My 60-Day Journey to OSCP
Hey! :)
It’s not going to be a long and boring blog, but I will talk about how my OSCP journey started and how it was ended.
Content:
- My Background
- Courses I Undertook
- HTB Machines Experience
- PWK course: pros and cons
- The Exam
- Tips for Aspiring OSCP Students
- Conclusion
My background
When I decided to go for OSCP, I was second year university student, doing a bachelor of information and communication technology (ICT) with major of cyber security.
Because of that, I didn’t need to start from scratch learning programming fundamentals or taking some network courses online such as Network+ etc.
the knowledge that I had before starting was as the following:
- Programming
- Networking (CCNA)
- Operating Systems
- Information Security
My biggest concern at that time was dealing with Linux which I was never used before, which leads me to the next section.
Courses that I did
Here are the course starting from the first one to the last one in order:
- Linux 101 (TCM Security) link
- Practical Ethical Hacking (TCM Security) link
- The RedTeam Blueprint — A Unique Guide To Ethical Hacking link
HTB machines
I tackled around 38 machines from the TJ Null list Link, documenting each with detailed walkthroughs on my Medium blog. Writing these walkthroughs in real-time significantly enhanced my learning process.
PWK course pros and cons
Pros:
- Comprehensive and up-to-date course material.
- Supportive community on the Offsec Discord.
- Professional and user-friendly exam environment.
cons:
- For people like me in Australia, you will face some connectivity issues, the ms is always higher than 240, and when you are pivoting it might reaches 400, which makes it difficult to use tools such as Nmap, because it will take forever!
- At the first day, you might feel lost in the offsec portal, but after few days you will be fine.
The Exam
I started my OSCP at 05/09/2023 and booked the exam for 01/11/2023.
That’s around 55 days, at the days 54, all the course exercises and labs were done.
The reason that made me book the exam after only 55 days off the 90 days lab access is because if I did the exam after the 90 days and failed, I will need to wait additional 6 weeks to retake the exam! So doing my first attempt after 55 days was better decision for me, because if i failed, I still have one month lab access and I will only need to wait extra two week of the actual completion date of the certificate.
At the days of the exam, I wasn’t nervous at all, my exam started at 11 AM, after 4 hours I pwned the AD set, and after additional two hours I pwned one of the three machines, here I realised that i just got 60 points, and with the 10 bonus points, I have 70 which are the passing points!
Next I moved to the second machine and pwned it too, now I had 90 points, it was already 1 AM next day, I started the last machine, trying to find a way in until 5AM, but I think I was in a rabbit hole, then i decided to end my exam with my 90 points.
Tips for Aspiring OSCP Students
- Document Everything: Write down every step of your journey. Sharing your experience on platforms like Medium not only solidifies your knowledge but also helps others.
- Self-Belief: Believe in your capabilities. The OSCP is challenging but not insurmountable.
- Strategic Approach: Start with a basic assessment of each machine. Often, the solution is simpler than it appears.
- Exam Strategy: After successfully compromising a machine, document every step meticulously, as you won’t have access post-exam.
Conclusion
Remember, perseverance and a structured approach are key. If I could do it, so can you!
Feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn: Link
Good luck, and happy hacking! 🙂
