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After just visiting DEFCON and watching all the teams partake in CTF, this is what I want to learn. This is computing.



As a regular CTF competitor for over 4 years now, I cannot emphasize the value in simply playing CTFs if you really want to learn this stuff. So many people seem to think there's a secret manual laying around that teaches you all that is involved in going from a compiled binary to a shell. The referenced book should be used as a resource for when you come across a new topic and need some help. If you want to get started here are some useful links.

http://smashthestack.org/

https://ctftime.org/

http://overthewire.org/wargames/

http://repo.shell-storm.org/CTF/

https://github.com/ctfs/write-ups


Sorry for the n00bish question, but I've never done any reversing. What does CTF stand for?


It stands for Capture The Flag, in these exercises it usually means completing a series of reverse engineering scenarios exploiting vulnerabilities in a simulated environment or possibly obtaining and holding root access to a host while others continue to search for and attack the host. The CTFTime FAQ has more information: https://ctftime.org/ctf-wtf/


"Capture The Flag", typically the challenges will have a "flag" hidden somewhere that you have to locate.


Gotcha; that is what came to mind from playing FPS games, but figured it was probably something different in this context.

Thanks.


Thanks I have only ever done some of the OTW challanges but now I can try more :)


Or is it more relevant to say "this is HOW I want to learn"? I'd contend that one of the best ways for a person to learn about technology / engineering /computing / ... is to open things up and see how they work.

It's an especially good way for teenagers to learn, before they get bogged down in the exam regime of the later years of high school, as they have insatiable curiosity and a seemingly infinite amount of time. In the hands of a curious teenager, a smart phone and an open-ended mandate to break it, could be a pocket sized, multi-year course in nearly every aspect of electronics and programming.




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