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Start hacking with Vulnhub

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By eMVee 1 min read

Do you want to start hacking, learn and practice your skills for free? You are probably looking for something like Vulnhub. Vulnhub is a platform where vulnerable machines are shared for free. The machines are designed to be hacked and intended for educational purposes.

Vulnhub

Image Vulnhub has been around since 2012 and was founded by g0tmi1k. The purpose of this platform is to provide materials that allows anyone to gain practical ‘hands-on’ experience in digital security, computer software & network administration.

Machines

More than 400 vulnerable machines are available, all varying in difficulty. Some machines are very capture the flag where it is more like searching and solving riddles than it is close to the reality of an enterprise website/server. The machines shared here are installed with a Linux operating system. When using a Windows operating system, you are of course required to have a license. Gaining experience in a Windows environment will not really be possible with these machines, but for Linux you are in the right place.

Conclusions

Although only Linux machines are shared, it is a good start to gain experience in hacking. The machines are often well thought out and teach you a certain vulnerability. In short, this platform is intended for educational purposes and the right place for you if you want to start hacking and learn new stuff.

Update 2023-12-12

Vulnhub was included in the Offensive Security program a while ago. At first I thought that this would make it more professional and more could be expected from it. Out of enthusiasm, I also created a vulnerable machine (Apaches). I also offered this machine, but unfortunately I didn’t hear anything back. An alternative platform is HackMyVM where I now share my vulnerable machines with the community. This platform is active and new vulnerbal machines are added regularly. Although Vulnhub no longer shares new machines, there are plenty of nice machines here that can be hacked. So if you want to start hacking, use both Vulnhub and HackMyVM.

Platform, Vulnhub
Vulnhub
This post is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by the author.