Introduction

Welcome to Certified Ethical Hacker Exam Cram. This book is designed to prepare you to take—and pass—the CEH exam. The CEH exam has become the leading introductory-level network certification available today. It is recognized by both employers and industry giants as providing candidates with a solid foundation of networking concepts, terminology, and skills.

About CEH Exam Cram

Exam Crams are designed to give you the information you need to know to prepare for a certification exam. They cut through the extra information, focusing on the areas you need to get through the exam. With this in mind, the elements within Exam Crams are aimed at providing the exam information you need in the most succinct and accessible manner.

This book is organized to closely follow the actual EC-Council objectives for exam CEH v11. As such, it is easy to find the information required for each of the specified EC-Council CEH v11 objectives. The objective focus design used by this Exam Cram is an important feature because the information you need to know is easily identifiable and accessible.

Within the chapters, potential exam hot spots are clearly highlighted with Exam Alerts. They have been carefully placed to let you know that the surrounding discussion is an important area for the exam. To further help you prepare for the exam, a Cram Sheet is included that you can use in the final stages of test preparation. Be sure to pay close attention to the bulleted points on the Cram Sheet because they pinpoint the technologies and facts you will probably encounter on the test.

Finally, great effort has gone into the questions that appear throughout the chapter and the practice tests to ensure that they accurately represent the look and feel of the ones you will see on the real CEH v11 exam. Be sure, before taking the exam, that you are comfortable with both the format and content of the questions provided in this book.

About the CEH v11 Exam

The CEH v11 exam is the newest iteration of several versions of the exam. The new CEH v11 objectives are aimed toward those who have at least two years of experience in cybersecurity and some exposure to penetration testing.

You will have a maximum of four hours to answer the 125 questions on the exam. The allotted time is quite generous, so when you finish, you will probably have time to double-check a few of the answers you were unsure of. Time is not typically an issue for this exam. The issue is ensuring that you fully understand the material in this book! Note that the exam includes 20 practical challenges. So when you see tools and techniques in this book, make sure you practice with them!

You need a minimum score of 70% to pass the CEH v11 exam. This means you can miss some questions and still pass. Your goal should be to get as many correct as you can, but if you feel like you don’t really know the answers to a few questions, don’t panic. Even if you get a few wrong, you can still pass the exam. The 70% is actually an estimate. CEH uses an adaptive format, described at https://cert.eccouncil.org/faq.html?_ga=2.167294973.253704694.1632148579-1175590966.1632148579.

EC-Council CEH v11 Exam Topics

Table I-1 lists general exam topics (that is, objectives) and specific topics under each general topic (that is, subobjectives) for the CEH v11 exam. This table also lists the chapter in which each exam topic is covered.

Booking and Taking the CEH v11 Exam

In order to be considered for the EC-Council CEH exam without attending official network security training, a candidate must have at least two years of work experience in the information security domain. A candidate who has the required work experience can submit an eligibility application form (see https://cert.eccouncil.org/application-process-eligibility.html) along with a nonrefundable fee of US$100. The exam itself costs $850.

When booking the exam, you need to provide the following information:

• Your name as you would like it to appear on your certificate

• Your Social Security or social insurance number

• Contact phone numbers (to be called in the event of a problem)

• Mailing address to which you want your certificate mailed

• Exam number and title

• Email address for contact purposes

• Credit card information so that you can pay online (You can redeem a voucher by calling the respective testing center.)

What to Expect from the Exam

If you haven’t taken a certification test, the process can be a little unnerving. Even if you’ve taken numerous tests, it is not much better. Mastering the inner mental game often can be as much of a battle as knowing the material. Knowing what to expect before heading in can make the process a little more comfortable.

Certification tests are administered on a computer system at a Pearson VUE authorized testing center. The format of the exams is straightforward: For each question you have several possible answers to choose from. The questions in this book provide a good example of the types of questions you can expect on the exam. If you are comfortable with the questions provided in the book, the test should hold few surprises. The questions vary in length. Some of them are longer scenario questions, whereas others are short and to the point. Carefully read each question; a longer questions typically has a key point that will lead you to the correct answer.

Most of the questions on the CEH v11 exam require you to choose a single correct answer, but a few require multiple answers. When there are multiple correct answers, a message at the bottom of the screen prompts you with the message “Choose all that apply.” Be sure to read these messages.

