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PASSED CEH... Fun Journey!
Just go Take the Exam!
I have to agree with the bulk of the reviews on this forum... If you have any Security Experience and read thru the Matt Walker Book, just go take the test. Most of the questions should be common sense.
I have a few co-workers with little-to-no linux experience that run vuln tests from scripts, and use AirCheck scans to do Rouge WAP scans for compliance that would not fair well... but I think anyone in IT that is curious enough, and has a background in heterogeneous environments can do this test without much difficulty.
I took a 40 hour boot camp a year ago, and because of the official curriculum I was expecting a lot more content to be tested. I bought an insane gamers laptop (i7, dual 512GB SSDs [1 for OS, 1 for virtual box], 64 gigs RAM, Dual GForce GPUs) to install a virtual lab on, and spent months doing labs, and investigating every tool mentioned in the official curriculum. I wish I would have bought the Matt Walker Book to begin with. His tips are right on, and the content he covers is more than sufficient in my opinion. Not that I regret doing the iLabs, or creating my own virtual vulnerability lab... it was a lot of fun, and feels more rewarding than the actual exam. :-/
Items aiding in my successful Passing Grade on the exam:
+Boot Camp: Highly Recommend Stormwind, and their CEH class. A lot of fun, and the instructor is just a great all-around guy who really tries to tie in current events with the content. I really enjoyed the class, and it allowed me to bypass the self study requirements because they are a EC-Council Authorized Partner. And Hey, my work paid for it, so why not?!
+iLabs: This was a gimme. It got me hooked on playing with the tools, but was probably a little over kill for the exam, but who knows what can come up in the test. It exposed me to tools I had not used, so that was a huge plus!
+Boson Engine: Clearly a partner with EC-Council, and definitely helped me get a feel for what to expect after not taking a Certification Test in so long. Their explanations in learning mode are very pointed, and worth the read on question you miss while practicing.
+Kali Linux / Virtual Box Lab: While not entirely necessary, it was so much fun, I can't imagine anyone in this industry not having one now. I have worked in a colo environment for 15+ years, and never played with Kali even though I ran Vulnerability scans, and WAP Scans with commercial tools for compliance. I knew about Kali (BackTrack), and had it on a thumb drive but ignored it because it was not allowed and told it was "unpolished". So wrong! The tools are awesome, and worth a look even if you don't plan any certification.
+Matt Walkers, ALL-IN-ONE CEH v9 Bundle (Third Edition): Definitely the silver bullet I needed for confidence to get me to schedule the exam. He covered all the right material, and jogged my memory from the Boot camp class I took. I ripped thru the books in less than a week, so I am not sure retention was the key as much as review. But as with others I highly recommend this resource.
I have years of IT experience... I can remember 300 baud modems, and programming in basic before writable media was available to consumers. I have seen things change so much that I wonder how I am still in it some times. I will say this is not the most difficult exam I have ever taken, but it has definitely been the most fun preparing for without question. The unknown added to the difficulty, but after passing, I really want to know my score... PASSED is not as much fun as a percentage, but I guess it is what it is because they want to keep everyone guessing?
Super fun journey, and worth it if you don't have to pay for it for sure. CISSP might have more cred, and Sec+ is definitely more suited for a Base. But if you have the chops, and the funds... Just go Take the Exam!
I have to agree with the bulk of the reviews on this forum... If you have any Security Experience and read thru the Matt Walker Book, just go take the test. Most of the questions should be common sense.
I have a few co-workers with little-to-no linux experience that run vuln tests from scripts, and use AirCheck scans to do Rouge WAP scans for compliance that would not fair well... but I think anyone in IT that is curious enough, and has a background in heterogeneous environments can do this test without much difficulty.
I took a 40 hour boot camp a year ago, and because of the official curriculum I was expecting a lot more content to be tested. I bought an insane gamers laptop (i7, dual 512GB SSDs [1 for OS, 1 for virtual box], 64 gigs RAM, Dual GForce GPUs) to install a virtual lab on, and spent months doing labs, and investigating every tool mentioned in the official curriculum. I wish I would have bought the Matt Walker Book to begin with. His tips are right on, and the content he covers is more than sufficient in my opinion. Not that I regret doing the iLabs, or creating my own virtual vulnerability lab... it was a lot of fun, and feels more rewarding than the actual exam. :-/
Items aiding in my successful Passing Grade on the exam:
+Boot Camp: Highly Recommend Stormwind, and their CEH class. A lot of fun, and the instructor is just a great all-around guy who really tries to tie in current events with the content. I really enjoyed the class, and it allowed me to bypass the self study requirements because they are a EC-Council Authorized Partner. And Hey, my work paid for it, so why not?!
+iLabs: This was a gimme. It got me hooked on playing with the tools, but was probably a little over kill for the exam, but who knows what can come up in the test. It exposed me to tools I had not used, so that was a huge plus!
+Boson Engine: Clearly a partner with EC-Council, and definitely helped me get a feel for what to expect after not taking a Certification Test in so long. Their explanations in learning mode are very pointed, and worth the read on question you miss while practicing.
+Kali Linux / Virtual Box Lab: While not entirely necessary, it was so much fun, I can't imagine anyone in this industry not having one now. I have worked in a colo environment for 15+ years, and never played with Kali even though I ran Vulnerability scans, and WAP Scans with commercial tools for compliance. I knew about Kali (BackTrack), and had it on a thumb drive but ignored it because it was not allowed and told it was "unpolished". So wrong! The tools are awesome, and worth a look even if you don't plan any certification.
+Matt Walkers, ALL-IN-ONE CEH v9 Bundle (Third Edition): Definitely the silver bullet I needed for confidence to get me to schedule the exam. He covered all the right material, and jogged my memory from the Boot camp class I took. I ripped thru the books in less than a week, so I am not sure retention was the key as much as review. But as with others I highly recommend this resource.
I have years of IT experience... I can remember 300 baud modems, and programming in basic before writable media was available to consumers. I have seen things change so much that I wonder how I am still in it some times. I will say this is not the most difficult exam I have ever taken, but it has definitely been the most fun preparing for without question. The unknown added to the difficulty, but after passing, I really want to know my score... PASSED is not as much fun as a percentage, but I guess it is what it is because they want to keep everyone guessing?
Super fun journey, and worth it if you don't have to pay for it for sure. CISSP might have more cred, and Sec+ is definitely more suited for a Base. But if you have the chops, and the funds... Just go Take the Exam!
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acomo
Member Posts: 69 ■■■□□□□□□□
this is great, congratulations. Did you pass today or yesterday? i am asking because yesterday the ceh v10 was announced, so are you a v9 or v10 certified?
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Optionskmclink
Member Posts: 12 ■■□□□□□□□□
The test I took was labeled v9. Funny they announced v10 when in the v9 courseware they state they are no longer going to be using version numbers when they make changes?
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shochan
Member Posts: 1,004 ■■■■■■■■□□
I am reading Walker's book, over 2/3 done reading the 2014 version...I probably will read the 2017 version after I am finished to make sure I didn't miss anything. I technically don't have 2yrs of IT security experience (only 1.4yrs of IT sec, but over 18yrs of IT exp) so I do not think I would qualify for the exam until Oct 2018. But I have completed the unofficial CEH online class material from Fedvte which is 31hrs of videos (over 150 videos), which should make me eligible. I find the eCouncil requirements quite ambiguous & now they go off & change the version again on the test...now, I need to find out what v10 is including on the exam.CompTIA A+, Network+, i-Net+, MCP 70-210, CNA v5, Server+, Security+, Cloud+, CySA+, ISC² CC, ISC² SSCP