Practice Images
This draft is ready for review. If you're the author, click below to notify a reviewer. A reviewer will check it for structure, sourcing, and accuracy. You may continue editing while you wait.Request reviewApprove draftReject draft
Author(s): (add name)
Last Updated: 9-18-2026
Practice images are virtual machines (and Cisco Packet Tracer activity files) that someone has built to look like a neglected, vulnerable system. You harden them the way you would a real one: find the problems, fix them and answer the forensic questions, ideally under a time limit. They are the best way to get hands-on practice for competitions such as CyberPatriot without touching a system you care about.
The list
The community's list of practice images for Windows, Linux and Cisco Packet Tracer, with difficulty, ratings, creators and download links, is kept in a shared spreadsheet:
Before you download
- Use a virtual machine and take a snapshot first. Some images deliberately contain malware-like programs, backdoors and unwanted software. Never run one on your everyday computer, and keep its network set to NAT or host-only.
- WikiCyber does not host, review or guarantee these files. They sit on third-party sites (mostly Google Drive) and links break or move. An image may also be broken or out of date.
- Any logins or extraction passwords in the spreadsheet are for the practice images only. Never reuse them anywhere real.
- Large and multi-part downloads are normal. Use 7-Zip to extract them, and read the README inside each image before you start.
- Try before you peek. Where a walkthrough or answer key exists, you learn far more if you work until you are truly out of ideas first.
- Cisco Packet Tracer activity files (
.pka) need Cisco Packet Tracer, which Cisco offers through its Networking Academy. - This list is unofficial and is not affiliated with CyberPatriot, the Air & Space Forces Association, Cisco or Microsoft. Each image belongs to its creator.