The CMD Conundrum

Overview 
 
 Room URL: https://tryhackme.com/room/adventofcyberpreptrack 
 Difficulty: Easy 
 Category: Prep 
 Date Completed: 12/1/2025 
 Objectives 
 Find the hidden flag file using Windows commands. 
 
 Table of Contents 
 Introduction 
 Walk Through 
 Lessons Learned 
 Resources 
 
 Introduction 
 McSkidy's workstation shows signs of tampering—suspicious files have been moved, logs wiped, and a mysterious folder named mystery_data discovered. Using the Windows Command Prompt, you must investigate the system and uncover hidden evidence that the graphical interface cannot reveal. 
 Useful Commands 
 dir equivalent to the ls command on linux 
 dir /a equivalent to the ls -a command on linux 
 type equivalent to the cat command on linux 
 
 Walk Through 
 
 Click view site to open the emulated windows terminal 
 use dir to view files and directories
 
 dir showed 1 file and 1 directory
 
 readme.txt 
 mystery_data 
 
 This is directory 
 
 
 
 
 type readme.txt 
 
 "System shows signs of tampering. Investigate the mystery_data folder" 
 
 
 cd mystery_data to change directories 
 dir shows `notes.txt
 
 type notes.txt 
 "Some logs were wiped. Hidden artifacts may still remain..." 
 
 
 dir /a to show all files including hidden ones 
 found hidden_flag.txt 
 
 type hidden_flag.txt to reveal contents 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Lessons Learned 
 
 Learned Windows Command Prompt equivalents: dir (list files), dir /a (show hidden files), and type (view file contents) 
 Successfully investigated McSkidy's compromised workstation by navigating directories and uncovering hidden artifacts that revealed tampering evidence 
 
 
 Resources 
 TryHackMe 
 List of Windows Commands