OSWP/Pentesting with Backtrack Courses

[MicroJay]

I have been looking into these courses since they came out.  I am not the type of person that jumps on to new courses.  I like to give them time to get the kinks out and see what others are saying about them.

I do have to say that the Backtrack product is superior to anything on the net.

Saying that, I have recently (re)looked into taking either the OSWP or the Pentesting with Backtrack.  Both peak my interest very much and I’d like to get to know BT to its fullest capabilities.  But the Pentesting course would be beneficial in what I currently do.  With all the comments I have seen, I am curious about a few.

Leo.  I’ve read where learning Leo would be beneficial.  Is it something that others think is needed? 

Scripting.  Is there a lot?  Can it be something picked up as the course goes?  I have some programming knowledge.

Time.  With a full-time position (24×7!), what kind of time did people put in?  I know there is 7 hours of video and obviously 30/60 days of lab time.  But – did the people that took this take a week off or did they do this at night/day when not working?

As with others, I do not want to be behind in the course.  I have had attended several SANS courses and have obtained the GCIH certification.  Granted the semi-new GPEN certification is more in-depth.  Being able to take a week off to attend the SANS courses are beneficial since you can (try to) put work off for that week.

Any thoughts or comments to these courses are appreciated in helping me make my decision.  I just have to take that leap.  But first, I would like some reassuring information!  😉

Thanks in advance!

[KrisTeason]

I haven’t taken the course but I’ve gotten some insight about it and have seen some of the Off Sec 101 v1 videos. Leo is a necessity to the course after all you turn it in as your documentation after each lab / final exam. It’s good you have some programming knowledge, they say programming knowledge isn’t required so my guess is it’s something that can be picked up as the course moves on (giving the guess that you study some bash shell scripting / python, etc on your way in the course). Our member Dark_Knight was most likely the latest one to pass the course and he said he put a lot of time into it, especially with the final exam. It’s also a plus if you do the extras in the course because it’ll help you cover everything so you get that hands on approach to working with Back Track. I’d go for the OSCP before the OSWP though, so just your more familiar with Back Track.

[MicroJay]

Thanks for your insights.  Most likely I will be doing the OSCP first. 
Looks like I will hit the Leo manual and look through it!

[Dark_Knight]

Hey man here is the deal  🙂
The OSCP101 is a great course. The final challenge is tough I took the entire 24hrs to get it. On the other hand some ppl don’t require that much.

Leo
Leo isnt bad, in fact prior to the course I didnt know anything about leo. However muts has a video on it in the student forums which will get you up and running in minutes.

Scripting
Nah there isn’t a lot, again prior to the course I hadn’t done much scripting in fact I hadn’t done any come to think of it. But soon after the course started I was writing bash scripts/perl/python etc. 🙂 You just learn as you go along. Good thing is you have some programming knowledge so you’ll be fine.

Lab Time
You may want to sign up for 60 days.I also have full a time job and so I did it in the evenings and on weekends. That is more than enough time.

Course Work
Do all the labs and you will be fine. Go the extra mile where necessary.

Linux Skillz
Be comfortable in this environment. Be VERY comfortable  🙂 

[MicroJay]

I appreciate the feedback!  I am aware and have prepared myself for that one day of no sleep in the future!  😉

As with all courses I have taken, doing extra stuff helps you get through.  The only way you learn is by doing all the labs + MORE!!!  You can never get enough!  Book smart can only get someone so far…Actually doing the functionality gets someone further…repetative gets someone even further! 

I’m glad to hear that someone else has taken it with a full-time job.  That is my biggest worry.  Just have to prep the family and have a do-not-disturb sign on the basement door!  🙂

[vijay2]

Jay,

The above posts have pretty much coverd all the great points. The only thing I would add is you r a much better position to do OSCP because you have done GCIH, though its not a prequist, but it covers a lot of theory.

All the best

VJ

[Ne0]

i would like to see OSWP certs to be in top 3 papers in the world as backtrack will be soon release within hours , they have even released a perfect hard disk install step by muts, i hope it have more added features and this version may soon be included for the OSCP

[MicroJay]

Thanks everyone for your insights.  I will most likely be close to taking this in March as I have travels out of the country that would interfere with taking it now.

One more Q – Are the videos downloadable and ‘portable’?  That way they can be viewed anywheres without an Internet connection?
Thanks!

[Ethcal]

One more Q – Are the videos downloadable and ‘portable’?  That way they can be viewed anywheres without an Internet connection?

yes you can watch them off line any time any where : )

[jason]

Here’s the guide for the install to disk:

http://www.offensive-security.com/documentation/backtrack-hd-install.pdf

[Ne0]

BT4 is like a HOT BUN , i am just waiting for its final launch …. there is tutorials abt how to update nvidia card drivers and cracking the WiFi with faster speed.. http://thewifihack.com

[MicroJay]

Yes – BT4b is very nice!  I as well have downloaded and have a spare HD for it.  Some nice features have been added.  But – I do not want to jump into it as I am getting close to set some time aside for the classes.  Since they still utilize BT3, I think I will be using that for some time. 
Plus – I just purchased an Alfa Wireless USB adapter as I see that being supported for some time now.  I have many wireless cards, but none that do injection to test my home routers with.
Also – I have many friends that are non-techie that think that their wireless is just fine.  I’d like to point out to them otherwise via demonstration – of course under their supervision!  ;D

[Ne0]

Microjay

the Alfa cards really works well, for injection purpose than other cards for BT3, what ever videos are posted in my website is all done using my Alfa cards , there are 2 types of alfa cards and both works well, best of luck for your Exam and hope the best

[MicroJay]

Looks like I get my Alfa Thursday.  Can’t wait to try it out!  I’ll check your site out.

[Ne0]

microjay
best of luck with ur enjoy cracking the perimeters….get me the reviews on my site

[MicroJay]

Got the Alfa today!  Cracked my spare linksys in less than 20 minutes.  At first it was going slow…then it picked up speed.  Worked like a charm!  A 128-bit code that I made up.  Definately the adapter of choice!  😉

[RoleReversal]

Sounds like you’ve got a nice toy there 😀

I’m looking (have been for a while, finances….) for a decent wireless adapter for this kind of work, can you share the part/model number so I can add it to my list of potentials?

Cheers in advance

[Ne0]

http://www.data-alliance.net/servlet/the-90/802.11g-USB-802.11b-802.11n/Detail

this is the TOY man

[MicroJay]

That is the correct model…AWUS036H.  I got mine at a different place due to an external antenna attachment that I wanted.  $50 is about the price you will find (cheapest) + S/H. 

[RoleReversal]

Cheers guys,

I’ll take a look (cheaper than I was expecting to :D)

[KrisTeason]

@Ne0 wrote:

http://www.data-alliance.net/servlet/the-90/802.11g-USB-802.11b-802.11n/Detail

this is the TOY man

I got mine from this source few months back. They’re good people, shipped out the same day and I received it on the 3rd day.

[Author]

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