Passing GCIH without the class?

If I bought all of the most recents books on eBay or something and created an index....do you guys think it's possible to pass the GCIH test?

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cyberguypr

SANS clearly states in their license that books can't be sold, copied etc. without express written permission. Buying books from eBay would be at least unethical. Keep in mind that theoretically the possibility exists for you to lose your cert if your actions come to SANS/GIAC attention.

Having said that, it's obvious that you will be at a disadvantage if you don't take the class, but it's certainly doable. Every GIAC test can be passed without the class. Several guys here here have done it. One of my friends passed his GCIH last year without books. The material is pretty standard and there's no secret sauce. If you dissect the objectives and learn the material elsewhere, you can certainly pass.

636-555-3226

You can pass GCIH without the class, sure. My coworkers have done nearly all of the intro-level sans "base" courses - 401, 501, 503, 504, 511, etc and have shared various practices exams with me over the years. While I don't hold nearly all of those certs, I usually pass the practice exams for them all in the upper 70's, low 80s range with absolute no knowledge of the book contents. That said, I've been doing this awhile. If you don't have the experience, then you need the books. The exams are based off of the books, so having them in front of you is a huge benefit. Actually knowing the content so you don't need to reference the books is an even bigger real-life work-practice benefit.

Also keep in mind the value in SANS isn't the certifications (although they've been helping with resumes lately as employers are catching on) - the value of SANS is in what you actually learn and can apply in real-world situations. Learn the stuff in the books and you'll be fine. If you bought them off of eBay, just hope the materials weren't updated drastically since then if you're relying on the books for a pass

fabostrong

Well I definitely don't wanna do anything unethical. Was just wondering in case my job won't pay for it but nevermind.

Thanks

TechGromit

fabostrong wrote: »

If I bought all of the most recents books on eBay or something and created an index....do you guys think it's possible to pass the GCIH test?

If you do go this route, A. I wouldn't advertise it and B. Get the most recent books and know them forwards and backwards. The older the books are the more material will be different, and the higher you will have to score on the material you do have to pass the exam.

bigdogz

I would highly advise against the ebay route.

The classes are updated quarterly. If you take the class and it gets updated after you just took the course, your exam will reflect the course material they gave you. Unfortunately you will not see the material until you take the exam.

TechGromit

bigdogz wrote: »

The classes are updated quarterly.

I find this difficult to believe, If I take a SANS course, they give me books as the beginning of the course, the course lasts a week, I have up to four months to take the Exam, so your telling me I'm using outdated material if wait until the last day to take the exam? The only way I think this would be fair is my exam is locked in when I register for the exam during the conference, so my course materials would be reflect the exam I get, if you took the course three months later, your exam would be based on the quarterly updated course materials you have and so on.

fabostrong

TechGromit wrote: »

I find this difficult to believe, If I take a SANS course, they give me books as the beginning of the course, the course lasts a week, I have up to four months to take the Exam, so your telling me I'm using outdated material if wait until the last day to take the exam? The only way I think this would be fair is my exam is locked in when I register for the exam during the conference, so my course materials would be reflect the exam I get, if you took the course three months later, your exam would be based on the quarterly updated course materials you have and so on.

I was also thinking that.

yoba222

If I had used 2015 course books for the exam I took a month and a half ago I'd bet there was very little new content on the exam that wasn't in the books. I'd estimate maybe 2 or so new questions with foreign topics tops in this hypothetical situation. I do have a friend that knows someone who may have did this.

And if I had seen the courseware license agreement in those course books I'd bet that the wording describes an agreement solely between SANS and the person taking the training. It would be on the seller of course books, not the buyer, to avoid violating those terms.

bigdogz

I sat in on one class and was asked to facilitate 3 months later. It was a good refresh. I found that the material has changed, in addition to the labs. I want to stick with the NDA so I am limited to speak about the material.

bigdogz

yoba222 wrote: »

If I had used 2015 course books for the exam I took a month and a half ago I'd bet there was very little new content on the exam that wasn't in the books. I'd estimate maybe 2 or so new questions with foreign topics tops in this hypothetical situation. I do have a friend that knows someone who may have did this.

And if I had seen the courseware license agreement in those course books I'd bet that the wording describes an agreement solely between SANS and the person taking the training. It would be on the seller of course books, not the buyer, to avoid violating those terms.

The CLA or Courseware License Agreement of the books, lab books, as well as any digital or other media is between SANS and the student. If the student sells the books on eBay, the student violates the agreement.

bigdogz

TechGromit wrote: »

I find this difficult to believe, If I take a SANS course, they give me books as the beginning of the course, the course lasts a week, I have up to four months to take the Exam, so your telling me I'm using outdated material if wait until the last day to take the exam? The only way I think this would be fair is my exam is locked in when I register for the exam during the conference, so my course materials would be reflect the exam I get, if you took the course three months later, your exam would be based on the quarterly updated course materials you have and so on.

To get a lower cost on the exam, you need to buy the exam during original registration/signup or up until the last day of the course.
If you take the exam on the last day of the 4 months, the exam will be the material you used in your class.

If you were to go with fabostrong's approach to the exam of just purchasing and buying SANS books/material on eBay then you would get the latest exam which may not sync with the material that was purchased.

I hope this helps....

bigdogz

Fabostrong, I think this point is unnecessary since you posted that your company will pay for the course.

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