SANS 504 Laptop build

TechGromit

Does anyone know if the laptop build for SANS 504 build is the same as the build for Sans 401? I have an updated Windows 7 laptop with VMPlayer Version 6 and Linux Kali with lots of tools loaded on it. Would this be sufficient for class or does the SANS 504 course provide a build with additional utilities?

Thanks.

cyberguypr

Other than a Windows OS and VMware Workstation/Player, the course is self-sustained and no additional tools are required. They will provide VMs with the tools needed. HAving said that, if you have can use whatever additional tools you feel comfortable with.

adrenaline19

You should be paying attention to your RAM and CPU more than your OS. Don't show up with less than 8gb of Ram or a horrible AMD chip that's older than your kids.

TechGromit

This is what i got.

josh.armentrout1

looks legit.

BillHoo

cyberguyp is correct. All you need is min. Win 7 and VMPlayer.

I had no problem with 2 Ghz system, Windows 7, 4GB RAM and 240 GB HD. Aside from VMware, most of what you will be doing is opening up shells in windows and Linux root to type in commands and run a few simple scripts. Brute force hacking demo is limited to a 6 character password for proof of concept - you won't be hacking an NSA encrypted hash!

Make sure you have anti-virus turned off. I had my IT dept. build me a system with NO anitvirus on it.

You will not need a DVD either. they give you the courseware on a 32 GB USB 3.0 stick that takes 20 minutes to copy to your HD. The courseware takes up about 16 GB, of which at least 12 - 14 GB is the Linux iso configured to the course network. If all you have is USB 2.0, expect it to take 48 minutes to download.

Then you open VMware and they have a Fedora Linux iso configured to course specs.

I know the laptop specs on the website implied that you can use your own version of Linux -- DON'T

Everything you need is configured in their Linux iso.

Also, the courseware has some kind of .NET installer and a third party .PDF reader bundled in there. I would install the latest .NET BEFORE going to class as it is fast paced and you'll waste time trying to configure those things.

I had a brand new Win 7 build that did not have .NET or any Adobe reader. I would recommend getting those installed before the class.

Also, I found the hard way. With the new Win7 install, deactivate your Windows updater. Or at least do a couple downloads and reboots of system updates BEFORE you go to class.

It took me two hours to boot up in the morning as freaking Windows locked my out while it was doing it's system update and configuration. Luckily, I got to class early. but it wasted time I could have been doing other things.

Oh! also make sure you have both an ethernet card AND a wireless card. I work in an environment where we rip out the wireless cards. So there was one day I was a bit dead in the water until I bought a cheap $8 USB wifi adapter at MicroCenter. I tried an old Hawking 54G adapter from my junk bin, but it was too outdated to use on Win7 or Linux.

TechGromit

BillHoo wrote: »

cyberguyp is correct. All you need is min. Win 7 and VMPlayer.

I have a HP Probook 640 G1, 2.5 Ghz, I think 8 GB is standard, USB 3.0. The last SANS course I took they asked you to have VMware and Kali Linux installed, before you came to class. Just wanted to know if I could just utilize the same build, but it looks like they provide you with a new Linux VM build to run off of.

Don't remind me about the updates, I had the laptop all ready to go for SANS 401 and decided to take windows updates the night before class in the hotel. The computer blue screened after taking Windows updates. There I was 4 hour drive from home and no Windows 7 re-install disk. Fortunately, I also had my work laptop with me and I was able to google my way out of it by reverting my updates. The funny thing is I just updated the same laptop last week and it took all the updates without any issues. But I'll bring an install CD with me just in case this time. I have anti-virus installed, but I can complete control over it, to disable it as i please.

I'll take a look at the .Net version, thanks.

clintonia

TechGromit wrote: »

I have a HP Probook 640 G1, 2.5 Ghz, I think 8 MB is standard, USB 3.0.

We're in 2016 buddy

lol jk

TechGromit

clintonia wrote: »

We're in 2016 buddy

Thanks for pointing that out.

abelamorales

I have a Surface with an atom processor and only 4 GB of RAM. ZERO issues - my instructor was impressed.

TechGromit

abelamorales wrote: »

I have a Surface with an atom processor and only 4 GB of RAM. ZERO issues - my instructor was impressed.

While what I had was fine for the labs, it was no where good enough for the challenge. One of the teammates VM kept crashing, so he was useless, I ended up had to run two sessions of "John the Cracker" program, which pretty much killed my computer, it was slow trying to do anything else. In the end we only obtained three flags, having more memory certainly would have helped. I had my work laptop with me as well to connect to the internet, but I realized too late that the USB policy restrictions prevented me for easily moving files from it to the lab computer.

abelamorales

TechGromit wrote: »

While what I had was fine for the labs, it was no where good enough for the challenge. One of the teammates VM kept crashing, so he was useless, I ended up had to run two sessions of "John the Cracker" program, which pretty much killed my computer, it was slow trying to do anything else. In the end we only obtained three flags, having more memory certainly would have helped. I had my work laptop with me as well to connect to the internet, but I realized too late that the USB policy restrictions prevented me for easily moving files from it to the lab computer.

I hear you - we were able to tie the team that got 1st place because we raised our hands to get his attention and they physically pulled the instructor. I'm not too worried about the challenge coin, it was nice completing the exercise and validating our skill set.