What is Guided Mode
Enabling Guided Mode on Dedicated Lab Machines within the Enterprise Platform offers a more structured approach to practicing, allowing users to receive step-by-step hints directing them towards achieving user and root flags. This feature includes a series of questions that must be answered in a linear fashion, providing clear direction and checkpoints along the way.
By utilizing Guided Mode, users can complete their practice more efficiently, gaining a better sense of their progress and the intended goal for each Lab. Additionally, admins can facilitate a smoother practicing process and encourage increased investment in the Enterprise Platform by streamlining progress and Machine exploitation.
How it works
Guided Mode is available for Machines in the form of questions, answers, and hints.
It is an additional option for some of the Machines. Hack The Box will gradually extend support for Guided Mode to more Machines, with the focus being on Easy, Exclusive, and weekly Machines added to the platform.
Admins can identify and add Machines through the Dedicated Lab Manage interface by checking for Machines with the Guided Mode icon, as shown below.
And can be identified by toggling 'Show Machines with Guided mode' in the filter setting:
The Guided Mode will be an extra option for the administrator/moderator on the Dedicated Labs settings page. The admin/moderator will have the option to toggle Guided mode through the Settings page under Hints and Walkthroughs:
Now members who have access to a Dedicated Lab with Guided Mode enabled, playing the Machines will be similar to the current process. However, upon visiting the Machine page, they will be presented with a list of questions that must be answered in order to progress. This is the main difference from the standard process.
Machines supporting the guided mode will have the 'Supports Guided Mode' Icon highlighted ( As Secret and Trick in the image below ) :
Depending on the Machine:
Questions can be linear, where upcoming questions are not displayed to hide any hints for the existing question.
Questions can contain a hint that the member can click to display some text about the solution.
User and Root flags are part of the question flow to move forward. Some Machines might have questions following a user flag (the 1st flag members can submit) and even questions following the root flag (Root flag signifies Machine completion)
Members progressing through the questions will see their progress on a progress bar at the top of the Machine page, as well as in the Dedicated Labs Activity tab on the right side of the Lab.
Questions and answers progress will not affect Reporting, which will still count only user and root flags.
For more information on the Enterprise Platform, visit our Enterprise Help Center: