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My first certificate is eJPT from eLearnSecurity. I got it about a year ago.
I state that i have always been fascinated by computer security and computer science in general, but being still not very practical in the field, before starting the course, i made a good acquaintance (searching a lot on the internet) about which were the best courses to do online and which of these courses they issued a final certification.
After several researches, in the end, i focused on the eCPPT course.
I had chosen eCPPT because, as i had read in many forums, it is a course that teaches you the subject by explaining to you clearly and precisely the various steps, making you fully understand what you are doing.
Being a beginner, therefore, i decided to buy this course without wasting time with others courses that maybe took for granted a basic knowledge that i still didn’t have. Before buying it, however, i had decided to write to eLearnSecurity to get an advice if eCPPT would have been difficult for me as a novice (and therefore if it was better to go first for eJPT) or if it could also be good for a neophyte.
They replied that it would be better to go first to eJPT and then switch to eCPPT.
Obviously this may seems like a purely marketing move, but now that i have obtained eJPT certification and i am currently studying for eCPPT i can safely say that they were right.
The eJPT course is done really well, it is easy to understand and has given me not only the basics but a really good knowledge of the foundations of penetration testing and i think that without having completed this course i would certainly have found difficulties on the eCPPT.
I had bought “Elite” version of the course and eJPT material is really well done and well organized to make you better understand the subject.
The study material is available via HTML5 or PDF files in the form of slides and there are video in which you can deepen the theory studied in the slides; finally there are a virtual labs in which you can practice what you’ve learned; you must connect via VPN (using openvpn) to connect to these labs.
You can download all course material (PDF files and videos) if you want. See the eLearnSecurity site and check the eJPT’s Syllabus to see what topic it covers.
It begins by explaining computer networks and web applications then hints at C++ and Python languages and then moves on to XSS (Cross Site Scripting) and the use of Metasploit.
Furthermore the course focuses mainly on Information Gathering/Scanning phase because, as they say, it is the most important step in a penetration test: the more data will be collected by the victim, the easier it will be to find the right attack.
Another important thing is that there is a forum dedicated to the students in which there are the instructors ready to answer to every questions about that course. I have always received answers to all my questions and other students too.
Before taking the final exam for the certification i redid the whole course and all the labs three times, to make sure i pass it and at the end I passed it. I had a lot of fun doing the exam because I found it realistic then it satisfied me.
The exam lasts 3 days, more than enough to finish it. You have to test a system and you must answer questions whose answers you will find going forward by hacking this system. It covers almost all the topics included in the course and if you are well prepared you can pass it in short time. I finished it in about 5 hours.
Final impressions
As i said eJPT is well done and i recommend it to all those who want to start taking the path of penetration testing because it gives you really well the basics knowledge from which to start to move forward and to do this job.
It isn’t hard but it clarified me, in a very understandable way, topics that i always wanted to know how they work. Now that i’m eJPT certified, i can say that the ECPPT it’s easier for me.
Furthermore the course can easily be done by those who work, in fact i did it while i was working.
In conclusion i think that eLearnSecurity has great courses material and great instructors: i’m enjoying with them and I’m happy of my choice.