Are these worth doing? Has anyone done these before?
Im coming to the end of my lectures [MSc computer forensics] and could have the option to do these.
Thanks.
Um…well depends.
What is your computer skill level?
What is your computer forensic skill level?
Have you used EnCase before?
Have you used other tools before?
Do you have the budget?
What are you career goals?
Training in anything is all about what you are willing to put in. The online courses IMO from Guidance are good and I gained some good information. Without really knowing to much about your history, cert path and career path it is hard to known if they are worth doing.
I was asking more about the course itself.
I have worked as an IT technician for 5 years
Forensic level is what i have learnt from my masters as my degree was in IT
I have used encase briefly before but not much
I have used FTK several times before
I dont have a budget but remember im still a student
I suppose my goal at the minute is to get what job i can in forensics to get experience
BeerBaron - I took the CF1 class OnDemand and my background was similar to yours - years of straight IT work, a few years in forensics with FTK, but only some casual experience with EnCase.
You'll see though that the CF1 class covers more than just EnCase, it also covers best practices in computer forensics like documentation, organization, and some tips you don't typically get from other software training classes.
The only downside to the OnDemand classes is that you don't have the networking factor since you are working on your own. I find that getting to know other students in your class is a good way to network and learn as well.
It will be with students from my course so will know them already. So you would recommend it then?
My two cents
I have done both courses, but not via on-demand, but at their training facility in Slough. I can only assume the course content is the same, but served at a pace of your own, not like the 4 intensive days each per CFI and CFII respectively.
With your background I would say CFI would be a breeze. It does get some what technical, but not as much as CFII. It really goes indepth into NTFS, forensics and the workings of EnCase and exactly what it can do. Although the course was fine, its very intense for 4 days from 8am til 5pm. I would say, with the freedom of the on-demand you can get time to take it in and think about what you are learning and research anything you may not understand right off the bat.
Best of luck!
Gothca'
I took the I and II courses online and was very happy with them I certainly supplemented the course work with the EnCE book from Steve Bunting and lots of general reading. If you are looking to get your EnCE then it is great material and will get you ready for the tests. I did find that it covered a lot of other computer forensic materiel so it is not just a vendor advertisement. The discount you would be getting is great as the online course for a private individual is close to $4k US.
Thanks for the info, these courses seem to be quite important for anyone looking to get in to digital forensics
@Beerbaron - yes, I would recommend the CF1 OnDemand. For CF2, I think I went the right way in attending a classroom course since it gets more technical.
crosser, what course material would i receive?