PNPT
12/17/2022
Last updated
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12/17/2022
Last updated
Was this helpful?
The problem with not having enough pressure on me is that I tend to find reasons to not study and just sit playing video games. My plan for 2022 had been PNPT -> OSCP -> eCPPTv2. I failed. Most of the year I did not study. I would pop a box here and there for fun but not consistently. Having bought my voucher during the Memorial day sale put little pressure on me. The fire was not lit until I was rejected for an internal Jr. Penetration Tester position within my company. Despite being told I had the technical skills, a very clean report, and spending many hours with the pentester who manages the CTF challenge, helping clean it up because I was able to exploit it in unintended ways. The reason I got passed over was asinine🤵. The flame was lit.
When my salt levels returned to normal and my mind had cleared, I immediately scheduled my PNPT exam attempt for October. I spent August and September studying as if it were my mission.
So I took a break. Coming back with my plan of attack to be reviewing everything I had already done. Then I spotted it. A mindless error. This would have been completely avoided by reading the very first line of the Gitub repo for the tool. Three hours later I had domain admin. Again getting screenshots and taking notes as I went. I was finished by 9pm. The next day I did nothing but spend time with my family. Sunday I worked on the report off and on. Monday morning satisfied with my report I submitted it. Within 24 hours my report was accepted and I scheduled the debrief as soon as possible. My debrief was with the man himself, Heath Adams. It was very straight forward and within 10 minutes I was finished. I was able to ask Heath a few questions after finishing the debrief which he happily answered. He informed me that I had passed and my certification would be released within the hour.
Over all a good experience which I would highly recommend if penetration testing is something you would like to pursue. Moving forward I decided to skip the eCPPTv2 when trying to claim my exam voucher. I purchased the eJPT voucher during eLearnSecurity's black Friday sale but was misled by their advertising. The BOGO code I was sent was not good for another voucher, it was just for 50% off. My sights now shift to the OSCP.
The exam objectives are fairly simple and can be found at I scheduled my exam for 9:30 am on a Friday. With red bulls in the fridge and my son at daycare I was ready for war. I finished the OSINT portion within an hour. Taking screenshots and documenting as I went. I hit a wall after the first machine. Even had the exam environment reset thinking something was messed up. No matter what I did I could not move forward or capture any hashes.
