WSO CCC OTD 2021-01-26 - SOLVED
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Solved! Please find my answer (and the solution) hidden in my profile. Or just take my word for it and declare me the winner. :-D
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What's the answer ?
"I didn't mention the bats - he'd see them soon enough" - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
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I did go to the site and pasted the code into the left pane - what do you have to do to assemble it ? Edit I see it now I was thinking so deep I thought it was a status message :-D
"I didn't mention the bats - he'd see them soon enough" - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
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(11) Our instinct assembles command SOLUTION: Our instinct assembles = (anagram indicator) command = definition instruction
Stage 1:
There are secrets being stored within the user profile. Something inside the profile is much more than meets the eye. The GIF file representing the avatar is hiding multiple steganographic clues. You should begin by downloading the GIF file and renaming it with a ZIP extension. Instruction can be found inside./*
Stage 2:
The zip file contains some gibberish 32 bit instructions in a file named instructions.asm. To continue the quest for finding the puzzle we should assemble the instructions using your favorite assembler. Or you can use an online assembler. I have tested this one: https://disasm.pro/
*/
dec edi
jne 0x75
and BYTE PTR [ecx+0x6e],ch
jae 0x7c
imul ebp,DWORD PTR [esi+0x63],0x73612074
jae 0x76
ins DWORD PTR es:[edi],dx
bound ebp,QWORD PTR [ebp+eiz*2+0x73]
and BYTE PTR [ebx+0x6f],ah
ins DWORD PTR es:[edi],dx
ins DWORD PTR es:[edi],dx
popa
outs dx,BYTE PTR ds:[esi]
fs# Stage 3:
The x86 instructions are obviously meaningless. The hard coded offsets and duplicate instructions
give it away. Using an assembler you will find that it compiles down to the following machine code:
4F
75 72
20 69 6E
73 74
69 6E 63 74 20 61 73
73 65
6D
62 6C 65 73
20 63 6F
6D
6D
61
6E
64Let me say that this is a regular cryptic crossword puzzle. The only difference is that we will start early and begin the solving process with the puzzle hidden. This will give individuals with unique skills a chance to find and solve the puzzle first. Once every hour I will return to the site and reveal the next stage. Eventually the plain text puzzle will be completely visible to everyone. You can wait until the plain text puzzle is revealed or attempt to solve early. The choice is yours.
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Converted to ASCII Our instinct assembles command Instruction - which I dismissed as the filename contained it V good clue though
"I didn't mention the bats - he'd see them soon enough" - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
pkfox wrote:
Instruction - which I dismissed as the filename contained it
I find it amusing that several members have implied that this clue took alot of work and effort. I spent less than 60 seconds constructing it. :laugh: The amalgamation of GIF and ZIP was done simply by using: copy /B pic.gif+instruction.zip newpic.gif Best Wishes, -David Delaune
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pkfox wrote:
Instruction - which I dismissed as the filename contained it
I find it amusing that several members have implied that this clue took alot of work and effort. I spent less than 60 seconds constructing it. :laugh: The amalgamation of GIF and ZIP was done simply by using: copy /B pic.gif+instruction.zip newpic.gif Best Wishes, -David Delaune
Randor wrote:
several members have implied that this clue took alot of work and effort.
Only because we had no idea what we were supposed to do. And when the unzipping did not work, and we could not assemble the code, well ... However, I applaud your creativity.
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pkfox wrote:
Instruction - which I dismissed as the filename contained it
I find it amusing that several members have implied that this clue took alot of work and effort. I spent less than 60 seconds constructing it. :laugh: The amalgamation of GIF and ZIP was done simply by using: copy /B pic.gif+instruction.zip newpic.gif Best Wishes, -David Delaune
I have to say David my immediate thought was instruction but when I found the instructions.asm file I dismissed it - I'm glad you don't compile entire crosswords ( or do you ? {{{shudder}}} )
"I didn't mention the bats - he'd see them soon enough" - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
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Have you solved it ?
"I didn't mention the bats - he'd see them soon enough" - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
I believe I did... Now seeing the solution - I did!
"The only place where Success comes before Work is in the dictionary." Vidal Sassoon, 1928 - 2012
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Randor wrote:
several members have implied that this clue took alot of work and effort.
Only because we had no idea what we were supposed to do. And when the unzipping did not work, and we could not assemble the code, well ... However, I applaud your creativity.
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I have to say David my immediate thought was instruction but when I found the instructions.asm file I dismissed it - I'm glad you don't compile entire crosswords ( or do you ? {{{shudder}}} )
"I didn't mention the bats - he'd see them soon enough" - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
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Everyday is groundhog day here on codeproject. It doesn't hurt to have something new every once in a while. I've got some other ideas for the CCC... maybe some math equations and maybe something spatially encoded into music notation.
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He plays in a higher "Knowledge League" than many CP Users.
M.D.V. ;) If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about? Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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pkfox wrote:
Instruction - which I dismissed as the filename contained it
I find it amusing that several members have implied that this clue took alot of work and effort. I spent less than 60 seconds constructing it. :laugh: The amalgamation of GIF and ZIP was done simply by using: copy /B pic.gif+instruction.zip newpic.gif Best Wishes, -David Delaune
I could not participate but I enjoyed the read - nice clue, well done !
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He plays in a higher "Knowledge League" than many CP Users.
M.D.V. ;) If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about? Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
Or his is better than the one we smoke. :-D
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You guys have too much time on your hands (but I like the idea !) :-D
Randor wrote:
multiple steganographic clues
@Corinna-John, Corinna, where are you when we need you ?
This looks like another weird game... well, maybe tomorrow, if my boss bores me with too few work... :cool:
This statement is false.
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Or his is better than the one we smoke. :-D
That could be too :-\ :-\
M.D.V. ;) If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about? Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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This looks like another weird game... well, maybe tomorrow, if my boss bores me with too few work... :cool:
This statement is false.
Still hanging around here sometimes ? And still steganographicking ? :laugh:
