Community Byte: HackThisSite Walkthrough, Part 8 - Legal Hacker Training

Welcome to the eighth Community Byte for coding in Python and completing the challenges presented to us by HackThisSite. These sessions are created to bring our community together, to learn from each other, and grow together. Everyone is welcome, from novice programmers to aspiring hackers.

HackThisSite is a free, legal, and safe practice ground for aspiring hackers wanting to test their knowledge on something real. We have full permission to exploit their servers, and we even get point rewards for it. 

Python is an easy-to-learn and fun programming language. It was made with readability and simplicity in mind. This keeps things speedy and simple, which helps novice programmers grasp the concepts and ideas pertaining to programming more easily.

This week's mission on HackThisSite will educate even further on server-side includes, which is a dynamic bit of HTML that is executed on the server rather than in the client's browser.

Our Job

Exploit the form on the page provided into showing the contents of the current directory via the previous mission. You will learn a bit of blind directory traversal.

Prerequisites

• An IRC client, like XChat
• An account on HackThisSite
• Will to learn basic Unix commands and directory structure
• Gobby, a collaborative code editor (programmers)
• A friendly disposition toward other coders and community members

How Does This Work?

If you're new to IRC, go here to learn how to set it up and use it. I will walk everyone through the mission and give you all of the resources and hints you need to solve it via chat. If none of our users are able to solve the mission, I will walk you through how to complete it and make sure that you learn why the exploit works.

Sol Gates is in charge of community coding (Mondays and Wednesdays), and I am in charge of HTS missions (Fridays).

When Does It Start?

Programming

Every Monday and Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. PST. If you need to convert the time from your time zone, go to the Time Zone Converter.

HackThisSite Missions

Every Friday at 5:00 p.m. PST. If you need to convert the time from your time zone, go to the Time Zone Converter.

PLEASE, arrive on time. You will be left out if you do not arrive on time.

Project Goals

Here are some of my hopes for the community for this week's project:

• Get more people in IRC
• Get more people to learn PHP and programming
• Inspire people to learn on their own time out of free will

Follow and Chat with Null Byte!

• Twitter
• Google+
• IRC chat

Null Byte is Looking for Forum Moderators!

If you think you have what it takes, by all means, apply to become a moderator! Here's what you need to do:

• Be active in the community.
• Idle in IRC.
• Show me your dedication.

Then, simply ask! Tell me if you are interested and I will keep a close eye on your contributions. Your work will not go unnoticed.