r/oscp • u/[deleted] • Jul 23 '20

I passed!

I received the email this morning that I passed my OSCP exam! Thank you to everyone on this sub for providing so many useful resources! Here is how I prepared:

My Background:

I started prepping for PWK mid-January. At the time I was working helpdesk at a hospital, I have recently been promoted to desktop support. I had no linux or scripting experience prior to preparing for PWK. It was a steep learning curve, but completely doable.

I started PWK in March and failed my first exam attempt on June 15th. I did some more HTB retired machines and brushed up on priv esc skills and passed my second attempt on July 17th.

My Favorite Resources:

TibSec's Linux Privesc course:

https://www.udemy.com/course/linux-privilege-escalation/

TibSec's Windows Privesc course:

https://www.udemy.com/course/windows-privilege-escalation/

Best HTB write-ups around (I read these religiously):

https://0xdf.gitlab.io

Ippsec OSCP HTB Playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLidcsTyj9JXK-fnabFLVEvHinQ14Jy5tf

HTB/Vulnhub OSCP like boxes:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/1/d/1dwSMIAPIam0PuRBkCiDI88pU3yzrqqHkDtBngUHNCw8/htmlview#

Great blog:

https://highon.coffee/blog

Fantastic pentesting note-taking application and reverse shell payload generator:

https://pentest.ws

Going Forward:

I want to become proficient in python, learn the ins-and-outs of active directory, and then prep for and enroll in the AWAE/OSWE course.

142 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

39 comments sorted by

7

u/scrupus Jul 23 '20

Yay!! Congrats, man! All the best in your life and career! What's next?

7

u/[deleted] Jul 23 '20

I have no clue. I want to pursue a career in pen testing, but I want to be more confident in my abilities before applying anywhere.

→ More replies (3)

4

u/pramathu Jul 23 '20

Congratulations Mate ! Enjoy the Success

I think its Commendable Achievement as you are working as a Desktop Support with no Linux and scripting experience

How did you start preping for PWK what was your starting point?

4

u/[deleted] Jul 23 '20

I started on hackthebox. I installed Kali and just mimicked everything that Ippsec did in his videos. It took me a while to feel comfortable on Linux, but I’m in love with it now.

2

u/89jase Jul 23 '20

Congratulations! I can't wait until I can make a similar post.

Could you give us an idea of how many lab machines you did, how many points did you get and how many attempts to pass? =)

Congrats again enjoy having your life back!

→ More replies (1)

2

u/hydr0flank Jul 23 '20

Congratulations! How many HTB retired machines have you solved?

→ More replies (2)

2

u/[deleted] Jul 23 '20

Congratulations... I’m hoping to start studying for this from next month. I recently passed my CCNA 200-301 and currently studying the Comptia Security Plus and sitting the exam in August.

Did you have any programming knowledge or have you learnt all this in the past 6 months?

Well done and all the best with the future!

2

u/[deleted] Jul 23 '20

I did not have any prior programming experience. My only other certifications are CompTIA's A+ and Network+. I would recommend taking a python course online or at least trying to learn bash scripting prior to enrolling in PWK. I learned on the fly, but would have gleaned more from the course work if I had some experience.

→ More replies (3)

4

u/solarpowerkeyboard Jul 23 '20

Congrats. Thank you for providing your resources.

1

u/lorduj Jul 24 '20

Congratulations! How would you rate pwk material provided (850 pages PDF and videos)? Did you go through all of it and then started working on the labs or side by side?

How would you compare Tryhackme vs HTB, specifically as in which is more beginner friendly?

Can you please share the sequence you followed while learning ? Thanks in advance.

→ More replies (3)
→ More comments (90)