CBT Nuggets for CEH Good or Bad?

ULWiz

So i am thinking about spending the 799$ on this video series but wanted to hear some feedback from someone who has already watched this series.

Is this series really worth it? And why the heck is it so expensive compared to any other CBT's.

dynamik

Haven't seen it myself, but if you're going to go for it, consider watching it in a month with the $200 streaming subscription, or just get the annual one for $1400.

I would imagine they're pretty good; it is James after all.

ULWiz

Dynamik I believe I noticed that you where going to attempt this exam sometime this year.

Have you decided your plan of action yet for this exam and the study material you would like to use?

seuss_ssues

I wasnt really impressed to be honest. Granted I have been a security junkie for a while, but i didnt really feel like i learned much about anything. I guess he sort of goes over which topics need to be studied but doesnt really give you much depth in the topics.

I did not like the instructor of the video series. It has been probably 2 years since i watched the series so i cant remember exactly what it was that bothered me. I seem to remember him making jokes about things that he or his friends did that were neither funny nor ethical.

But Dynamik seems to think he is a good instructor considering he knew him by name so maybe i wasnt in the best of moods or really tired when i watched the series. Do some googling im sure there are bound to be some decent reviews of the material.

Overall I dont really think its worth the $799 price tag. I didnt sit the exam but i dont feel as though it was enough to pass. I could think of much better ways to spend that much money (equipment, used books, and you can learn pretty much everything with google).

ULWiz

James Conrad is a good trainer though i have to agree with dynamik on that part. He does say some corny things everyonce in a while at least what i have noticed from some of the other CBT Nuggets i have seen.

Not so sure about spending the 799 on this series though.


Can anyone who has taken this exam on self study explain what material they used for this exam.


THanks again ahead of time

skrpune

I haven't seen the CEH videos so I can't speak to their quality, but if it's James Conrad that does them, then from my experience with him on the A+ videos I agree that he's a great teacher. He's got a very easy nature and has a way of presenting materials that I found made it very easy to learn. But I would have to say that CBT videos aren't meant to be a single source of studying...they're more of a supplement to books.

ULWiz

I always use multiple sources and have always spent the money on CBT Nugget Series for all the exams i have taken so far besides the A+. I am Just not sure about it for this one.

I guess this is also why i am looking for a little advise on this series. Or any study materials or books someone has read that they thought was really good for this exam.

dynamik

ULWiz wrote: »

Dynamik I believe I noticed that you where going to attempt this exam sometime this year.

Have you decided your plan of action yet for this exam and the study material you would like to use?

Hopefully by the end of February. They accepted my application to waive the course and emailed me my authorization code last week, so I'm good to go.

I've read the Wiley book, and I am going through the EC book now. I also have the Sybex review guide, a Prep Logic guide (from the sale where they were all $1 each), and the Prep Logic practice exam (which I've seen get not so great reviews, but it's relatively cheap because v5 is retiring).

seuss_ssues wrote: »

I wasnt really impressed to be honest. Granted I have been a security junkie for a while, but i didnt really feel like i learned much about anything. I guess he sort of goes over which topics need to be studied but doesnt really give you much depth in the topics.

To be fair, I think that's true of most CEH materials. They include so many things in the objectives that it's not reasonable for any resource to really go in depth. I think a better title would have been "Introduction to Ethical Hacking." Did you end up getting this certification? I can't remember, and your cert list is so mysterious

seuss_ssues wrote: »

I did not like the instructor of the video series. It has been probably 2 years since i watched the series so i cant remember exactly what it was that bothered me. I seem to remember him making jokes about things that he or his friends did that were neither funny nor ethical.

But Dynamik seems to think he is a good instructor considering he knew him by name so maybe i wasnt in the best of moods or really tired when i watched the series. Do some googling im sure there are bound to be some decent reviews of the material.

I didn't really like him at first either, but he grew on me. He did all the MCSE videos and some others, so I'm basing my opinion off of those. This series may not be that good; I trust your judgment.

seuss_ssues wrote: »

Overall I dont really think its worth the $799 price tag. I didnt sit the exam but i dont feel as though it was enough to pass. I could think of much better ways to spend that much money (equipment, used books, and you can learn pretty much everything with google).

