Using TryHackMe Cyberrange for CSC Workshops

For cyber security training, it’s beneficial to create accounts on well-known cyberranges that offer both free and paid training:

• TryHackMe
• HackTheBox
• …

For students attending the CSC workshops at cylab, we recommend creating an account on TryHackMe. If you haven’t already, please create a profile at TryHackMe.

Hereafter, thm will be used to refer to TryHackMe, and htb may be used for HackTheBox.

How to Start

On thm, there are many lessons and labs available for free users. You don’t need a paid subscription to fulfill the CSC workshop training requirements!

• When participating in labs on thm, you have two options:

AttackBox

AttackBox is a fully configured online machine in the thm cyberrange used for exercises. While it’s recommended, AttackBox has several disadvantages:

Drawbacks

• Free accounts have limited time, speed, and availability for AttackBox.
• Each session starts with a new machine, so there’s no history of your previous activities.
• You can’t customize your AttackBox over time for efficiency.
• AttackBox is only usable for thm labs.

VPN

Setting up VPN access involves installing OpenVPN on your machine/VM (Windows, Linux, MacOS) and downloading an .ovpn file from thm for configuration.

If you’re reading this post and attending CSC workshops at cylab.be, you should be able to manage this setup.

Based on demand, this post might be updated with detailed setup instructions or link to another post covering this topic.

Advantages

The VPN solution with OpenVPN requires more initial setup but offers several benefits:

• You can use your own kali/parrot VM, WSL, etc., for exercises.

• You can continuously improve your hacking environment based on lab experiences.

• This environment is applicable to other cyberranges, like htb, which uses a similar VPN or attack box approach.

• It’s ideal for participating in CSC challenges.

Conclusion

Prioritize setting up the VPN connection after creating your account.

Even with a paid account, the VPN solution is recommended.

Consider using the AttackBox only in two situations:

• If you’re eager to start training but haven’t set up the VPN yet.

• When using someone else’s hardware and you wish to train without altering their setup.

This blog post is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0