WGU MSCSIA: Week 23: Another Class Down! (D485 Tips)

I got the results for D485 about a day after I submitted and passed it first try! A lot of folks seems to hate this class and I will say that the PA was kind of tedious but overall it was not that bad especially since I was unfamiliar with Azure Cloud and was able to learn as I go.

I forgot where I saw it but if you are about to take D485 - Cloud Security, I would say try to find the PA template as it gives you tips/notes on what they expect and it helped a lot with writing the PA. I knew what to look for, a hint on where it would be, and screenshots of what needs to be done. The books that they had you read was pretty good, I'm going to pick up a hard copy. The book is called: Cloud security handbook: Find out how to effectively secure cloud environments using AWS, Azure, and GCP which you can grab on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Cloud-Security-Handbook-effectively-environments/dp/180056919X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1DT7UX66TA05K&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.q8wRh-XPeMlnkSYYQ7JEwA.NuGZnT9gFIV07nSi0B67M_igq_5nuvMLD0Uh80hxyho&dib_tag=se&keywords=Cloud+security+handbook%3A+Find+out+how+to+effectively+secure+cloud+environments+using+AWS%2C+Azure%2C+and+GCP&qid=1741757547&sprefix=cloud+security+handbook+find+out+how+to+effectively+secure+cloud+environments+using+aws%2C+azure%2C+and+gcp%2Caps%2C386&sr=8-1

-tips-

I was able to finish this in one sitting so what I would suggest is to find the PA template and read through it as well as the requirements/scenario before starting the lab.

You have 4 hours to finish the lab but I'm not sure if progress resets so I would suggest to try and finish it all in one sitting with no interruptions.

After reading the PA Requirements/Template start the lab and go in order with the PA as they all relate to each other. I would say do the ones that requires screenshots first with the first set requires you to implement what you wrote about in the first part of the PA.

Here are something that I saw from reddit that helped and is useful:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/role-based-access-control/role-assignments-portal
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/key-vault/general/quick-create-portal
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/backup/quick-backup-vm-portal

Hopefully this helps anyone who is reading. 

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I'm still job searching but I'm recovered from EUIC so now I'm back to being a professor locally with good form. I'm looking to get back into playing some games competitively. I'm thinking of learning MTG and getting back into Starcraft.

I done an interview for an IT Help Desk Position. It's not what I wanted to get into but it will get me a chance to get back into some hands-on work.

Anyways, I started the next class but it looks like I can drop it before the 21st with no repurcussion so if I don't finish it then, we are good. I'm just trying to get a head start for my next term.

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Thanks for reading.

WGU MSCSIA Week 22: It's Too Soon To Start Over

 Just submitted my PA for D485 and now I'm debating if I want to start on the next course to get a head start for the next semester. I'll see how I feel when I wake up the next day.

Once I get a score/status on the PA I'll detail what to look for in the next post but for this week I been working on my homelab while packing to move to Plano.

I'm planning on setting up 3 vms for a simple SOC setup so I can practice working with siem and attacking my own systems.

I'm currently still jobless but at least I have school to fall back on. I'll be busy doing school stuff than worry all the time.

I'm still job searching but it looks like the IT Market (and most of the job market) is not in a good spot.

I have a couple interviews lined up so we will see how that goes.

Just a few more weeks until this term is done. I am on track to finish this program in a year. Let's do this.

WGU MSCSIA - Week: 21 - Almost Done

 We're about a month away and I'm going to work on my last class. It looks like I'll be able to start on the next class and drop so it doesn't affect me and will give me a head start for when I start on the program again in May.

Nothing major as I just got back from Londom from judging EUIC but I am planning on working on my personal projects as well as starting a new TCG Podcast as well as my new retro computing channel starting with C64 stuff.

I will now be based in DFW starting next month so it's going to be interesting. Going back to the south.

Stay tuned for some stuff.

WGU MSCSIA - Week 20: London Time!

 Been casually going through the course material and doing some of the reading and it's all been pretty interesting. Making me wanna pivot from the hands on SOC stuff to more GRC related auditing jobs.

I'm about to hop on the plane to London but when I get back next week I will grind on looking for a new job. I'll apply for unemployment and look for roles that I really want.

I already sent in about 50+ applications with one hr call so far. I also put in application for an apartment in Plano.

Let's do this.

WGU MSCSIA: Week 19 - Pentest+ Passed!

 Big news...

I passed the Pentest+ with a score of 761 which I did 10 points better than CySa+. It was a little bit harder but the labs were probably the best part.

Now it's time for the other big news.... I got laid off so I'm going to be job hunting as soon as I get back from London and enjoy a little bit of me time.

I am working on D485, which is Cloud Security. Thankfully it's mainly a Lab with a paper assessment so I'll be focusing my free time on this. Last course for the term!

About 6 weeks left in the term and still toying with the idea of taking one more course but we will see depending on how much of the PA I get done.

WGU MSCSIA: Week 18 - Paper Assessment done, time for the exam.

 Got the passing mark for my paper assessment with no fixes/amends I needed to do and now I'm off to focusing most of my school time on Pentest+

I am currently taking Dion's practice exams and casually reading through the sybex book. I finished Dion's PT0-002 notes and been going through the tryhackme's module for Pentest+

I'm getting comfortable good scores and knowing what I miss when casually doing the exams. (I finish them in 20 minutes or less). I'll take extra time when doing the actual exam. I usually spend about 45 minutes answering first then doing the PBQs then use the remaining time to double check my answers.

I think for the CySa+ exam. I had about 67 questions with 5 of them being PBQs so I spent almost an hour (before checking answers) answering 62 questions. (Give or take)

I have about 165 minutes to take the actual exam so you bet I will use most of my time.

I will take one more course after this since it's only a paper assessment. I think I'll start on it next week as my last class for the term which means I will only have 4 courses left to take to get my Masters. I thought about taking one more after the paper assessment course since it is just an exam but I don't have the infrastructure at home to take that with the requirements WGU has.

Nonetheless, I will still only have 4 courses left to finish in 6 months. On average I would be able to take a month for each course. But I might knock out the 2 online assessement courses in a month (or at most a month and half) and spend the rest of the term working on my capstone project and paper assessment course.

Let's go

WGU MSCSIA: Week 17 - Cram Time

Just cramming for Pentest+ and spending most of my free time working on labs and studying. I am almost done with the Paper Assessment for D484 and it's pretty straightforward once I figured out what I wanted to write and gather my sources.

I might tend to overthink things but once I'm in the zone I am locked in.

Hoping to turn it in for review in a couple of days and if I need to revise hoping to get that done by the end of the weekend so I can focus mainly on Pentesting.

Also will be studying Linux for RHCSA, maybe not full time but something to read in the mean time if it something that I want to get into.

I do like using linux for servers and projects, so it might be good to finally learn what goes on under the hood.

Time to work on more projects!