EC-Council is a leading company that provides vendor-neutral certifications on cyber security. The demand for such professionals has increased, as it’s the most actual topic in any company or organization to keep the data safe from threats and to prevent any leakage of information. EC-Council offers a wide variety of credentials from fundamental ones Certified Secure Computer User certification and four fundamental courses FNS, FIS, FSP, FCF, that cover such topics as network security, information security, secure programming and computer forensics, to specialist level credentials which include Certified Network Defense Architect (CNDA), Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CCISO) and others. Being certified in cybersecurity is not the fashion of every day’s life but a necessity, as to protect servers and data bases from hackers, one should think as a hacker. This what candidates are taught in the process of getting credentials by EC-Council.
The Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) exam is designed to evaluate the candidate’s knowledge and skills on hacking techniques. The tested techniques include network security, penetration testing methodologies, current security threats, as well as counter-measures. Before you venture into registering and writing the CEH exam, it is crucial to understand the subject contents and be conversant with the exam pattern. Following the steps described below will help you in preparing for your certification exam and make sure you achieve outstanding success during the test.
- Prepare a checklist of the exam topics
The CEH certification exam consists of 125 questions that cover a wide range of subjects. By creating a checklist, you will be able to capture all subjects and focus on each of them individually. If you don’t have a list of the topics, there is the tendency to focus on few chosen topics and ignore the others. A checklist will help you know how far you have gone in studying the different topics and will clearly indicate the ones yet to be covered. When preparing your checklist, you should include the following:
Network Security Topics:
- Enumeration
- Foot Printing
- Scanning
- Reconnaissance
- Sniffing
- Firewalls
- TCP Handshake
- Session Hijacking
- Social Engineering
- SSL
- IDSs
Threats:
- SQL Injection
- Current security issues of Windows OS
- Latest Mobile Hacking Tools
- Latest viruses, trojans, malware types, and phishing attempt plans
- DDoS attacks
- Shellshock
- Sniffers
- Hacking in Cloud
- Heartbleed
Counter-measures:
- Cryptography
- Security Controls
- Current industry standards and security laws
- Risk Assessment
- Develop a study plan
After preparing your checklist, the next step is to develop a study plan. It is important to put every other aspect of your life in perspective when putting this plan together: your work, social, and other obligations. It is recommended that you plan your study time around when you are off work or when you will be meeting with your study group. Other critical factors to put into consideration when developing your study plan include the following:
- Your preferred training method: For some test takers, self-learning is a great option of learning and for some others, learning is better done in the classroom. Understanding your preferred method will help you get the best out of your exam preparation.
- When do you plan taking the certification exam? You need to know this to be able to put an effective study plan together. You can visit the testing center website to check the schedule that fits your plan. When you know the time you want to write the exam, you can plan your preparation accordingly so that you can cover all exam topics.
- Your budget for training courses and study materials: There are official training courses and study materials that have been put in place to help with your exam preparation. These training resources are great way to thoroughly understand each of the topics covered in the certification test.
- How conversant are you with the certification exam topics? With adequate practical experience, you can drastically reduce your study time. However, you have to consider other factors such as question logic and exam length as experience cannot offer you the needed strategy to answer exam questions. This comes only by studying and reading the exam handbook.
- Use practical environment to study
It is critical to know that the Certified Ethical Hacker exam is based on real world perspectives. It goes beyond theoretical knowledge that can be gathered from reading resource materials. To have an effective study, you need to create a virtual lab in your home where you can practice some of the concepts and techniques of the exam subjects. You can also attend training on EcCouncil Certified Ethical Hacker CEH to learn how to create a lab environment and other training guidance.
- Know everything about the exam
There is enough information on the EC-Council website, detailing all you need to know about the certification exam. The site offers different links to different information about exam preparation such as exam topics, study materials, official training providers, and practice questions. You can also check out the Certified Ethical Hacker Handbook to get other details like certification overview, exam prerequisite, types of questions to expect, number of questions, passing mark, and duration of the exam.
- Use other free resources for your exam preparation
There are many free resource tools that are available to help you in your exam preparation. The exam blueprint, handbook, study books, practice questions, and a lot of other resources are available to you for free. You can get some of these resources on the official certification website and you can also get some others from different sources online. The exam blueprint is designed to offer you detailed information on the different topics covered in the certification exam, including the percentage level of questions associated with each exam topic.
- Take an exam preparation course
Using a self-learning technique might be a good idea but you might need additional training to perfect your learning process. It is recommended that you take ExamSnap exam prep course to fully understand the depth of the exam subjects. By taking a preparation course, you gain access to experienced instructors who know what it takes to write and pass the certification test. You also have the opportunity to learn new exam strategies, get answers to all your questions, share experiences, and network with others, that is, if you are taking in-person training. Taking an exam preparation course increases your chances of passing the certification exam significantly.
- Take a lot of practice question
You should never embark on writing a certification exam without taking enough practice questions to evaluate your readiness for the exam. The CEH certification exam consists of 125 questions and the candidates are expected to complete it within four hours. This means you have about two minutes to answer each question. The implication of this is that you need to be focused and be able to manage your time and control stress. When you take a practice test, you are able to learn the exam questions pattern and how to approach them. You also get to evaluate knowledge level before the actual exam.
Conclusion
Finally, it is recommended that you join an online community of other test takers. If you don’t know any, just do a Google search and several forums, personal websites, and wikis will come up. Go through them and see the ones you are comfortable with and join them. By cooperating with a community of like-minded people, you get to learn more and kept abreast of latest information about the CEH exam.
