FAQ
Who is The Hacker Academy?
Why did you guys switch to primarily online training?
How much does The Hacker Academy cost?
How much do individual modules cost?
What forms of payment do you take?
Is there a contract I have to sign/minimum time I have to subscribe?
What if I decide THA just isn’t for me?
What skill level do I need to be before joining the Academy?
How is your content set up? How are the classes run?
Are all the lessons available to me when I join?
What if I happen to travel to somewhere without internet access, is there a
way I can still work on modules?
How often is new content published?
How long does it take to complete your course(s)?
What certifications will I be ready for when I complete THA training?
Do I get a certification after my training?
What kind of technology benchmarks do I need to be a Student?
Who are your instructors?
How often do the instructors make themselves available to the students?
Do you guys make appearances at any of the industry conferences?
Can I come visit your Academy?
Will you guys teach me how to hack Facebook/MMORPGs/Email Accounts/
My Mother-in-Law’s Bank Account?
If I’m a member, am I still welcome to check out your free webinars and such?
Where do I get one of those really cool shirts I see around?
Answers:
The Hacker Academy has been a leading trainer of information security professionals since 2005. Specializing in training for ethical hacking and penetration testing, The Hacker Academy started as a “bootcamp” style training system, using classrooms and physical instructors to teach content. This year, The Hacker Academy, while still offering classroom options, changed to using a cloud-based, membership driven teaching system. Students of The Hacker Academy have 24/7 access to training content for security professionals of all skill ranges, and some of the most up-to-date, cutting-edge material available on the market.
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Why did you guys switch to primarily online training?
As some of our clients know – we used to be primarily a “classroom” training company, like most of the industry. We sat down and realized a lot of the expenses and cost of those classroom training courses could be cut out and made MORE convenient by bringing our training to the web, instead. On-line is more cost and time effective. In addition, you receive continuous training.
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How much does The Hacker Academy cost?
The Hacker Academy comes in two flavors of memberships: the monthly membership for $150 per month, or the annual membership for $1495 per year (savings of 2 months membership, based on monthly rate).
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How much do individual modules cost?
We don’t charge per module separately. At The Hacker Academy, one low monthly or yearly rate gives you access to ALL of our content, ALL the time. Period.
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What forms of payment do you take?
We offer secure payments via credit card either through Pay Pal or 1 Shopping Cart. You can also choose to pay by eCheck via Pay Pal, but we don’t always recommend it as it is applicable to more processing times, so it slows down your entrance to the Academy. For enterprise level clients, we offer the option of bulk purchasing memberships via purchase orders and invoices.
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Is there a contract I have to sign/minimum time I have to subscribe?
Never. We don’t do the whole “contract” thing. You can cancel and subscribe at any time that fits your schedule.
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What if I decide THA just isn’t for me?
Not a problem – these things happen. In just such a case, we offer a no-squabble 30-day money back guarantee. THA definitely not for you? Not a problem – here’s your money and we wish you luck your future endeavors. Obviously, you’re allowed to cancel at any time beyond that.
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What skill level do I need to be before joining the Academy?
While our content ranges ALL skill levels, from the most basic of network skills to the most advanced penetration and EH skills, like PDF exploits and metasploit tactics, etc., we DO recommend that you at least have a base knowledge of networking and systems. We do, obviously offer a 30-day money back guarantee, as the definitions of “beginner” can be different for everyone.
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How is your content set up? How are the classes run?
Our content is presented as follows: Instructor lesson is a recorded video, covering all the points, topics, and techniques of the particular subject at hand. Students can download the slides from the presentation (for off-line use). Once the lesson is over, students are then guided towards a hands-on lab portion of the lesson. When we say hands-on, we mean it: we provide our students with VM environments to actually put to the test the information gained from the lessons. We generally have a bottom line rule: for every 15 mins of video instruction – there is 1 hour of hands-on practical training and labs.
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Are all the lessons available to me when I join?
Of course. We don’t stagger our content in ANY way. As long as you’re a member, you will have FULL access to ALL of our content, 24-7, 365 days a year.
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For each of our lessons, you are able to download the slides that are used in each video and download all of the VMs required to perform the labs. You can work on THA anywhere at any time.
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How often is new content published?
While we usually stick to a schedule of releasing new content about twice a month (4 modules per month average), this is dependant on our physical schedules (as we DO work in the industry daily, and LOVE to go to all the conferences). Sometimes it can be more, rarely is it less.
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How long does it take to complete your course(s)?
Totally subjective; depends on a) how much content we have at the time (ever growing), and b) how much time YOU have to move through the content. The other thing to factor in is the fact we bring new content to the table quite often, which really means the learning never really stops. Go check out our curriculum page for a current list of modules, for examples.
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What certifications will I be ready for when I complete THA training?
EC-Council’s CEH and ECSA, SANS Security 560 (Network Penetration Testing and Ethical Hacking) and Security 561, IACRB CPT (Certified Penetration Tester), and Security University Q/EH and Q/PTL.
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Do I get a certification after my training?
We do not offer a certification process in our memberships. This is not because we don’t think certifications are useful (they have their place). It actually has more to do with what our goals are: we’d rather create industry professionals who are extremely good at their jobs rather than just train people on what you need to get a particular certification or pass an exam. Once you’ve worked through all of our content, you’ll be more than skilled enough to get the certification of your choice. Have questions about what certs you could/should get? We’re more than happy to point you in the right directions.
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What kind of technology benchmarks do I need to be a Student?
Windows Vista or Windows 7 based computer that can run VMPlayer
At least 1.5 Gigs of RAM
Support to play flv and mp4 video based content.
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At The Hacker Academy, our students receive tutelage from some of the best instructors in the industry. Our instructors have been featured on major television news programs, major newspaper publications, and have extensive classroom training experience. THA instructors are responsible for creating all the material covered in our modules, as well as the hands-on lab material. They make themselves available to each and every student, for questions and help. To read more about our instructors, check out our instructors’ individual bio pages: Mike Murray, Dan Frye, and Jeremy Conway.
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How often do the instructors make themselves available to the students?
Our instructors make themselves available whenever they are needed by our students. We offer contact through our Contact an Instructor forms, answer direct emails, and even have pre-scheduled Instructor Office Hours where they get online and answer students’ questions via phone. Whether it needs a comment on our site, an email to you, or a chance to get on the phone with us…we’re here for you.
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Do you guys make appearances at any of the industry conferences?
That we do. Our instructors are often seen speaking at said conferences. You can usually find us at Defcon, RSA, Black Hat, etc.
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Can I come visit your Academy?
Unfortunately not. While we do operate a physical office – it’s not an “Academy” you can visit. We just don’t have a need for one.
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Will you guys teach me how to hack Facebook/MMORPGs/Email Accounts/
My Mother-in-Law’s Bank Account?
No. Never. Not a chance. We teach industry PROFESSIONALS and GOVERNMENT AGENCIES how to be better at these jobs we call Ethical Hacker and Penetration Tester – NOT to teach hacker kiddies how to do something illegal and malicious. Period.
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If I’m a member, am I still welcome to check out your free webinars and such?
Of course – you’re always welcome to attend, in fact we encourage it. If there’s learning in it for you, then it’s FOR you, and always will be. Tell a friend about them as well, they are free and they aren’t to sell them anything.
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Where do I get one of those really cool shirts I see around?
We give these away for free to students from time to time, or you can find us at any of the conferences we frequent and chance are we will have one there, just ask.
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