SEC511 - GMON - Prep

the_Grinchthe_Grinch Member Posts: 4,165 ■■■■■■■■■■
I took the course less then a month ago and want to gear up to take the exam. I have an index (since they provide one for the course due to the amount of information) and I did fairly well in the class. I was thinking of taking one of the practice exams and based on that seeing whether I wait two weeks or a month for the test. Other then that, how does one typically prepare? Should I re-read all the manuals?
WIP:
PHP
Kotlin
Intro to Discrete Math
Programming Languages
Work stuff

Comments

  • cyberguyprcyberguypr Mod Posts: 6,928 Mod
    I'm not a fan of pre-made indexes. I make my own which gives me the opportunity to go through the books one more time and identify areas that need attention. This method has worked well for all my GIAC certs.
  • 636-555-3226636-555-3226 Member Posts: 975 ■■■■■□□□□□
    Do a practice test and see how well you can do without the index or books. After all, part of learning the material is actually learning the material. Otherwise you're just spending 5k to put some letters behind your name. If that goes well, just review the index afterward to see if it would have helped. If it's good, then go take the second test just to confirm you're good. If the first practice test goes poorly or you need to use your index a lot, skim through the books again, bump up the index quality if necessary, and rock on the time go-around.
  • zxbanezxbane Member Posts: 740 ■■■■□□□□□□
    OP,

    I passed this exam a couple of months back. I didn't get provided an Index and as others have stated I prefer to make my own as a way to ensure I understand/remember the content. I did a pass through each of the books and made my own Index and I felt thoroughly prepared for the exam. I took both practice exams as well as a way to prepare.
  • the_Grinchthe_Grinch Member Posts: 4,165 ■■■■■■■■■■
    Excellent! Thanks for the info guys I will do the practice test and then go about making my own index.
    WIP:
    PHP
    Kotlin
    Intro to Discrete Math
    Programming Languages
    Work stuff
  • bsjj27bsjj27 Member Posts: 24 ■■□□□□□□□□
    I'm in the process of taking SEC511 on demand, almost through the course. I've never taken a SANS test before. When I create my index do I include content from the lab book also? For instance would I need to know things such as grep switches for the test. Thanks for any assistance
  • TechGromitTechGromit Member Posts: 2,156 ■■■■■■■■■□
    bsjj27 wrote: »
    When I create my index do I include content from the lab book also?

    My instructor told me that anything except the labs are testable, but I do look over the labs and if there is any material of interest, I add that to my index as well.
    cyberguypr wrote: »
    I'm not a fan of pre-made indexes. I make my own which gives me the opportunity to go through the books one more time and identify areas that need attention. This method has worked well for all my GIAC certs.

    I wouldn't trust a pre-made index either. I look at as using someone else's index, you better off creating your own. My co-worker let me look at his older set of there SANS 401 books, and they had a glossary and definitions in the back of one of the books, I referred to them for my first practice test and they were completely useless.
    Still searching for the corner in a round room.
  • GT82GT82 Member Posts: 8 ■□□□□□□□□□
    I just sat and passed this exam. I created my own index and I sat the practice tests they supplied. This worked well for me. I agree the index that I had in the workbooks didn't really line up well and having my own index allowed me to find things quickly.
  • kiki162kiki162 Member Posts: 635 ■■■■■□□□□□
    If anyone has a GMON practice exam available that they would be willing to transfer before the end of this week, send me a PM please and I'll send you the appropriate info. Thanks!
  • the_Grinchthe_Grinch Member Posts: 4,165 ■■■■■■■■■■
    Exam is scheduled for July 11th! Going to be nice to juggle to graduate school courses and study for this as well. Taking my first practice exam (with no notes) on Saturday and will go from there.
    WIP:
    PHP
    Kotlin
    Intro to Discrete Math
    Programming Languages
    Work stuff
  • zxbanezxbane Member Posts: 740 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Good luck Grinch! What is your goal with getting a MS in legal? Getting into cyber law or something similar?
  • the_Grinchthe_Grinch Member Posts: 4,165 ■■■■■■■■■■
    I work in a regulatory and investigatory capacity for a law enforcement agency so I wanted to get some legal training to be better at my job. Somedays I will be working solely on regulatory violations, other days it might be some form of criminal fraud and on other days it could be a cyber investigation. Also I deal in the security assessments and incident response of those who fall under our jurisdiction. All of that requires knowledge of the legal system, laws and being able to write up investigations in a proper way. With all that said, I've done pretty well and might be looking at law school which this will help with as well as I am getting the same courses in two years as a law student would get in their first year of law school. The class I am currently in (Cybercrime) is an actual law school course that they allowed students in my program take. So out of 9 students in the class, 8 are JD students and the professor is a Drexel Law School professor.
    WIP:
    PHP
    Kotlin
    Intro to Discrete Math
    Programming Languages
    Work stuff
  • JinverarJinverar Member Posts: 95 ■■■□□□□□□□
    I am writing the GMON on July 11th also......icon_smile.gif good luck to you
    Jinverar, TSS
  • chanakyajupudichanakyajupudi Member Posts: 712
    I need to write mine around that time too. Best of luck to us!
    Work In Progress - RHCA [ ] Certified Cloud Security Professional [ ] GMON/GWAPT if Work Study is accepted [ ]
    http://adarsh.amazonwebservices.ninja