Also make sure you are prepared for practical questions. These questions ask you to actually use tools and techniques described in this book. This is often done as a separate test with six hours to do 20 practical problems. As you can imagine, these questions are very involved. So practice, practice, practice,....

A Few Exam-Day Details

It is recommended that you arrive at the examination room at least 15 minutes early, although a few minutes earlier certainly would not hurt. This will give you time to prepare and will give the test administrator time to answer any questions you might have before the test begins. Many people suggest that you review the most critical information about the test you’re taking just before the test. (Exam Cram books provide a reference—the Cram Sheet, located inside the front of the book—that lists the essential information from the book in distilled form.) Arriving a few minutes early will give you some time to compose yourself and mentally review this critical information.

You will be asked to provide two forms of ID, one of which must be a photo ID. Each of the IDs you present should have a signature. You also might need to sign in when you arrive and sign out when you leave.

Be warned: The rules are clear about what you can and cannot take into the examination room. Books, laptops, note sheets, and so on are not allowed in the examination room. The test administrator will hold these items, to be returned after you complete the exam. You might receive either a wipe board or a pen and a single piece of paper for making notes during the exam. The test administrator will ensure that no paper is removed from the examination room.

After the Test

Whether you want it or not, as soon as you finish your test, your score displays on the computer screen. In addition to the results appearing on the computer screen, a hard copy of the report prints for you. Like the onscreen report, the hard copy displays your exam results and provides a summary of how you did on each section and on each technology. If you were unsuccessful, this summary can help you determine the areas you need to brush up on.

When you pass the CEHv11 exam, you will have earned the CEH certification, and your certificate will be mailed to you within a few weeks. Should you not receive your certificate and information packet within five weeks of passing your exam, contact [email protected].

Last-Minute Exam Tips

Studying for a certification exam is no different than studying for any other exam, but a few hints and tips can give you the edge on exam day:

• Read all the material: EC-Council has been known to include material not expressly specified in the objectives. This book includes additional information not reflected in the objectives to give you the best possible preparation for the examination.

• Watch for the Exam AlertsThe CEH v11 objectives include a wide range of technologies. Exam Tips and Notes throughout each chapter are designed to highlight out exam-related hot spots. They can be your best friends when preparing for the exam.

• Use the questions to assess your knowledge: Don’t just read the chapter content; use the exam questions in each chapter to find out what you know and what you don’t. If you struggle, study some more, review, and then assess your knowledge again.

• Review the exam objectives: Develop your own questions and examples for each topic listed. If you can develop and answer several questions for each topic, you should not find it difficult to pass the exam.

Good luck!

Companion Website

Register this book to get access to the Pearson Test Prep practice test software and other study materials plus additional bonus content. Check this site regularly for new and updated postings written by the author that provide further insight into the more troublesome topics on the exams. Be sure to check the box that you would like to hear from us to receive updates and exclusive discounts on future editions of this product or related products.

To access this companion website, follow these steps:

1. Go to www.pearsonITcertification.com/register and log in or create a new account.

2. Enter the ISBN 9780137375769.

3. Answer the challenge question as proof of purchase.

4. Click the Access Bonus Content link in the Registered Products section of your account page to be taken to the page where your downloadable content is available.

Please note that many of our companion content files can be very large, especially image and video files.

If you are unable to locate the files for this title by following these steps, please visit www.pearsonITcertification.com/contact and select the Site Problems/Comments option. Our customer service representatives will assist you.

Pearson Test Prep Practice Test Software

As noted previously, this book comes complete with the Pearson Test Prep practice test software and two full exams. These practice tests are available to you either online or as an offline Windows application. To access the practice exams that were developed with this book, please see the instructions in the card inserted in the sleeve in the back of the book. This card includes a unique access code that enables you to activate your exams in the Pearson Test Prep practice test software.

Accessing the Pearson Test Prep Software Online

The online version of this software can be used on any device with a browser and connectivity to the Internet, including desktop machines, tablets, and smartphones. To start using your practice exams online, follow these steps:

1. Go to www.PearsonTestPrep.com.

2. Select Pearson IT Certification as your product group.

3. Enter your email/password for your account. If you don’t have an account on PearsonITCertification.com, establish one by going to PearsonITCertification.com/join.

4. In the My Products tab, click the Activate New Product button.

5. Enter the access code printed on the insert card in the back of your book to activate your product. The product is now listed in your My Products page.

