Re: Sans GIAC GSEC exam

From: Alex Krycek (alex_krycek_at_hush.com)
Date: 11/25/05

  • Next message: Pranav Lal: "Re: Hard drive encryption in windows"
    Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2005 18:34:29 -0800
    To: <thurgoodj187@hotmail.com>, <security-basics@securityfocus.com>
    
    

    -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
    Hash: SHA1

    I've learned to never say 'never' so I won't tell you that "you
    will never pass the exams without the official courseware", because
    you just might.

    I will tell you that the odds of you passing the exams without
    studying from the official courseware are definitely NOT in your
    favor.

    All of the questions (100 from the first exam + 100 from the second
    exam) are pulled directly from those books.

    If you want to increase the chances of passing the exams, get the
    books and study them in detail. And don't bother wasting your time
    with the practice tests, they won't help in preparing you for the
    real exams - you won't find any (maybe one or two but that's it)
    real exam questions from those practice tests - they will only give
    you a false sense of confidence. Spend your time studying from the
    books, the official courseware books. Trust me!

    It is my opinion that the GSEC exams are not a true test of your
    security knowledge. It is more like a game of Trivial Pursuit in
    Network Security, where all of the questions on the cards are
    pulled from the content in the courseware books. And the majority
    of the questions are just that, trivial. Trivial in the sense that
    the questions (at least the majority of them) that are asked in the
    exam are looking a specific piece of information that you will only
    find in a single sentence in a paragraph buried on a page somewhere
    in one of the books.

    Don't get me wrong, if you study from those books and the audio
    (MP3) files that come with the self-study kit, you will learn a
    lot, and I mean a lot. It's just that the exams are not a true
    test of the knowledge you have gained from all of your studying.
    It is not a true measurement of what you have learned.

    Tip: Get the self-study kit, take your time and study the books
    and listen to the MP3s - get an iPod so you can listen to them
    anywhere. Create your own detailed Table of Contents for all of
    the books. You will find that each book does not have its own
    detailed table of contents or index. That's because the exams are
    open-book and a detailed table of contents would only assist you in
    finding the answers during the exam. Do this - create a file, name
    it Master Table of Contents and as you study through each book, add
    entries to this master file so you know what page in what book that
    particular topic can be found. When you take the exam, have that
    file open and you can Ctrl-F through that file for the particular
    keyword/topic you are looking for. (Don't plan on looking up the
    answer in the books for every single question; you'll never finish
    the test in time.)

    It's a fun exam to study for, so take your time and enjoy it.

    - --- Steve Barron <thurgoodj187@hotmail.com> wrote:

    > Hi all
    >
    > I have registered for the GES exam challange and was looking for
    anyone's
    > opinions on resources to study.
    >
    > Right now I have passed the Security + exam, which I read 3
    related books
    > for. Also I have the GSEC PRep guide by Mike Chapple and GSEC
    Security
    > essentials Toolkit by Eric Cole. Also I have some online
    training from
    > skillsoft.
    >
    > Does anyone recommend any other resources other than the
    expensive SANS
    > courses or study guides?
    >
    > Thanks in advance
    >
    > Steve
    >
    >
    >
    -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
    Note: This signature can be verified at https://www.hushtools.com/verify
    Version: Hush 2.4

    wkYEARECAAYFAkOGeDcACgkQGwgQ9yZzfqYe4wCfc+Vwqu4fw4dvuAzXuq4LeNMHWZsA
    oK5fr/6uY4xAc8yrC5yqDpWRHfsN
    =Qz2W
    -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----


  • Next message: Pranav Lal: "Re: Hard drive encryption in windows"

    Relevant Pages

    • Re: Some simple questions...
      ... questions based on what is in the books. ... my experience with the exams is that sometimes (especially when you have ... The way I learned this stuff is by reading, testing, reading, testing, etc. ... applying GPOs for policy enforcement and/or software deployment: ...
      (microsoft.public.windows.server.active_directory)
    • Re: MCSE - how easy?
      ... Buy the books one at a time starting with the client os books. ... To top this off the company went bust before I completed my MCSE and I lost out on the last few exams. ... I don't regret doing my MCSE though - the first few MCP's got me my first IT job as a computer technician. ... Why don't you just start off with a client exam book, study it and see how far you get? ...
      (microsoft.public.windows.server.general)
    • RE: Just Starting out
      ... Only then will you be ready to take the exams. ... You don't have to get the books at Amazon - you can get them almost anywhere ... the opportunity to download some of the certification books as well. ... If you have no money at all, go to a bookstore and read the books there, ...
      (microsoft.public.cert.exam.mcse)
    • Re: Needed: Book Recommendations for .NET Certification
      ... you in the wrong answered question a good explanation and the books where to ... to now to pass the exams should be there and for selftestsoftware well ... is an exact replica of the exams that you are gonna do so it is a great ...
      (microsoft.public.dotnet.languages.vb)
    • RE: Just Starting out
      ... Only then will you be ready to take the exams. ... You don't have to get the books at Amazon - you can get them almost anywhere ... the opportunity to download some of the certification books as well. ... If you have no money at all, go to a bookstore and read the books there, ...
      (microsoft.public.cert.exam.mcse)