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MC Fruit Stripe
Nov 26, 2002

around and around we go

Grassy Knowles posted:

Mishing is phishing by mail
Smishing is by sms
Vishing is by video chat
Tishing is by telegram
Tinshing is by tin cans on string
You get the idea, and half of those are actually on the sec+
If it weren't for the last sentence, I'd think you were kidding, but CompTIA is exactly that stupid.

Judge Schnoopy posted:

Most of these are just called 'social engineering' these days
Also, this. Even typing 'phishing' made me feel kinda silly.

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Doctor_Fruitbat
Jun 2, 2013


Still trucking along with N+ prep, and I am definitely noticing a trend of "here's a detailed explanation of how this particular technology works... Of course this was terrible, so here's what replaced it in 1993".

Grassy Knowles
Apr 4, 2003

"The original Terminator was a gritty fucking AMAZING piece of sci-fi. Gritty fucking rock-hard MURDER!"

Doctor_Fruitbat posted:

Still trucking along with N+ prep, and I am definitely noticing a trend of "here's a detailed explanation of how this particular technology works... Of course this was terrible, so here's what replaced it in 1993".

Welcome to the CompTIA experience

Super-NintendoUser
Jan 16, 2004

COWABUNGERDER COMPADRES
Soiled Meat
So my RHCSA is up in December, I'm retaking the EX200 exam. I took it three years ago when it just switched the RHEL7. Anyone know if there are any changes in the exam in the past three years? I still have all my study materials from back them and I'm just going to run back through the labs that I have.

Doctor_Fruitbat
Jun 2, 2013


I just got to wardriving and its evil stepsisters warflying and warbiking, so I think that's enough CompTIA for today.

e: oh, and there's warchalking, I was wondering when that would be mentioned. Mother of god.

Doctor_Fruitbat fucked around with this message at 16:27 on Nov 7, 2017

LochNessMonster
Feb 3, 2005

I need about three fitty


Jerk McJerkface posted:

So my RHCSA is up in December, I'm retaking the EX200 exam. I took it three years ago when it just switched the RHEL7. Anyone know if there are any changes in the exam in the past three years? I still have all my study materials from back them and I'm just going to run back through the labs that I have.

Which book did you use?

Super-NintendoUser
Jan 16, 2004

COWABUNGERDER COMPADRES
Soiled Meat

LochNessMonster posted:

Which book did you use?

I used the one they give you in the actual class, we sent a bunch of coworkers to the class and I just got a hold of it from my manager.

LochNessMonster
Feb 3, 2005

I need about three fitty


Jerk McJerkface posted:

I used the one they give you in the actual class, we sent a bunch of coworkers to the class and I just got a hold of it from my manager.

Ah ok, I’m not sure which one that is. I did mine last year with the Sander van Vught book. I think that one has been around for some time so I think you’re good with the official material.

But you could check the objectives on the RH site and see if there are changes from whats listed in your book.

FCKGW
May 21, 2006

Just got my Network+ yesterday. Spent majority of my study time getting CIDR notation down then only got one measly question about it, but 20 questions about properties of fiber optic lines. Pretty annoying.

Next up is ... Project+?!?!?! :suicide:

Judge Schnoopy
Nov 2, 2005

dont even TRY it, pal

FCKGW posted:

Just got my Network+ yesterday. Spent majority of my study time getting CIDR notation down then only got one measly question about it, but 20 questions about properties of fiber optic lines. Pretty annoying.

Next up is ... Project+?!?!?! :suicide:

Are you doing the WGU track?

Project+ is OK. It's a super surface-level look into PMBOK. A majority of questions are either A) Determining which phase a certain step would fall under, by definition, and B) calculating indexes based on formulas. The rest is a bunch of fluff with extremely corporate-feelgood answers.

To its defense I've used more knowledge from the project+ cert at my job than I have any other CompTIA cert, because writing a formal project proposal is the quickest way to kill shadow IT initiatives.

Hot Damn!
Oct 28, 2004
I passed the ICND2 retake with a 930, and boy am I bitter about some of the questions on this exam. I know it comes with the territory with certs, but it seemed a lot worse on this particular exam. Questions with multiple or no right answers, questions with insufficient information, questions where the right answer depends on the unprovided hardware/ios version, all of these classics were there.

