My plan almost worked. Got #OSCP certified from @offsectraining. Something need to be said. Thanx to @WWHackinFest @BHinfoSecurity @strandjs @BanjoCrashland @debthedeb and many more.

Hi!

I made it!

Intro

Lets face it the IT industry has changed a lot the past almost 30 years that I have been in this amazing bubble.

If you are in the same shoes as med and want to learn something new like I did 2018 then this is for you. (at least I think that)

In 2018 I was able to attend CEH in person training, that course change my work life. I was hooked in Security/Hacking. This past year, when I started PNPT and OSCP journey I have done more than 500 hours training in some way, and that almost always done on “spare” time.

The Security space it is different that other areas that I have been working in. For ex. How to rack and install Windows server, If you have done that 100 times, you are an expert. But in security it changes so fast and new things surface every day.

The bad thing about security is that we need to think about it everyday private and at work. We do not live in a heaven and everybody is nice.

Well lets start!

OSCP Material

The OSCP material is very detailed and they cover a lot of thing. There is 859 pages to cover in this course. The material is great. The video is not so god, I think that is a personal thing. I like in person education but thats me. And you can save it as a PDF one time!

Certifications

Certification is not a must to be good at something, for me it is a certificate for dedication, how much time you put in to learn something new. Sure certification is door opener when you apply for a new job, but in my case have have been at the same company since 1994 so that has not been an issue for me.

Education

I hate OSCP/PNPT and all other web based education. Not the content it self but the delivery of the content. For me it in person training is so much better, you can have dialog with other students and teacher. Yes, I am old. I know this is and will be the new way to educate your self in. But that is my view, and I have almost learned to deal with it.
“knowledge is light to carry”

Inspiration

For me this is a big thing. In two ways. Finding my own inspiration and give back to the younger audience that want to do something in there work life.
I really want to mention some people/companies that have this effect on me! Than you all!

John “not the model” Strand @strandjs

Chris Brenton @Chris_Brenton

@RedSiege

Tim Medin @TimMedin

For the great webinars Jason Blanchard @BanjoCrashland and Deb Wigley @debthedeb and all the “hangarounds”

What do you need to pull of a thing like this

Time
Understanding family
Love what you do (not necessary but it will help)
Make a timeline
Have someone that you can talk to (helping out, I wished that for me)
Someone to pay for this (Thanx INVID)

If I could change something

Start to learn programming back in the days
I wish I started in the security space 20 years ago (That was not a thing back in the days)
48 hours per day instead of 24

Timeline

My old time plan was that I would do PNPT and OSCP same year, It was possible but I faild my first attemt in december. But it is close. If you want to read a more detailed plan for PNPT and OSCP journey do it here: https://wp.me/p94JuN-yN

Exam Day 2023-02-04

My exam started 01:00 Saturday so I was at work 24:00 to fix the place to be exam ready. And I got my hacking shirt on from @WWHackinFest. If I pass this is gonna be a shirt that I always have on for engagements or exams in the future. Thanx for the shirt Deb Wigley

Of course we need energy so I fixed some salad and sugar stuff and some strong energy drink

Time to begin the exam, 15 min before the schedule exam time you need to connect to proctor link (in the email that you got). They will look at your driver license and the area that you will be sitting at.

No problem to go for 5 min of walk or to take a dump or sleep if you want, just ping them in the chat.

The proctor application did spike my CPU a lot, did not affect my exam at all. Except for the fan that was spinning and loud.

I did this test in December so I think I have a god documentation template. If you do not have that, please create one. If you want to learn how reporting is done spend a few dollars on https://twitter.com/mttaggart course Practical Web Application Security and Testing that include also a reporting part and you get feedback also.

When the proctor part is over you will receive another email with vpn information and you will be able to connect. When you are connected you will run a script that the proctor wants you to paste in the chat no problem there.

When you are connected you will be able to connect to the exam portal for the hashes to be filled in if you find any 🙂 and the Rules of Engagement.

Then it is time to hack!

Time go so fast……

Almost 14:30 and I think I am finished, I chat with the proctor to end the exam.

Puhhh nothing more that I can do now! Except for report writing.

I print out the report that I was doing during the exam, cleaned my office and went home.

In bed for 30 minutes to get some rest, then back to the computer.

It was time to nice up my report. After 3,5 hours 19:30 I thought that I was finished with the report and it was time to send it over to Offensive Security.

PLEASE READ THE INFORMATION FROM OFFENSIVE SECURITY about how to do this. If it is your first time at least.

Then what shall I do now, go to sleep? NO I need to celebrate, I was home alone with the dog and he did not understand how relived I was and did not want to take a beer with me. So I went out to grab a beer. 3 hours later I was in bed sleeping like a baby!