I wanted to wrap up the series a week after publishing A Beginner’s Guide to Capture the Flag Tools, but the universe had other plans, so here it is — the final article, published today, July 15th.

Preparation

No special preparations were made when I started dabbling with CTFs. As mentioned before, the first event focused on Trend Micro and their XDR environment. The skills came from my ability to use Trend Micro in daily operations.

All other CTFs, like FDCA or SANS, were also first-time events. As newcomers, we learn best just by doing it — as that Nike slogan says.

When you open the platform for the first time, you’ll notice patterns — categories for each challenge. I’ve already mentioned some categories in my earlier CTF articles. These categories will serve as anchoring points to test you: how much you know and what’s missing from your skill set.

If you don’t know everything, that’s totally fine. If you work as part of a team, you can assign each member to a specific category. That way, a person who likes cryptology can help by quickly solving those types of challenges, while another team member tackles reverse engineering challenges.

If you don’t have a team and work solo, your best tools are AI and Google search queries. I see nothing wrong with rapidly prototyping solutions. After the CTF ends, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to learn about any concepts you missed.

Practice

If you’re hesitant to dive into the unknown, I have two options for fellow readers. First is to try the TryHackMe platform. They have rooms where you can practice CTFs. For example, a quick Google search reveals a beginner-level CTF titled Simple CTF. You can just open a free TryHackMe account and start practicing.

The second option is to find people who have posted CTF flags and write-ups of how they solved challenges on their GitHub repositories. This gives you a chance to see how other people think — what their thought process is — and you’ll start noticing patterns that will help you in the future.

That’s my take on preparing for CTFs—both solo and in teams. Whether you’re practicing on TryHackMe, studying GitHub write-ups, or jumping straight into competitions, the most important thing is to start. The first event might feel overwhelming, but each one gets easier.

Thanks for reading, and good luck with your CTF journey.