CYBERPLUNDER - OVA Setup
Welcome to CYBERPLUNDER! This is a brand new hacking platform so we'd love your support. There may a few glitches as we fine tune things, please let us know if you experience any at info@cyberplunder.com. We offer some lessons and the plunder for the month completely free. Then we have crewmate options to access more! You will earn a 1.5x bonus if you're the 1st to plunder, 1.3x if you're 2nd, and 1.1x if you're the 3rd. Stay tuned as we may offer prizes for the pirates with the most gold...

The Learn section provides topic-style lessons with detailed information required to attempt challenges. Some challenges here are really easy to set up, especially web challenges. Challenge files will always be in the first lesson and used in the rest of the lessons.

The Hack section is the area for competitive style hacking, with beginner to advanced machines to test yourself on. We will only make realistic challenges that would appear in industry (no puzzle style challenges).

Prerequisite Files

Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable
Some VMs (especially Windows-based) require the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable runtime to function properly.
Download the latest supported VC++ Redistributables
  • Download and install the version matching your OS's architecture (most modern systems use x64).
  • Double-click the downloaded file and follow the prompts to install.
  • Restart your computer after installation.
Restart your computer after installation, otherwise the VirtualBox installation may fail.

VirtualBox

  1. Search for "virtualbox" in your browser and click the first link (virtualbox.org), or visit virtualbox.org directly.
  2. Click on Download, then select the right download for your operating system:
    • Windows: Click "Windows hosts" to download the .exe file.
    • macOS: Click "OS X hosts" to download the .dmg file.
    • Linux: Select your distribution or use the generic Linux download.
  3. Go through the default installation steps:
    • Windows: Run the .exe file and accept the default options. Approve any Windows driver warnings.
    • macOS: Open the .dmg, double-click VirtualBox.pkg, and follow the prompts.
    • Install any dependencies required during the installation process.
    4. Restart your computer after installation, otherwise you may encounter errors when setting up the challenges.

    Challenge Setup

    1. Navigate to the Learn or Hack section on CYBERPLUNDER and select the challenge you want to attempt.
      • Learn Section: Detailed lessons with challenges at the bottom. Challenge files are always in the first lesson.
      • Hack Section: Direct competitive hacking challenges.
    2. Download the challenge .ova file from the selected challenge page.
    3. Import the challenge into VirtualBox:
      • After download completes, the file should automatically import to VirtualBox when opened.
      • If it doesn't auto-import, go to File > Import Appliance and select the .ova file.
      • Click Finish to complete the import process.
    4. Start the challenge VM by selecting it and clicking Start.
    5. E.g. For Web App Challenges:
      • Copy the IP address listed in the challenge description.
      • Paste it into your browser address bar to access the web challenge.
      • No additional attacker box setup is required for web challenges.
    6. Attacking box VM: If you would like a seperate attacking box VM (such as kali) to use instead of your host system, follow the instructions below.
    All VMs must be on the same Host-Only network for connectivity!

    Attacker Box Setup

    1. You have two options for your attacking machine:
      • Option 1 (Use Your Host System): Hack directly from your computer. Your listener IP address will be 192.168.56.1 (the default VirtualBox Host-Only Adapter IP).
      • Option 2 (Recommended - Kali Linux VM): Set up a dedicated Kali Linux virtual machine for attacking. Continue with the steps below.
    2. To set up Kali Linux VM:
      • Search for "get kali" and go to the official Kali website, or visit Kali VMs
      • Click on the Virtual Machine section and select the VirtualBox download.
      • Ensure you have 7zip installed to extract the downloaded file.
    3. Import the Kali VM:
      • After extracting, go to the folder and double-click the .ova file (blue file icon).
      • It should automatically import to VirtualBox.
    4. Configure networking for the Kali VM:
      • Right-click the Kali VM and select Settings.
      • Ensure you are in Expert Mode and go to the Network tab.
      • Adapter 1: Leave as NAT (for internet access)
      • Adapter 2: Enable it and set it to Host-Only Adapter (to communicate with challenge boxes)
    5. Start the Kali VM and log in:
      • Default Kali credentials: kali:kali
      • Open a terminal and type ip a
      • Note the IP address of the second adapter (usually eth1) - this is your attacking IP for challenges.
    Try not to run multiple challenge VMs at the same time to avoid resource exhaustion or IP conflicts. Delete previous challenges to save resources.

    CLAIMING YOUR PLUNDER

    After successfully hacking into a challenge VM, the treasure will always be stored in a specific location depending on the operating system:

    • Windows Challenges: The treasure file is located on the Administrator user's desktop: C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\treasure.txt or C:\Users\Bob\Desktop\treasure.txt
    • Linux Challenges: The treasure file is located in the root directory: /root/treasure.txt
    Commands to read treasure file:
    Linux: cat /root/treasure.txt
    Windows: type C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\treasure.txt

    Copy the entire contents of the MD5 hash from treasure.txt and paste it into the challenge window on CYBERPLUNDER to claim your plunder!

    The treasure is always in MD5 format, e.g: 76af9ffd4b15dcdcf342dff4398cba4a
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