Anyone ever done a Simulcast live training?

Due to schedule conflicts at my job, I'm going to attend a Simulcast live training for SEC504/GCIH.

Has anyone done a Simulcast training? Just curious to hear some people's experiences.

Thanks
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Comments

markulous

I just finished the Simulcast in San Diego a couple weeks ago for the GCIH.

Pros
Can attend at home in your pajamas
Can do all the labs same as anyone else
If you do run into an issue, their chat support is very responsive

Cons
They weren't sending me emails for certain things I needed it for, so I kept having to hunt people down
If you're stuck on something or want to bounce an idea off of someone, it can be pretty challenging

The email thing bugged me and I had a couple of technical issues (internet was out for a day and their Simulcast went out a couple times), but overall I enjoyed it and I'd do it again. The teacher was awesome and the material is great.

fabostrong

markulous wrote: »

I just finished the Simulcast in San Diego a couple weeks ago for the GCIH.

Pros
Can attend at home in your pajamas
Can do all the labs same as anyone else
If you do run into an issue, their chat support is very responsive

Cons
They weren't sending me emails for certain things I needed it for, so I kept having to hunt people down
If you're stuck on something or want to bounce an idea off of someone, it can be pretty challenging

The email thing bugged me and I had a couple of technical issues (internet was out for a day and their Simulcast went out a couple times), but overall I enjoyed it and I'd do it again. The teacher was awesome and the material is great.

Thanks. Did you have access to any of the material after you completed the course, like videos or lectures?

bigdogz

Other Cons:
You cannot attend the other talks before class, during lunch, or evening. This is where you could probably pick up more information and network.
You also don't get the opportunity to attend the NetWars or DIFR where you may also learn something new. They give you snacks, beer, and wine. Note: There are no hard liquor options unless you decide to bring your own. This is due to the nerds getting rowdy when they are drunk!!! Yes, it is funny, but I would imagine that there are some funny situations but some people may have been out of control that forced SANS management make the decisions.

I found this at SANS.org You receive the following:

Six days of interactive daytime sessions
Four months of online access to your course
Archived labs and lectures
All printed books and required materials

markulous

^^
You can attend Netwars.

And to answer OP's question, yes I had access to recordings and videos afterwards.

bigdogz

I think you can only attend Netwars during a conference otherwise you can sign up the Continuous Netwars.

markulous

Simulcast is during a conference. I just attended one and I was in Netwars.

bigdogz

Yeah, come to think of it, I remember that some folks were offsite. ...and the website was DDOSd and went sideways when they tried to bring it up. It took them 35 minutes or so.

fabostrong

Thanks guys. I definitely wanna do the in person class but can't due to scheduling. So it's either the simulcast class or not take the course till next year. Looking forward to it.

Hornswoggler

I took SEC560 via Simulcast for Pentest Austin (March 2017) and it was great. For reference I attended SEC504 at SANSFire 2016 (Washington, DC) in person. If you can hide out in your home and focus (no distractions), Simulcast was very, very good. I missed the 2x daily snacks and great food in DC but it was easier in some ways, like not having to lug your books to/from class, or carry your laptop around for lunch break. Plus you get 4 months of online access to view the recorded sessions and VPN access to the labs. Going through the course twice (once live via Simulcast, then doing it again via recorded sessions) really helped it sink in. Passed my GPEN with a 94% and Simulcast was every bit as good for test prep. We still participated in NetWars and the day 6 CTF as a virtual team. I was very pleased with Simulcast.