Passed today! :D

Magic Ravioli

Passed earlier today with an 820!

If I'm completely honest, I wouldn't have passed if Darril's book hadn't have found its way to me on Monday (Thanks Darril - Really awesome book!). I'm in the UK and two book shops had it in stock from what I could find on Amazon, so I'm glad it arrived when it did and that I didn't have to get one shipped over.

Before that book, I'd been using a Sybex one (2002 edition :P) and my own research to cover the updated objectives. (Thanks to veritas libertas for the advice on books )

The exam was evenly distributed in terms of questions, but the wording through me off quite a bit at times. On some of them, I needed to take a sit back and really think about what it was asking me and the hardest thing - the BEST answers.

Next up is probably my EnCE - Encase Certified Examiner. I'm in digital forensics but I felt as though I had some gaps in my knowledge, although this exam and the preparation has made me feel a lot more confident about things. After that, maybe my Network+ or CCNA. Probably a frequently asked question, but what's probably the best to go for between them?

veritas_libertas

Congratz!

I'm not sure I understood your question, between what?

Did I understand that right, you work in digital forensics?

earweed

Congrats on the new cert!
As far as you choosing between the Net+ and CCNA...depends on what you work with. The Net+ is vendor neutral and less hands on and in most peoples opinions the easier of the 2. imo the CCNA would prob be better for you if you're in forensics.

Magic Ravioli

Oh sorry, that's me not being clear enough! The difference between CCNA and Network+.

Yeah I work in digital forensics, I absolutely love it. Such an interesting career

veritas_libertas

What kind of digital forensics? If you are just doing it to gain more networking knowledge than just do the Network+, and do it this year since it will be expiring next year. If you are trying to gain more knowledge of other digital devices I really wonder if you even want to get certified in them. Getting certified might be nice, but in the long just an annoyance and expense that you constantly have to pay for.

Consider some of these books as another option:

Amazon.com: Cisco Router and Switch Forensics: Investigating and Analyzing Malicious Network Activity (9781597494182): Dale Liu: Books

bubble2005

Way to go

botbill

congrats !!! what sample exams did u use?

LordMarshal

congrats on the passing!

Magic Ravioli

Thanks everyone!

And thanks both Earweed and veritas_libertas for the advice, I think it's something I'll have to look into a little bit more. It's primarily going to be for more network knowledge overall... hmmm, will do some thinking.

Botbill - I only really used the practice questions on this site and in the books I was using. The assessment test, end of chapter questions and mock exam in Darril's book gave me a good indication of where I needed to read back over and research a little more. I probably should have done more practice than what I did but I didn't leave myself as much time to do that as what I should have. Sorry I can't be more help

I honestly think if you have a good book, or even two good books, and you put the hours in you'll pass. I must have written about 130 pages of notes, but then again, I go crazy on notes because things stick in my head better if I write stuff down and highlight. It's whatever works best for you. Just make sure you go over everything, make sure you understand it and read the questions carefully in the exam