SSCP Video Mentor
Author: Shon Harris
Pages: 80
Publisher: Pearson
ISBN: 0789739518
Introduction
Yet another title in the Pearson’s series for interactive learning that targets users set on obtaining security certifications, SSCP Video Mentor is a combination of DVD and booklet that helps users learn the basics quickly and efficiently – since seeing how it’s done is a whole different ball game than just hearing or reading about it.
About the author
Shon Harris is the president and owner of Logical Security, a security consultant, a former engineer in the Air Force’s Information Warfare unit, an instructor, and an author. She has authored two best-selling CISSP books and is the author of many articles and periodicals.
Inside the DVD
I won’t be mentioning the booklet other than to say that that there is a digital version inside the DVD, ready for your perusal just one tab away from the visual lessons.
Upon starting the application (directly from the DVD), you will be faced with the following menu:
To start a lesson, just double-click on the title. The chapters are divided in Lesson and Lab units. Lessons are structured as live lectures – the experts are talking about that particular subject, and the talk is accompanied by slides.
Lab units are more interesting because they put the theory in practice. They usually consist of a video capture of a computer desktop on which the lecturer demonstrates how to do the things he talked about in the lesson preceding the Lab unit:
As you can see, this a simply structured and presented offering. There are no fancy visualizations or gimmicky voice-overs. The whole DVD is just a series of lectures – like the ones you would be listening at a University. The only difference is that you can’t ask questions later. But, on the upside, you can listen to and watch the lessons as many times you need to understand it all.
The DVD covers topics such as: media access technologies, cabling and transmission types, networking devices and protocols, dial-up protocols and VPNs, firewall and network architecture, and cryptography foundations.
Final thoughts
Some people learn better by reading, but they are few and far between – most of us learn best by taking advantage of visual and auditive input combined with text. Although the price might be a bit high for some, there’s no denying that this approach to learning is usually more effective.
This course is perfect for those who are preparing themselves to take the SSCP exam, but can, of course, also come in handy to those who just want to acquire the knowledge.