Prepare a personal cheat sheet
- Make it ready for easy copy-pasting.
Gather frequently used tools
- Expand upon the tools you received during the CRTP exam.
- Collect and organize the sources (URLs or code) for these tools.
Be ready to run alternative commands even for the same task
- Sometimes, using
crackmapexecmight not work, butNetexecdoes. - Similarly,
swaksmay fail whilesendmailsucceeds.
Before tackling the challenge labs, briefly review each attack method
- Don’t read every single text in detail.
- Understand the vulnerabilities and what they can exploit.
- Limit this review to around 20 hours at most.
Complete at least two rounds of the challenge labs
- Most of the knowledge needed for the labs is covered in the texts.
- Ideally, go for three rounds.
- It’s acceptable to focus solely on the challenge labs.
If you get stuck on a challenge lab, use forums or Discord to quickly find hints and move forward.
Prepare a template for your exam report.
Make sure you have plenty of drinks and food during the exam.
Never give up during the exam
- There may be instances where you need to persevere for about 10 hours in one section before moving on.
