CEH v10 Difficulty Level

I just finished going through all of the EC Council CEH v10 videos and I read CEH v9 by Sean-Philip Oriyano and I don't quite feel ready for the exam. I've been taking practice exams and I'm not consistently at 75%+. I'm going to read over the ebook I got from EC Council that goes along with the videos and see how I feel after that.( I've also been working with nmap.) Actually, I'm getting very tired of studying which is usually when I know I'm ready to take the exam.

But with this one, I'm not ready to jump in yet given the high price tag on the exam.

Has anyone taken v10 lately? Can you tell me if there are a lot of programming-type questions on the exam? I feel like there are quite a few questions on the practice exams that aren't in the book/video. Did you use any other references to study for the exam besides nmap documents? How hard is it compared to CISSP? Are the Boson questions the best judge of readiness? Any other tips?

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Comments

shochan

I took the v10 in Dec, failed 69%...thought I missed by 1% - but that was for older exams . As their website says:

Passing Criteria:

In order to maintain the high integrity of our certifications exams, EC-Council Exams are provided in multiple forms (I.e. different question banks). Each form is carefully analyzed through beta testing with an appropriate sample group under the purview of a committee of subject matter experts that ensure that each of our exams not only have academic rigor but also have "real world" applicability. We also have a process to determine the difficulty rating of each question . The individual rating then contributes to an overall "Cut Score" for each exam form. To ensure each form has equal assessment standards, cut scores are set on a "per exam form" basis. Depending on which exam form is challenged, cut scores can range from 60% to 85%.

I felt I wasn't ready enough back in Dec, but I took it anyways. My problem was that I tend to over think my first answer. I think I changed 10 of them after going through each of the questions again, then submitted. I won't do it this time, I am just going with my first gut feeling & hit submit.

My advice, if you don't feel ready, keep studying. Don't waste the $1050 on the first exam, LOL!

As far as materials, I am using Matt Walkers 2nd & 3rd edition books and test engine that comes with those. I had access to Fedvte CEH videos, which was ok...I also used PocketPrep app on my phone. I also used Blockmon's review questions book, but found LOTS of errors in it. I just need to review the areas I am weak in & focus on those today & tomorrow morning, because I have to take it at 2pm CST tomorrow. Good luck to you.

GeekyChick

Shochan, so how did it go today? Hopefully you nailed it this time. Would love to hear what you thought the second time. I don't like EC Council's new grading scheme. I would like to think just about every test is the same difficultly level. I know they grade on a curve, but still I don't like the idea that there's that much variation in their exams. I'm going to keep studying even though I"m getting tired of it. I don't want to waste my money on a fail.

shochan

I take it today, 2pm CST.

And I choke again - SMH...I guess since I don't have the v10 reading material, I am lacking that knowledge. There was several questions I was clueless about. I would suggest picking up Matt Walkers v10 book, which is supposed to drop soon or has already.

SaSkiller

GeekyChick said:

I just finished going through all of the EC Council CEH v10 videos and I read CEH v9 by Sean-Philip Oriyano and I don't quite feel ready for the exam. I've been taking practice exams and I'm not consistently at 75%+. I'm going to read over the ebook I got from EC Council that goes along with the videos and see how I feel after that.( I've also been working with nmap.) Actually, I'm getting very tired of studying which is usually when I know I'm ready to take the exam. But with this one, I'm not ready to jump in yet given the high price tag on the exam.

Has anyone taken v10 lately? Can you tell me if there are a lot of programming-type questions on the exam? I feel like there are quite a few questions on the practice exams that aren't in the book/video. Did you use any other references to study for the exam besides nmap documents? How hard is it compared to CISSP? Are the Boson questions the best judge of readiness? Any other tips?

How is the studying going? Did you attempt the exam yet?

MrNetTek

What's the update, guys? I'd like to know if anyone can pass this thing :-)

McxRisley

I was a beta tester for the v10 exam and several of the questions I got were on the v9 exam that I took previously. I passed with a 97% and not much has changed between the 2 versions.

MrNetTek

Awesome! Great to know.

GeekyChick

MrNetTek said:

What's the update, guys? I'd like to know if anyone can pass this thing :-)

Yes, I did pass the first time. It was easier than I thought it would be. I felt like the difficultly level was somewhere between Sec+ and CISSP. The questions were worded very poorly. There was one question that I never could figure out what they were asking me so I just guessed.

I got an 84%. I used the Boson practice exams to gauge my readiness. The Boson exams were quite a bit harder than the actual test.

When I bought the exam, I also bought the EC Council prerecorded class. I didn't get a lot out of the class. (Thankfully my company paid for the exam and class.)There were numerous times the instructor would show slides and say "you can review these on your own". If you need videos, there are much better options out there. I used ITProTV.

As others have said, know nmap. Know the commands, the outcomes, and when you might use one over the other. I also had quite a few IT governance questions which kind of surprised me. There's also a CEH readiness quiz on EC Council's website.

Good luck!

MrNetTek

@GeekyChick

Thanks for the update!

kspenc083

Hello Geeky C, I too just finished going through all of the EC Council CEH v10 videos and Labs. I'm in the process of reading the ebook as well. You stated that you used Boson and CEH v9 by Sean-Philip Oriyano, ITProTV, of all the study material did anything jump out at you? How did you do with regards to the NMAP commands? Can anyone else advise? My plan is to sit within the next 30 days.

Belated Congrats GC,

khaledit2015

good Job i thought it is difficult now more than before

mritorto2

what boot did you use for the exam