  • the_Grinchthe_Grinch Member Posts: 4,165 ■■■■■■■■■■
    Yes good luck to everyone!
    WIP:
    PHP
    Kotlin
    Intro to Discrete Math
    Programming Languages
    Work stuff
  • JinverarJinverar Member Posts: 95 ■■■□□□□□□□
    I'm not sure if it helps but I found this guide on indexing for SANS exams. this guide was posted to the GCIH linkedin alumni group.

    How to Guide for making a SANS / GIAC Index with Pictures | Digital Forensics Tips
    Jinverar, TSS
  • the_Grinchthe_Grinch Member Posts: 4,165 ■■■■■■■■■■
    I took my first practice exam today without using any of the books and scored a 76%! Wish it was higher, but still pretty good considering I took the course months ago and haven't cracked a book since May!
    WIP:
    PHP
    Kotlin
    Intro to Discrete Math
    Programming Languages
    Work stuff
  • iBrokeITiBrokeIT Member Posts: 1,318 ■■■■■■■■■□
    That's a nice score for that long of gap!

    I recommend installing ScreenHunter, taking a screenshot of the question and then answer for review later that way you can focus on taking the test. After you are done, you can go through the questions again and update your index with any areas that are lacking.
    2019: GPEN | GCFE | GXPN | GICSP | CySA+ 
    2020: GCIP | GCIA 
    2021: GRID | GDSA | Pentest+ 
    2022: GMON | GDAT
    2023: GREM  | GSE | GCFA

    WGU BS IT-NA | SANS Grad Cert: PT&EH | SANS Grad Cert: ICS Security | SANS Grad Cert: Cyber Defense Ops SANS Grad Cert: Incident Response
  • chanakyajupudichanakyajupudi Member Posts: 712
    I pushed mine out to the end of July. Ended up being put on a Redhat Openshift course for Partners. Just put over 100 hours worth of training outside of office hours as a prerequisite!
    Work In Progress - RHCA [ ] Certified Cloud Security Professional [ ] GMON/GWAPT if Work Study is accepted [ ]
    http://adarsh.amazonwebservices.ninja


  • the_Grinchthe_Grinch Member Posts: 4,165 ■■■■■■■■■■
    Sucks that you had to push it! I only have until Wednesday to take it so have to jump on it stat.
    WIP:
    PHP
    Kotlin
    Intro to Discrete Math
    Programming Languages
    Work stuff
  • TechGromitTechGromit Member Posts: 2,156 ■■■■■■■■■□
    You can always pay to extend the exam date. I took my GCIH the same time you took your course Grinch and I hit the books pretty much as soon as I got back to work. I took my exam with a month to spare, like to get things out of the way early, then wait and get caught unprepared.
    Still searching for the corner in a round room.
  • the_Grinchthe_Grinch Member Posts: 4,165 ■■■■■■■■■■
    Yeah I wish I hadn't waited, but my grad school break was shorter then I thought. But the thought of spending an additional $350 just doesn't sit right. Pretty sure I'll be ready since my boss took it last week and did well. We took the course together, have similar experience, and do the same job (though I do it more on a daily basis).
    WIP:
    PHP
    Kotlin
    Intro to Discrete Math
    Programming Languages
    Work stuff
  • resin17resin17 Registered Users Posts: 2 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Hello everyone,
    I am wondering if you can help. I am looking to do GMON cert/exam on a self-prep basis. Is there such an option? I have spent a bit of time trying tyo find an answer to my question, but all I found was the On Demand option. I am not sure it can be used given I am not taking any class. I do not have a sponsor to pay SANS/GIAC $5k tuition fee, hence the self-study is the only option I consider...
    Thank you for your help.
  • kiki162kiki162 Member Posts: 635 ■■■■■□□□□□
    @resin17 If you have a week to spare, you can always take the Work Study option from SANS.

    https://www.sans.org/work-study

    Prices for SANS courses will go up in December, so work study will be your best bet. The GMON exam is something you should NOT attempt to do on your own without have extensive experience. You can probably go for GSEC as a self-study option instead.
  • resin17resin17 Registered Users Posts: 2 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Thank you very much, guys. Your answers have helped a lot.
  • gkhangkhan Registered Users Posts: 2 ■□□□□□□□□□
    Hi all
    It’s my first SANS course - On Demand. I have completed the course including all labs and now I am preparing for Exam and doing revision of the course martial and working on Index.
    I looking an advice form exam point of view, is it important to revise the labs and do I need to Index the work book.
    Thanks in advance

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