Passed GPYC (SANS573/ Python Coder)

MalwareMike

Overview

*3 books (Book 1 covered days 1-2, book 2 covered days 3-5, book 3 covered day 6)
*PyWars: 50+ python exercises  (30+ problems for book 1 and 20+ problems for book 2)

Days 1 and 2 (Python Fundamentals I and II)

If you have a decent amount of Python experience, you will fly through book 1 because it's all about the basics (functions, flow control, data structures, etc). If you're new to Python, Book 1 will be informative and fun. Below are some helpful resources if you are new to Python

Learn Python the Hard Way: https://learnpythonthehardway.org/
Full Stack Python: https://www.fullstackpython.com/table-of-contents.html
Codewars: https://www.codewars.com/

Days 3,4, and 5 (Defensive, Forensics, and Offensive)

Book 2 is where most of the fun takes place. Day 3 deals with working with files, regex, log parsing, and packet analysis (make sure you know regex, there were a ton of questions on the exam regarding it). Day 4 covered acquiring images from disk, SQL, and communicating with the web (requests/urllib2). Day 5 goes into using Python for pen-testing tasks (backdoors, process execution, network socket operations, and Python objects).

Make sure you have a firm grasp on the following Python modules

• os
• re (https://regexr.com/ and https://regexone.com/references/python)
• scapy (https://scapy.net/)
• struct
• urllib2
• requests (very useful module)
• socket

I think this class would be very helpful for new Python coders because it covers the basics, has infosec related Python problems, and  provides ideas on how to use Python in the information security field. For intermediate and above coders, I don't recommend this course. Instead, I would review the modules above and then look at other SANS courses where you could use your Python knowledge.

LonerVamp

First, congrats on the pass!

Second, I love this review. I've had this Python course on my list for a while now. On a scale of 1-10, I'd consider myself exposed to Python, minorly experienced, but not yet towards intermediate with it. Basically, probably a perfect spot to consume a course like this one.

Love the additional insight into what to learn/know. Being realistic about things like this and alternates to learning are cool. Nice job!

averageguy72

Congrats!

MalwareMike

@LonerVamp I'm happy to help, let me know if you have any additional questions.