6. Click the Exams button to launch the exam settings screen and start a practice exam.

Accessing the Pearson Test Prep Software Offline

If you want to study offline, you can download and install the Windows version of the Pearson Test Prep software. There is a download link for this software on the book’s companion website, or you can enter the following link in your browser:

www.pearsonitcertification.com/content/downloads/pcpt/engine.zip

To access the book’s companion website and the software, follow these steps:

1. Register your book by going to PearsonITCertification.com/register and entering the ISBN 9780137375769.

2. Respond to the challenge questions.

3. Go to your account page and select the Registered Products tab.

4. Click the Access Bonus Content link under the product listing.

5. Click the Install Pearson Test Prep Desktop Version link under the Practice Exams section of the page to download the software.

6. After the software downloads, unzip all the files on your computer.

7. Double-click the application file to start the installation and follow the onscreen instructions to complete the registration.

8. When the installation is complete, launch the application and click the Activate Exam button on the My Products tab.

9. Click the Activate a Product button in the Activate Product Wizard.

10. Enter the unique access code found on the card in the sleeve in the back of your book and click the Activate button.

11. Click Next and then click Finish to download the exam data to your application.

12. Start using the practice exams by selecting the product and clicking the Open Exam button to open the exam settings screen.

Note that the offline and online versions will sync together, so saved exams and grade results recorded in one version will be available to you on the other as well.

Customizing Your Exams

When you are in the exam settings screen, you can choose to take exams in one of three modes:

• Study mode

• Practice Exam mode

• Flash Card mode

Study mode allows you to fully customize an exam and review answers as you are taking the exam. This is typically the mode you use first to assess your knowledge and identify information gaps. Practice Exam mode locks certain customization options in order to present a realistic exam experience. Use this mode when you are preparing to test your exam readiness. Flash Card mode strips out the answers and presents you with only the question stem. This mode is great for late-stage preparation, when you really want to challenge yourself to provide answers without the benefit of seeing multiple-choice options. This mode does not provide the detailed score reports that the other two modes provide, so it is not the best mode for helping you identify knowledge gaps.

In addition to these three modes, you will be able to select the source of your questions. You can choose to take exams that cover all of the chapters, or you can narrow your selection to just a single chapter or the chapters that make up specific parts in the book. All chapters are selected by default. If you want to narrow your focus to individual chapters, simply deselect all the chapters and then select only those on which you wish to focus in the Objectives area.

You can also select the exam banks on which to focus. Each exam bank comes complete with a full exam of questions that cover topics in every chapter. The two exams printed in the book are available to you, as are two additional exams of unique questions. You can have the test engine serve up exams from all four banks or just from one individual bank by selecting the desired banks in the exam bank area.

You can make several other customizations to your exam from the exam settings screen, such as the time of the exam, the number of questions, whether to randomize questions and answers, whether to show the number of correct answers for multiple answer questions, or whether to serve up only specific types of questions. You can also create custom test banks by selecting only questions that you have marked or questions on which you have added notes.

Updating Your Exams

If you are using the online version of the Pearson Test Prep software, you should always have access to the latest version of the software as well as the exam data. If you are using the Windows desktop version, every time you launch the software, it will check to see if there are any updates to your exam data and automatically download any changes made since the last time you used the software. This requires that you be connected to the Internet at the time you launch the software.

Sometimes, due to a number of factors, the exam data might not fully download when you activate your exam. If you find that figures or exhibits are missing, you might need to manually update your exams.

To update a particular exam you have already activated and downloaded, simply select the Tools tab and click the Update Products button. Again, this is only an issue with the desktop Windows application.

If you wish to check for updates to the Windows desktop version of the Pearson Test Prep exam engine software, simply select the Tools tab and click the Update Application button. Doing so allows you to ensure that you are running the latest version of the software engine.

Assessing Exam Readiness

Exam candidates never really know whether they are adequately prepared for the exam until they have completed about 30% of the questions. At that point, if you are not prepared, it is too late. The best way to determine your readiness is to work through all of the quizzes in each chapter and review the foundation and key topics presented in each chapter. It is best to work your way through the entire book unless you can complete each subject without having to do any research or look up any answers.

Premium Edition eBook and Practice Tests

This book also includes an exclusive offer for 70% off the Premium Edition eBook and Practice Tests edition of this title. Please see the coupon code included with the cardboard sleeve for information on how to purchase the Premium Edition.