "maybe HAVING the clue is the answer" Pretty sure "" I clicked the first link and gathered from it that there's a certain file that is the standard for robot exclusion" Isn't going to help someone that doesn't know what it is. Half your posts are flames anyways so why do i bother
rolling 16 years ago
Does this help you understand it or does it just tell you how to do it. Flame me if you wish but I just wanted people to understand instead of asking around for the answers.
@Korg again, I've seen Ops give away huge clues like "maybe HAVING the clue is the answer" Pretty sure "" I clicked the first link and gathered from it that there's a certain file that is the standard for robot exclusion" Isn't going to help someone that doesn't know what it is. Half your posts are flames anyways so why do i bother
ghost 15 years ago
that challenge is sorta a newbie test too, no true need for a walkthrough. ill rate good for the effort… i guess.
vaughn83 12 years ago
Well I have read this article and I still haven't managed to work out the answer yet so it wasn't really a spoiler for me more of a push in the right direction, going to do some more research in a bit and hopefully crack this one pretty soon
DonMilano 12 years ago
nice one, almost a spoiler :D but very good didn't need it though, just looking in