All the material I covered was fantastic, and the entire experience preparing for the exam was very rewarding and I would probably do it again, but man....gently caress that exam.

Hot Damn! fucked around with this message at 00:28 on Nov 8, 2017

Grassy Knowles
Apr 4, 2003

"The original Terminator was a gritty fucking AMAZING piece of sci-fi. Gritty fucking rock-hard MURDER!"

Hot drat! posted:

I passed the ICND2 retake with a 930, and boy am I bitter about some of the questions on this exam. I know it comes with the territory with certs, but it seemed a lot worse on this particular exam. Questions with multiple right answers, questions with insufficient information, questions where the right answer depends on the unprovided hardware/ios version, all of these classics were there.

All the material I covered was fantastic, and the entire experience preparing for the exam was very rewarding and I would probably do it again, but man....gently caress that exam.

"Pick the BEST answer" gently caress you Cisco

Vadun
Mar 9, 2011

I'm hungrier than a green snake in a sugar cane field.

It gets worse, so much to look forward to with Cisco.

Actuarial Fables
Jul 29, 2014

Taco Defender
Man, the CCNA exam really changed since the last time I took it.


Why are all these test prep sites breaking on me

MC Fruit Stripe
Nov 26, 2002

around and around we go
I'd like to do so well on a cert test that I become a nurse - that'd be a hell of a cert. Reminds me of VMware's short lived VCAP Design/ACE Certified Mechanic program.

BigDave
Jul 14, 2009

Taste the High Country

MC Fruit Stripe posted:

I'd like to do so well on a cert test that I become a nurse - that'd be a hell of a cert. Reminds me of VMware's short lived VCAP Design/ACE Certified Mechanic program.

Go in for the CCNA, walk out a Certified Nursing Assistant.

MJP
Jun 17, 2007

Are you looking at me Senpai?

Grimey Drawer
Passed the 70-413 last night, got a 763. I now can call myself an MCSE, but oh man, passing with a 763 was... oh man, seriously, so freaking deep of a dive.

Without breaking NDA, you're definitely going to need to live, sleep, and breathe multi-domain AD forests and every single operation within them, and way more about other System Center products than I thought. However, the questions at least have answers that aren't "pick the least bad answer" to the same degree as the MCSA exams I took.

Definitely allow yourself the full three hours, and don't hesitate to use that dry-erase board. I laid out diagrams for every test case and used them extensively. I came out having filled up two whiteboards.

I used the Exam Ref 70-413 book, a Virtualbox setup for the SCVMM test infrastructure, and a few Azure VMs for DNS/DHCP, client side stuff, etc. so I wouldn't cause any weird network issues at home. I've been studying and labbing since May, but really hardcore on it from late September onwards.

Take notes, learn the terminology and technology, and explore. Futz around. DEFINITELY build out the thought experiments and such in the book. Your mileage and learning experience may vary but to me it was hugely helpful to use taking notes through the book and writing down terms. Different learning styles for different learners. Unless you've been a pure Microsoft engineer in a full-on homogeneous Microsoft environment, experience and the book won't do it.

Bigass Moth
Mar 6, 2004

I joined the #RXT REVOLUTION.
:boom:
he knows...

Hot drat! posted:

I passed the ICND2 retake with a 930, and boy am I bitter about some of the questions on this exam. I know it comes with the territory with certs, but it seemed a lot worse on this particular exam. Questions with multiple or no right answers, questions with insufficient information, questions where the right answer depends on the unprovided hardware/ios version, all of these classics were there.

All the material I covered was fantastic, and the entire experience preparing for the exam was very rewarding and I would probably do it again, but man....gently caress that exam.

-questions where the right answer depends on the unprovided hardware/ios version

This is by far my biggest gripe. Sometimes they have questions for things that have been fixed on later software releases, or new products have done them better or something. But without any context they expect you to choose the right answer based on whatever point in time someone made up the question.

FCKGW
May 21, 2006

Judge Schnoopy posted:

Are you doing the WGU track?

Project+ is OK. It's a super surface-level look into PMBOK. A majority of questions are either A) Determining which phase a certain step would fall under, by definition, and B) calculating indexes based on formulas. The rest is a bunch of fluff with extremely corporate-feelgood answers.

