I have been learning with HTB for a few months, spending a bit of time here and there and I strive to pwn any machine.
I have done the tutorials but it seems the level between the guided tutorial and even a very easy machine is huge. Each time I have to look for some tips and I feel like it’s totally different from any other machine, this makes it hard to apply learnt skills …
Do you have some advice/general tips to progress to a point where I can pwn an easy machine all by myself?
Of course I could spend 20 hours and maybe find a solution, but I guess it should not be necessary for this level of difficulty.
I was in the same spot. What worked for me was to go through writeups on retired boxes and look for patterns in how things were approached. It’s time consuming, yes, but it worked for me. Also check out Ippsec on YouTube, he does very indepth guides on retired boxes and almost always explains his reasoning.
I am in the same boat is you friend. I went from very easy to easy and thought to myself. “WOW, what a jump in complexity”. I have opted to just keep moving forward. I may not be able to own any of these machines (even the easy ones) without help, but to learn we must do. Even with each machine I am unable to own without help, I still learn something new. Hopefully at the end of the day, month, year, etc, we will have acquired enough knowledge and foundation, the understanding and tactics used will become easier. Keep up the great work. You started and you are asking questions. Thats a great first step.