ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

When I wrote the first edition of this book, one of the first people I gave a copy to was my mom. She didn’t, and still doesn’t, have a clue what most of it means, but she was thrilled and kept saying, “You’re an author…,” like I had cured a disease or saved a baby from a house fire. At the time I felt weird about it, and I still do. Looking back on the opportunity I was given—almost out of the blue—by Tim Green and McGraw-Hill Education, I just can’t believe the entire thing came to pass. And I’m even more surprised I had anything to do with it.

Those who know me well understand what is meant when I say I’m just not capable of doing this. I don’t have the patience for it, I’m not anywhere near the smartest guy in the room (and right now the only others in this room with me are a plastic Batman, a zombie garden gnome, and a Tiki doll), and my Southern brand of English doesn’t always represent the clearest medium from which to provide knowledge and insight. Not to mention I have the attention span of a gnat. It still amazes me it all worked then, and I’m floored we’re here again with yet another version.

I tried with all that was in me to provide something useful to you, dear reader and CEH candidate, in previous versions of this book, and attempted to make this one even better. I’ve learned a lot (like how having a static study book for an ever-changing certification leaves you open to horrendous book review cruelty), and hope this one helps me learn even more. We’ve put a lot of effort into tidying up loopholes and adding salient information from the ever-growing supply EC-Council avails us with in this version. In cases of success, it was a team effort and credit goes to those who helped me in spite of myself. There were many, many folks around me who picked up the slack and corrected—both technically and grammatically—any writing I’d screwed up. In cases where there was a misstep or misquote, or something was missed entirely, these areas of failure are without question mine and mine alone. But somehow we all pulled it off, and there are thanks to be had for that.

The McGraw-Hill Education team that works to get these editions out is beyond compare. Seriously, these folks are super smart, exceptionally dedicated to their task, and fun to work with. They deserve parades, 60 Minutes stories about their lives, and bronze statues of themselves set somewhere for others to admire and aspire to. Amy Stonebraker Gray, Claire Yee, Anupriya Tyagi, and Bart Reed, please know how humbled I am to have had the opportunity to work with you, how appreciative I am of all your hard work, and how much I admire and respect you. You guys rock.

A great note of thanks is due to my workmates at Perspecta. Having the opportunity to work with this group of professionals is nothing short of a blessing, and I’m humbled before Almighty God to be a part of it all. I can’t thank them enough for everything they do. For putting up with me. For providing, every day, a reminder to me to get up and do my best—because anything less than that and they’d all leave me in the dust. For laughing with me. Heck, for laughing at me. For facing adversity with that “Come at me, bro” mentality I love on this job. For support—both of each other as a team and to me explicitly during times I needed it. For doing work no one else could during times no one else would. My prayer for this team is that you all know how much you’re appreciated and how grateful I am to know and work with you, and that I hope God just blesses the crap out of you and yours.

This book, and its previous editions, simply would not have been possible without our technical editor, Brad Horton. I’ve known Brad since 2005, when we both served time in “the vault” at Marshall Space Flight Center, and I am truly blessed to call him a friend. I’ve said it before and I’ll state it again here: Brad is singularly, without doubt, the most talented technical mind I have ever met in my life. He has great taste in bourbon (although not so much with Scotch), roots for the right team, and smacks a golf ball straighter and truer than most guys I’ve seen—on and off TV. He is a loving husband to his beautiful wife, a great father to his children, a one-of-a-kind pen tester, and a fantastic team lead. He even plays the piano and other musical instruments like a pro and, I hear, is a fantastic bowler. I hate him. ;-)

His insights as a pen test lead were laser sharp and provided great fodder for more discussion. Want proof he’s one of the best? I’d be willing to bet none of you reading this book has ever actually relished a full critique of your work. But I do. Brad’s edits are simultaneously witty, humorous, and cutting to the core. If someone had bet me four or five years ago that I’d not only enjoy reading critiques of my work but would be looking forward to them, I would be paying out in spades today. You’re one of the absolute bests, my friend...for a government worker, anyway. Roll Tide.

Thanks are due to my super smart, incredibly talented, and altogether awesome daughter, Hope Walker, as well. After college, she took up IT security in all its facets and found her talents, skills, and mindset fit in perfectly with—drumroll, please—penetration testing. She is currently blowing the doors off everything she touches (if she’s on the team testing you, be ready…) and has an incredibly bright future ahead of her. On several occasions throughout this book I asked for her opinion, insight, and, in several sidebars throughout the book, outright written material. She’s an exceptional technical mind, an extraordinarily gifted pen tester, and a great communicator. And I get to call her daughter. What a blessing. Thank you, Hopey!

Lastly, there is no way this book could have been started, much less completed, without the support of my lovely and talented wife, Angie. In addition to the unending encouragement throughout the entire process, Angie is the greatest contributing editor I could have ever asked for. Having someone as talented and intelligent as her sitting close by to run things past, or ask for a review on, was priceless. Not to mention, she’s adorable. Her insights, help, encouragement, and work while this project was ongoing sealed the deal. I can’t thank her enough.