My only guess is that it has a much more limited audience than their other videos, so they had to increase the cost. I haven't seen it, but I can't see how it would be worth that amount. That's why I recommended one of the streaming subscriptions.

seuss_ssues

Thanks for all the input Dynamik, I may give him another shot.

Also a personal thanks, its nice to see people take the time to clearly, calmly, and rather thoroughly state their thoughts and opinions.

And no i have not taken the exam, i do still have interest in it and i should be nearing the years of work requirement to sit for it. So who knows i may pull the old disc out and give it another viewing.

shednik

I'd either do the streaming subscription or I'd save the 799 and pick up the training from these guys. http://www.offensive-security.com/offsec101.php Not only will it help you study for the exam but you will be able to practice the tactics on their challenge exam if you like and pick up another cert.

darkerosxx

skrpune wrote: »

I haven't seen the CEH videos so I can't speak to their quality, but if it's James Conrad that does them, then from my experience with him on the A+ videos I agree that he's a great teacher. He's got a very easy nature and has a way of presenting materials that I found made it very easy to learn. But I would have to say that CBT videos aren't meant to be a single source of studying...they're more of a supplement to books.

I've viewed about half of the videos in the cbtnuggets series, taken the course, read/practiced the course material/labs, and read the Exam Prep CEH book.

I stopped viewing the cbtnuggets videos because I felt they were a waste of time. HOWEVER, I felt it was a waste of time because he basically went over the material like the instructor in the class did(minus the labs we did in the course). It was a very high level overview and I was learning more from the labs and the books.

I'd suggest the cbtnuggets videos be a replacement for taking the course and definitely will do you some good to spend the 11 hours if you have the extra time.

I'll be taking the exam tomorrow, so I'll report on whether the videos I watched were worth it or not.

skrpune

good luck tomorrow!!

the_Grinch

Good luck! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the exam!

the_Grinch

Haven't taken the exam, but I did go through the CBT Nuggets. I found them to be really good, especially when compared to Career Academy. James tells jokes (they were dumb, but really got me laughing) and he explains topics really well. I did like I normally do which is read the book (in this case ExamPrep), watch the videos (reinforces what I read and explains topics I might not have fully understood), and if there is another book read that (in this case the official review guide). Then it's onto questions until my head explodes. I really did like the videos as it was basically like watching Jer from the CCNA videos.

Also, I believe CBT made the price so hard for two reasons: a) they are one of two video training suites out there b) I believe somewhere on their site they talked about not wanting people to have easy access to it (though this won't teach you hacking, might help you become a script kiddie, but it is lacking in full details). That is my view anyhow...

cehguy10

You can also find this course though a company called mile2, here is a link to more info on that course and exam. mile2.com/certified_ethical_hacker_ceh_ec_council.htmlCEH CBT

Devilsbane

I was considering taking this exam, I know I want more security but haven't been able to decide what. I just recently found out that James is the instructor for this series and I have the NSS ($1500/year) so I think its a pretty good idea.

I can't speak for these videos, but he also did the videos for the 290 and 291 which were awesome, and I am watching the 293 videos now which are good.

He does make some jokes and gets off topic a bit, but he is very intelligent and he also moves through material fast. (Which I like, if I need to review something I can rewind it but I don't want to listen to something I already know for hours). He also has lots of personal experience and will occasionally tell a story about something that happened to him or a friend in the past.

Devilsbane

the_Grinch wrote: »

I believe somewhere on their site they talked about not wanting people to have easy access to it (though this won't teach you hacking, might help you become a script kiddie, but it is lacking in full details).

That makes sense. That is why programs like passware are so expensive.

novovictus

I thought the CBT nuggets series for CEH was good, however as someone else stated, it was subpar compared to the class I took through EC-Council. I think the money would be much better spent towards an online class.

slinuxuzer

I believe the current CBT nuggets for CEH are based around V5, some referecnes in the series suggest they were created in 2006. They are decent, but I would wait for the new ones that are in development if I planned to go with CBT nuggets.