eLearnSecurity Secret Project

JoJoCal19

Presentation is live now! Anyone else attending?

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JoJoCal19

Cluster9. A free marketplace/e-learning platform.

JasminLandry

I'm currently attending as well!

JoJoCal19

Like a Udemy it looks like.

JasminLandry

Looks pretty neat, exploring the site and courses now. Except I don't see any free courses yet, but it still looks cheap for the content.

JoJoCal19

Yea they actually said that it's not like Udemy because they will have practical courses that use a hands on lab environment. Very interesting.

CertifiedMonkey

They can say "it's not like Udemy" all they want, but it is like Udemy, except it is security focused. I'm not a fan of allowing students to create courses and I wish that they only allowed industry professionals to teach. I can see a lot of crappy low-quality courses (made by people looking to make some $) saturating the marketplace. Their only quality control is "ensuring that the audio and video resolution meet minimum standards". I was hoping that the platform would be similar to Open source society university where everyone collaborates to make a beginner-to-advanced, structured, and refined security course.

JoJoCal19

I was a little concerned when he said students could make courses too, but how do you tell who is and who is not an "industry professional"? I assume they will have a review system like Udemy so students can at least rate quality and I hope the instructors have demo video and syllabus to show off the quality.

xxxkaliboyxxx

I attended the Web conference, got the cold shoulder for a beta even though I bought the PRE-SALE on MASPTV2. when I ask about it, they said they aren't accepting any more closed beta members. screw these guys lol.

BlackBeret

So like Udemy in that you pay or might find some free courses. Like Cybrary in that anyone can put a course online (except they're all free).

NetworkNewb

JasminLandry wrote: »

Looks pretty neat, exploring the site and courses now. Except I don't see any free courses yet, but it still looks cheap for the content.

where do you see these courses?

iBrokeIT

NetworkNewb wrote: »

where do you see these courses?

Cluster9.com

wd40

I missed it but I have the Early Bird code, how do you login?

JasminLandry

wd40 wrote: »

I missed it but I have the Early Bird code, how do you login?

It's the same credentials as when you login to the eLearnSecurity training site.

chrisone

I get the infamous "you do not have valid privileges" warning

Danielm7

I saw it too, not very impressed. As another poster said, it's exactly like udemy, I'm fairly sure I've even recognized the same course authors and titles there. Plus it's not really a big hookup, they give you credits for half the cost. So you're still buying courses, that are likely already overpriced, as part of a beta test. I like elearnsecurity, but this isn't all that great.

monkykap

xxxkaliboyxxx wrote: »

I attended the Web conference, got the cold shoulder for a beta even though I bought the PRE-SALE on MASPTV2. when I ask about it, they said they aren't accepting any more closed beta members. screw these guys lol.

Honestly, you are not missing out on anything; basically udemy with some free credits. However the course prices are similarly inflated, and the content is very short. I would strongly recommend using pluralsight instead (they have really good content).The free credits only cover half the cost of these courses (just don't do it).

In fact I am already regretting my MASPTv2 purchase at the discounted rate(half price). I purchased it because i thought it would go deeper than other courses and cover some additional topics but this is not the case. It is minimalist and not much effort was put in the course content. A lot of it just links to articles and whitepapers i have already googled before. As much as I have wanted to like elearn security this is the last straw, both MASPTv2 and PTS are not worth the ask (not even close). Both pluralsight and pentesteracademy have the same and more material delivered MUCH better for a fraction of the cost. Don't waste your money with elearnsecurity. All the courses on pentesteracademy are fantastic and pluralsight has some awesome content as well (just took a course from troy hunt and it was really really well done). Pluralsight ethical hacking series alone covers so much more than all of the elearnsecurity content combined (like 10+ courses in the series and each one is around 5 hours of VIDEO each).

PTP (based on the size of slides/videos since I have not taken it) is probably the only course with decent amount of content, but then you might as well take OSCP since it is much better in the same space and more recognized in the industry.

Don't let them take any more money away from our hardworking infosec community, we don't need them.

I'm just glad that's all i had to spend to figure this out (can be hard to hold back as young eager security professional with their marketing and modern css in their platform). Hopefully this post helps others in the same boat out. Get a pluralsight or pentesteracademy subscription. Take OSCP. Done deal. Continue learning via blogs, books, opensource projects, subscription such as plural or pentesteracademy. At some point get your HR required CISSP (good to know the business and risk side of things anyway) and be done with certifications.

