It's going to be the same or slightly more difficult than the practice exams. You can bring in any paper resources you want: books, printed notes, etc.

Only advice at this point would be to review your weak areas from the practice tests and ensure you're as prepared as you can be.

SO close!!!!

One piece of advice. A few months ago Eric Cole told my class that SANS makes sure that you won't get the same questions on a retake exam so I wouldn't count on getting any boost from having seen some of the questions.

Best case scenario you have the course books and can put together a thorough index. If you don't have the books, I've heard others say "counterhack reloaded" is a good book to read and take in with you. It's older but written by the course author so...

Hopefully the new test will give you two more practice exams? If so take real good notes on test one and adjust your materials accordingly. Do the same for test two and hopefully you'll have your info well organized and searchable by that point.

I haven't taken my GPEN yet so I can't give you test specific advice but good luck!!!

Hi azmatt and ajohnson,

Thank you both for your respective replies.

I cannot get more practice exams with the reattempt, but azmatt thank you for telling me that I won't get the same questions on a retake exam. I got confused on SQL injection, DNS zone transfers and iptables questions in the exam. It would be great if you guys could tell me some good links where I can clear my doubts.

Awaiting your response.

Thanks.

What about www.ucertify.com , did any body used it?

For me, I self-studied by taking the Offensive-Security course "Penetration Testing with Backtrack". It was the best preparation. All I had to study after was some Windows based tools and read about laws and ethics. I barely used my notes in the exam and with no prior experience, I passed with a good score.

Honestly, I realized that playing with the tools covered in the exam is by far the best way of learning. You don't have to go too deep with each tool, but knowing how they works is key to being successful with this exam.

But since you were pretty close on your first attempt, you'll be good next time!