To its defense I've used more knowledge from the project+ cert at my job than I have any other CompTIA cert, because writing a formal project proposal is the quickest way to kill shadow IT initiatives.

Sure am. I have Project+, Security+ and CCNA left to go. Hope to be done by July.

Dr. Kayak Paddle
May 10, 2006

Status: currently hating myself for serioisly considering taking the CEH because employer won't pay for SANs class/test. (GCIH specifically.)

I know the class isn't required but anyone have any experience taking SANs tests without it?

Edit: additionally... Reasoning is a new job wanted either of those two certs before making me an offer because DoD.

Edit 2: "Greetings of the day." And some misspelling...even their emails read like spam, ugh.

Dr. Kayak Paddle fucked around with this message at 08:40 on Nov 9, 2017

Boludo
Nov 16, 2012

DirtyFalcon posted:

Status: currently hating myself for serioisly considering taking the CEH because employer won't pay for SANs class/test. (GCIH specifically.)

I know the class isn't required but anyone have any experience taking SANs tests without it?

Edit: additionally... Reasoning is a new job wanted either of those two certs before making me an offer because DoD.

Edit 2: "Greetings of the day." And some misspelling...even their emails read like spam, ugh.

I passed GCIH without taking the course, but had access to the course books. I wouldn't attempt any GIAC certification without them, but it really depends on your comfort level with the material. You can reference the course syllabus to self study and create your own notes for the test.

Will the new job pay for SANS? If so, I'd go CEH first and then have the new job pay for subsequent SANS training.

Judge Schnoopy
Nov 2, 2005

dont even TRY it, pal
Anybody here take CEH recently? How hard / technical is it compared between Security+ and CCNA security?

Study material makes it seem... Not that difficult. But it's gotta be somewhat hard, right?

Dr. Kayak Paddle
May 10, 2006

Judge Schnoopy posted:

Anybody here take CEH recently? How hard / technical is it compared between Security+ and CCNA security?

Study material makes it seem... Not that difficult. But it's gotta be somewhat hard, right?

I'll be scheduling it, as soon as my aplication is processed I guess.

All the test material makes it seem like useless poo poo that doesn't need to be committed to memory. i.e. command arguments for nmap etc... things I can reference on a man page instead of like fundmamental principles etc.

So a more expensive Sec+ and/or a DoD sponsored scam.

Boludo posted:

I passed GCIH without taking the course, but had access to the course books. I wouldn't attempt any GIAC certification without them, but it really depends on your comfort level with the material. You can reference the course syllabus to self study and create your own notes for the test.

Will the new job pay for SANS? If so, I'd go CEH first and then have the new job pay for subsequent SANS training.

I got them to do 5k as a sign on bonus, but I haven't discussed training after the fact. But the class by itself is $6200 and the test w/ class is 800 or $1699 w/o

Dr. Kayak Paddle fucked around with this message at 15:36 on Nov 9, 2017

Boludo
Nov 16, 2012

DirtyFalcon posted:

I'll be scheduling it, as soon as my aplication is processed I guess.

All the test material makes it seem like useless poo poo that doesn't need to be committed to memory. i.e. command arguments for nmap etc... things I can reference on a man page instead of like fundmamental principles etc.

So a more expensive Sec+ and/or a DoD sponsored scam.


I got them to do 5k as a sign on bonus, but I haven't discussed training after the fact. But the class by itself is $6200 and the test w/ class is 800 or $1699 w/o

Agreed on the DoD sponsored scam, curious how EC-council was able to work that.

Most of the contracting firms I've dealt with offer $5,250 toward continued education/certs which is max allowable by IRS before it counts as income. You end up paying some out of pocket regardless but it helps offset the cost. Hopefully that would be a benefit with the new position.

Diva Cupcake
Aug 15, 2005

Judge Schnoopy posted:

Anybody here take CEH recently? How hard / technical is it compared between Security+ and CCNA security?

Study material makes it seem... Not that difficult. But it's gotta be somewhat hard, right?
It doesn't need to be somewhat hard. I took it earlier this year as a tune-up for my CISSP it was mildly tougher than the Security+. Same general theory but more tool-specific questions about netcat parameters and the names of tools used by DDoS kids 5 years ago.