At this point you have the skills to learn w/o certs and courses.

xxxkaliboyxxx

Danielm7 wrote: »

I saw it too, not very impressed. As another poster said, it's exactly like udemy, I'm fairly sure I've even recognized the same course authors and titles there. Plus it's not really a big hookup, they give you credits for half the cost. So you're still buying courses, that are likely already overpriced, as part of a beta test. I like elearnsecurity, but this isn't all that great.

I'm starting to get that feeling. I mean PTS has been great, but once you figure out that building your own vitrual lab and utilizing other websites (pluralsight, CBT, Cybrary), the slidedeck/VPN method doesn't seem that great. I just skim over MASPTv2, but I was pretty bummed at the material.

Skyyyyy2001

That 250 credits for each student during this trial period (for the next 2 months) should not be based on 50% discount which then required a top-up for the remaining 50%. In fact we are doing them a favor during this trial period.

Bodanel

I've done the PTP course. Comparing it with the PWK, PTP has more info, more explanations, especially on scripting and web pentesting. The labs in PWK are more complex and offer a bigger variety but I think that simulating an actual pentest for the exam is much better since both exams are practical and not some multiple choice BS. In my opinion the course is much better than PWK but the labs are not as good. Labs are good but are not comparable with the Offsec lab.

As for their "secret project", it sucks, BIG TIME. I've had look at the courses and, as someone else pointed, they are short, HEAVY OVERPRICED for what they offer. I would not buy any of those course altough I feel that the PTP course they've done is very good. In my opinion for each of those courses you can find a cheaper and better course elsewhere.

bluesquirrel

I have also done the PTP v4 course. Material is great! havent tried the related Labs yet.

However, I am very disappointed too by the offering in Cluster9.com. It looks like UDemy indeed ... there is an instructor from Romania that offer similar trainings that he offers on Udemy and GHacks.net. Honestly, the idea is interesting but they definitely need to work hard on the courses offered. The current selection is not really good price-wise compared to others available on internet.

Also, I do not see any real advantages in being a beta tester if I still need to pay to attend the initial courses ... ELS should have given to beta tester the option to attend one training for free with the condition of providing detailed feedback on the material and the trainer.

Bodanel

bluesquirrel wrote: »

Also, I do not see any real advantages in being a beta tester if I still need to pay to attend the initial courses ... ELS should have given to beta tester the option to attend one training for free with the condition of providing detailed feedback on the material and the trainer.

Yes, why should I pay beta product ??? Who would buy a beta product for his company ?

infoseclawyer

I'm glad to read others share the same disappointment as I do with Cluster9. Other than the labs, the voice actor for PTSV3 and PTPV4 is the only amazing thing about their courses. Having an instructor with dubious credentials and a thick accent is not my idea of a good time (especially with incredible instructional videos from other sources). ELS definitely turned me off with this launch. I'll be happy to get the ECPPT (the course is great), but then use other pentesting labs and wargames, pluralsight, a few other video resources, and finally move onto the OSCP. It's been a long journey with ELS and their Elite vouchers have been a godsend with my busy schedule, but it's time to move on.

xxxkaliboyxxx

Update on the thread. eLearnSecurity guys stiffed me, but emailing support at Cluster9 gave me access. I'm not too sure if they are the same people, but I doubt it. Didn't make sense that eLearn wouldn't give me a beta, being I bought 2 course from them within a month. Really left a bad taste. Anyways I was able to get in and see all the 15-25$ courses. Nothing is free yet.

JoJoCal19

I finally got around to checking it out and I am disappointed as right now seems like more money than Udemy courses for a smaller amount of material per course (just going by the syllabus). I will definitely keep an eye on it but right now I have a Pentester Academy sub so I'll stick with that and Cybrary.

hopes

Attended from the hotel with a crappy wifi connection.
Agree with most of the comments I've read.
Not impressed at all, to me it seems a perfect duplicate of Udemy etc.
I was really expecting something different, more innovative.

I'm glad to have taken eCPPT which helped me a lot and indeed I must say it's a really good course especially for the lab setup.

What is not clear to me is whether you can rely on their infrastructure (Virtual Labs, etc) in creating courses or not.
I mean, suppose I have an idea for a course but I need a special setup (network topology, OSs, etc) I can't afford, can I record/create content using their infrastructure?

JoJoCal19

hopes wrote: »

What is not clear to me is whether you can rely on their infrastructure (Virtual Labs, etc) in creating courses or not.
I mean, suppose I have an idea for a course but I need a special setup (network topology, OSs, etc) I can't afford, can I record/create content using their infrastructure?

That's what he intimated but I don't recall him going into details on. It would be the differentiator from Udemy for sure.