What are guided competitions?
In addition to regular competitions, FifthDomain also allows for guided competitions on the platform, which combine hands-on CTF challenges with solution walkthrough materials, allowing participants to learn cyber skills in a practical manner.
How do I know if my competition is guided?
The organiser of your competition will let you know if your competition is guided or not. The style of each competition will vary depending on its organisers. However, generally, the purpose of guided competitions is to facilitate an event where participants can learn in a hands-on way, whereas non-guided competitions are more competitive in nature.
How do I participate in a guided competition?
TFirst, click the competition link or paste it in your preferred web browser. Once the page loads, you will be taken to the FifthDomain platform Log In page. Enter the email address [1] and password [2] for your current account. Once you have done so, click Login [3].
Once you have logged into your account, you will be directed straight to the competition overview page, where you will be able to view the Competition Overview [1], containing competition rules, support access details, and tips and tricks. Once you are ready to enter the competition (if it is available for entry), click Enter Competition [2].
If you wish to create a new participant account, or you do not have an account yet, please read the next section of this user guide.
When you have entered the competition, you will be able to see a list of all challenges that are part of the competition in the Challenges table.
Click on one of the challenge rows[1] to expand it as a drawer [2] on the side of the screen. Expanding a challenge allows you to see all key information and materials required to successfully solve it. Guided competition challenges will have a 'View Solution Walkthrough' button [3].
Clicking this button will open up a modal with walkthrough materials which will show you the steps you need to take to solve the challenge. Walkthrough materials will usually consist of written text [1] and a video [2].
After you have finished watching/reading the walkthrough materials, follow the steps taken in the walkthrough materials to solve the challenge yourself. Solutions to challenges will be in 'Flag' format. This means that answers will follow a structure similar to 'FLAG{text}'. To submit a solution to the challenge, type your answer in the Submit Flag box in the challenge drawer.
Upon submitting a flag, you will receive a notification which will tell you whether you got the answer right or not. If you didn't get the right answer, you can submit a flag again. You can attempt challenges as many times as you like, until the correct answer is submitted. When you submit a correct flag, your competition performance details will update accordingly, and the challenge will no longer be attemptable.
Note: Guided competitions may also contain challenges which are unguided. Challenges which do not contain guide materials will simply not have a 'View Solution Walkthrough' button when you view them.