Kev, Dean,

I think you both have valid points. I just took the class for the CEH since I am looking to make a career change. I'm currently military and do not work in the IT sector of it. I'm aircrew and the only time I use a computer at work is when I'm at my desk. That does not mean that I have no experience with the IT world or security. I have always been something of a geek and have tinker with the home PC for years, even building my own. While at my current job, I have taken advantage of my time to finish a BS in Software Engineering and a Masters in Information Systems Security. Does this make me an expert? No. Did it open my eyes to a whole new world? Yes. The certs that I have pursued are to help me learn more about networking and security because it is something that I want to get into. I took the CEH class because there is no way for me to get the two years experience that the EC-Council specifies on there web site to sit for the exam. After sitting through the class, do I think I'm an expert on pen testing? No, I have a lot to learn but it is a start.

Well that is just my thoughts and I think that most certs are best served as eye openers. As you study for then, you get your eyes opened to new ideas and perhaps it can spark a desire to learn more about that subject.

I did the course thorugh New Horizons and found gaps when I went to sit for the exam. I have used the tools and really like metasploit. Good luck.

I started playing with computers back in the day of the Commodor 64. However all my playing was more of a gaming nature and grew into more and more of a hobby as I grew older. I have built my own computer as well as buying. For the last 12 years I have tried to keep IT as a hobby for fear of it becoming "work". I gave up about two years ago and got a bachelors in Software Engineering and a Masters in Info Sys Security. So have fun and enjoy the IT world.

I have taken the CEH course through one of the training centers. I also know an instructor that holds both the CEH and CPTS and his feed back is that they are basically the same thing. After taking both exams, I found the focus to be slightly different. The course was the same for either though. The difference in the outside world is that the government looks more favorably on the CPTS while the corporate world looks towards the CEH. Good luck.

Thanks guys for the advice. I'll let you all know how it goes after I take the exams again.

The CPTS exam was not far off from the CEH, but its focus was slightly different. I guess the best way to put it is that it was focused on the ethical side of hacking than on the procedures to hack or counter. Don't get me wrong, it looked at the whole picture, but the focus was not the same. So I am taking both exams as a lesson learned and will be looking at the areas I thought I was off on. Unfortunately, without better feed back other than the score, I' not sure where those areas are.

Hey all,

I just sat through and completed the course with New Horizons. I found the course to be hugely informative and scary enough that I was just about ready to unplug the computer from the wall when I got home. The course really opened my eyes to a world that I knew existed but had no idea how big it really was. I have now sat for the CEH and CPTS exam and scored the same on both. Namely I didn't pass. It did open my eyes to more and I discoved that the course did not cover near what it needed to for the exam. Both stressed more than just the tools or how to use them. I feel that in many ways the course offered a disservice since most people would think that a course would prepair you for the actual exam. I wish that it would have given better feed back so that I can learn where I'm weak at. Any advice would be welcome. So to rant as my first post. I'm just a little dicouraged.