It's value is in 8570 and really only if your employer is paying. Apparently the same requirements it fulfills are now covered by the CompTIA CSA+ so if you're paying out of pocket you might as well go with the cheaper option.

https://iase.disa.mil/iawip/Pages/iabaseline.aspx

Bigass Moth
Mar 6, 2004

I joined the #RXT REVOLUTION.
:boom:
he knows...
Passed Cisco 300-080 and now am down to the final CCNP Collaboration exam. I am going to be so glad when this is over.

I wish they gave a little more info on what questions you didn't answer correctly. One of my topic areas scored only 57% but I have no idea what questions they were or how I got them wrong.

Judge Schnoopy
Nov 2, 2005

dont even TRY it, pal

Diva Cupcake posted:

It doesn't need to be somewhat hard. I took it earlier this year as a tune-up for my CISSP it was mildly tougher than the Security+. Same general theory but more tool-specific questions about netcat parameters and the names of tools used by DDoS kids 5 years ago.

It's value is in 8570 and really only if your employer is paying. Apparently the same requirements it fulfills are now covered by the CompTIA CSA+ so if you're paying out of pocket you might as well go with the cheaper option.

https://iase.disa.mil/iawip/Pages/iabaseline.aspx

I'm considering the Master's WGU track for cybersecurity, which includes CEH and the forensics one by ec council. Otherwise I wouldn't be bothering with CEH at all.

Doug
Feb 27, 2006

This station is
non-operational.

Judge Schnoopy posted:

I'm considering the Master's WGU track for cybersecurity, which includes CEH and the forensics one by ec council. Otherwise I wouldn't be bothering with CEH at all.

For as much as CEH is a joke, CHFI is even worse. I’m just finishing my capstone for the WGU master’s program if you have any questions. Generally though, you should probably have a pretty good, specific reason for wanting the master’s that’s unrelated to actual knowledge gains.

Judge Schnoopy
Nov 2, 2005

dont even TRY it, pal

Doug posted:

For as much as CEH is a joke, CHFI is even worse. I’m just finishing my capstone for the WGU master’s program if you have any questions. Generally though, you should probably have a pretty good, specific reason for wanting the master’s that’s unrelated to actual knowledge gains.

Because it looks good on a resume and doesn't expire like the rest of my certs. And because I have the time at work to complete it, and desire to hit 6 figures in the next two years, and a Master's seems like a good way to differentiate myself from competition since I'm young.

I'm tired of looking at jobs I want that list 8 years experience and figure a master's should help meet that base requirement.

E: how long did the program take you? I heard that the classes are much more performance (essay) evaluated than objective, what's your take on it?

Judge Schnoopy fucked around with this message at 15:00 on Nov 10, 2017

Doug
Feb 27, 2006

This station is
non-operational.

Judge Schnoopy posted:

Because it looks good on a resume and doesn't expire like the rest of my certs. And because I have the time at work to complete it, and desire to hit 6 figures in the next two years, and a Master's seems like a good way to differentiate myself from competition since I'm young.

I'm tired of looking at jobs I want that list 8 years experience and figure a master's should help meet that base requirement.

E: how long did the program take you? I heard that the classes are much more performance (essay) evaluated than objective, what's your take on it?

I can't really speak to the fact of whether anyone has cared, no one has really noted it on my resume. My reason was because I wanted to teach and it satisfied that requirement, but otherwise it was a waste of time.

It's going to end up taking me 5 terms because I'm a lazy rear end but I could've easily completed it in two. If you are good and turning the handle and churning out the bullshit you can fly through the program. It's really modeled around the same types of subject areas as the CISSP. So if you think that's a good cert or a direction you want to take your career, you'll enjoy it. I was hoping for a lot more technical or applied knowledge and that just didn't exist. The extent of it really is the CEH/CHFI and those certs are really just garbage. However, I'm now teaching as an adjunct at a local college so mission accomplished I guess?

Seventh Arrow
Jan 26, 2005

Has anyone done any of the AWS certifications? I'm currently working on the Solutions Architect (Associate) one and I'm wondering how much rote memorization might be needed. I've been watching the A Cloud Guru videos and they have some practice tests, but I'm wondering if there are other decent practice tests available.

