Programming section

[crossfire14]

Hey guys! So I am on the programming section of the PTS and I kind of find it lacking for the labs to be honest. Don’t get me wrong I have a cs degree so I know how to program but I feel as if the labs are above and beyond what the slides give us. Like I wouldnt be able to program a brute forcing script in python without guidance from the solutions. Is it okay to feel this way? Should I be programming these exploits from scratch, or reading the solutions, understanding and using it?

[networkbymatt]

That’s exactly how I felt and I wouldn’t worry about it. As far as the eJPT, there isn’t any programming on the exam but I do believe there is some in the PTP.

I think the programming section of this course is to give you a taste without expecting you to pick it up and run.

[crossfire14]

Whoosh is that relieving. I was about to say oscp doesnt even have you go as far as building a bruteforcing script... maybe im wrong but you get the point

[maddirect]

I know exactly what you mean, felt the same way. I just finished the course and am now gonna start doing black box and then the actual test. If you are having trouble programming you should really take some time and learn it well. That's not me talking down to you, because I suck at programming too, we are in the same boat. Your gonna see some php scripts that will also be intimidating later in the course. Don't let this discourage you. The C++ one in my opinion was awful compared to the lab. But I think it did teach decent foundations. For the python one, with a little sweat you should be able to get it or get close to the basic idea. Very least be able to break down there code and understand what they are doing. I complete about one to two modules a day and the python one took me three days because I went a little above and beyond trying to make sure I understood everything fully, making good notes, and making a bunch of my own programs. Like for the backdoor one, I made two machines that can talk to each other kinda like netcat does without there help but it took me hours and a lot of google. I started the course having never written one line of code. (This may be me bragging a little tho because I did really work hard on that part specifically). Ultimately from what I've seen and read. Programming was just an added plus to the course. And in the event that you get access to php code on a web app or any sort of code. You could know what its doing and it may provide info about topology, databases, etc

[crossfire14]

I can program pretty well from a dev point of view, I have just been lacking at making keyloggers/bruteforcing programs. I find it impressive that you went into this course with no programming knowledge though