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Dictionary attack: a programming exercise Mystery Cache

Hidden : 10/2/2024
Difficulty:
4 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:


This puzzle cache requires programming to solve. Your goal is to derive 15 digits and then assemble them in order to get the final coordinates. To make things a little more interesting, the digits are broken down into three groups of five. Each group uses a different way to map (one or more) words to a target digit. The first step for solving each group is the same--find the English word whose prefix of the SHA-256 hash matches the hex characters shown below. See the title for a hint on how to do this.

For group 1, each of the five target digits is represented by a single word.

836ff184
d1fedacd
fa51fd49
b1d6b91b
2efa64f9

For group 2, each target digit is represented by a set of words. You will need to use an external resource to map each set of words to a digit.

19e2dac3
cf0622ef 176473d7
9f925cdc 7c2c4df7 3fc4ccfe
9d6f965a f5af9d72
a746222f cdb2e0d0

Group 3 is similar to group 2, but will require a more specific resource.

663ea1bf 98c73bd7 b9776d7d 8954b4ce 28391d3b dc4d895c
59067da1 a18b869b 28391d3b 2f05d4b6 e13fb53a
fd8ed7f1 7cec37b0
b9776d7d 8326e09c 4d8aaa64
f78b1bbd 10c22bcf 93384247

For your log, I encourage you to include the programming language you used to solve this puzzle, and whether you used the hint.

If you are stuck at any point, I am happy to give hints--just send me a message.

Congrats to LydiaSimmons for the FTS (from 2500 miles away!) and thanman2 for the FTF.

You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.
 

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Gur cebtenz hfrq gb trarengr gur chmmyr vf ba TvgUho. Sbe tebhc 2 rfcrpvnyyl, hfr Jvxvcrqvn, abg Tbbtyr.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)