YOLOsubmarine
Oct 19, 2004

When asked which Pokemon he evolved into, Kamara pauses.

"Motherfucking, what's that big dragon shit? That orange motherfucker. Charizard."

Seventh Arrow posted:

Has anyone done any of the AWS certifications? I'm currently working on the Solutions Architect (Associate) one and I'm wondering how much rote memorization might be needed. I've been watching the A Cloud Guru videos and they have some practice tests, but I'm wondering if there are other decent practice tests available.

I did that test a few months back. A lot of the test is memorization in the sense that you need to know a fair amount of detail about how the basic aws services function, coupled with more general information about some of the ancillary services like cloudwatch, cloud formation, opsworks, elastic beanstalk, etc.

But yea, you’ll need to know details like which RDS databases support read mirrors or replication, which cloudwatch metrics are available, what information is required to start an ec2 instance, etc

It’s not a terribly difficult test, but it’s not trivial.

Seventh Arrow
Jan 26, 2005

Excellent, thank you. Did you use any practice exams?

YOLOsubmarine
Oct 19, 2004

When asked which Pokemon he evolved into, Kamara pauses.

"Motherfucking, what's that big dragon shit? That orange motherfucker. Charizard."

Seventh Arrow posted:

Excellent, thank you. Did you use any practice exams?

I went through the official study guide (Sybex) once and did most of the labs, then skimmed it again for a refresher and did all of the practice questions in there plus a couple of the practice exams from cloud academy. I just signed up for cloud academy a few days before the test, did the practice exams, and cancelled within the 7 day free trial window.

Dr. Kayak Paddle
May 10, 2006

Took the CEH. Passed in 54 minutes.
I'll state the obvious, joke test...the Sec+ was probably harder but I took that like 4 years ago so who knows. Obvious money grab with typos and all.

Laranzu
Jan 18, 2002

DirtyFalcon posted:

Took the CEH. Passed in 54 minutes.
I'll state the obvious, joke test...the Sec+ was probably harder but I took that like 4 years ago so who knows. Obvious money grab with typos and all.

CEH is probably the biggest scam cert I've experienced.

Took their four day prep class that probably cost my employer 5 Grand. The books were just printed power point slides.

The material was comedy. None of the labs functioned right. Typos everywhere.

War Droning
Sheep dipping
The ever popular War Chalking.
Botnets can have dozens of machines!

Judge Schnoopy
Nov 2, 2005

dont even TRY it, pal

Laranzu posted:

CEH is probably the biggest scam cert I've experienced.

Took their four day prep class that probably cost my employer 5 Grand. The books were just printed power point slides.

The material was comedy. None of the labs functioned right. Typos everywhere.

War Droning
Sheep dipping
The ever popular War Chalking.
Botnets can have dozens of machines!

That's hosed up that it's so highly regarded. Though maybe it's not anymore? I honestly haven't seen it on many job postings recently.

Laranzu
Jan 18, 2002

Judge Schnoopy posted:

That's hosed up that it's so highly regarded. Though maybe it's not anymore? I honestly haven't seen it on many job postings recently.

Pretty sure it's only highly regarded by non technical organizations and HR. It has the buzz words they like. Certified. Ethics! Hackers!!!!

If someone came to me with only a CEH and nothing else to back it up I'd be super wary.

Dr. Kayak Paddle
May 10, 2006

Laranzu posted:

Pretty sure it's only highly regarded by non technical organizations and HR. It has the buzz words they like. Certified. Ethics! Hackers!!!!

If someone came to me with only a CEH and nothing else to back it up I'd be super wary.

Pretty much this. I explained my disdain for having to get the cert, because lol. They understood and are giving me 5k signing bonus, so I'm okay with it. I'm doing labs/self-study for OSCP so I didn't have to study anything specific to the CEH. Turns out the CISSP helped too, because there was random ALE/SLE questions.

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Thirteenth Step
Mar 3, 2004

Looking to getting into a decent infrastructure role sometime in the near future - my experience probably merits it but I’d like to start building up my certs again as they’ve all expired and it looks bad.

Which would be more beneficial - regaining my CCNA or starting from the MS angle with Server 2016? Or doesn’t it really matter?

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