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The 4 Best CEH V10 Certified Ethical Hacker Study Guides

Article by Jane Newsom. Last Updated: Saturday, Sep 2, 2023.

Overview Of The CEH V10 Exam

The Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) is used as a hiring standard, and is a core sought after certification by many ofthe Fortune 500 organizations, governments, cybersecurity practices, and a staple in University programs around the country.

We’ll cover the Certified Ethical Hacker exam in detail, and give you our picks for the best CEH V10 study guides, review guides, and practice tests to ensure your test prep success! The details are below, but if you just can’t wait, here’s the short list:

CEH V10 Exam Details

The Certified Ethical Hacker Exam is designed to test and certify the readiness of an applicant to perform security assessments. It can be taken following the completion of a training program from the EC-Council, or verification of relevant experience by a manager or supervisor.

The exam is broken up into 7 different knowledge domains:

  • Background (21.79%)
  • Analysis/Assessment (12.73%)
  • Security (23.73%)
  • Tools/Systems/Programs (28.91%)
  • Procedures/Methodology (8.77%)
  • Regulation/Policy (1.90%)
  • Ethics (2.17%)

The exam is currently priced at $359, and is recommended for people with 4+ years of information security experience. On successful completion of the exam, you’ll be accredited for 3 years, after which you will have to have earned CPE credits to renew.

The CEH Exam costs $500 (with an additional $100 fee for self-study students).

The exam is 4 hours in length, and includes 150 questions of varying difficulty.

Scoring

Questions for each exam are chosen from a pool and vary in difficulty. The passing score for a particular instance of the exam is determined based on the difficulty of the exam, so a lower score on a more difficult version may be considered passing while a higher score on an easier one may not. Typically, the cutoff for a passing grade will be between 55-85%.

Best CEH V10 Study Guides

CEH v10 Certified Ethical Hacker Study Guide

CEH v10 Certified Ethical Hacker Study Guide
1st Edition
by Ric Messier

Pros: Most comprehensive and logical layout, with good online supplements.
Cons: None to speak of.
Our Rating: 5.0 / 5

Thanks to its clear organization, all-inclusive coverage, and practical instruction, the CEH v10 Certified Ethical Hacker Study Guide is an excellent resource and our number 1 recommendation for anyone who needs to understand the hacking process or to demonstrate their skills as a Certified Ethical Hacker.

The full list of features include:

  • Fully updated for the 2018 CEH v10 exam, including the latest developments in IT security.
  • Access the Sybex online learning center, with chapter review questions, full-length practice exams, hundreds of electronic flashcards, and a glossary of key terms.

CEH v10 Certified Ethical Hacker Study Guide gives you a hands-on resource for preparing for the challenging body of knowledge covered in the exam. This Sybex Study Guide covers 100% of the 2018 CEH certification requirements presented in an easy-to-follow approach. To keep track of your progress, chapters are organized by exam objective, with a section that maps each objective to its corresponding chapter. The text provides coverage of all topics, with chapter review questions and Exam Essentials, a key feature that identifies critical study areas.

Certified Ethical Hacker Bundle

CEH Certified Ethical Hacker Bundle
Fourth Edition
by Matt Walker

Pros: Comprehensive topic coverage, tons of sample questions.
Cons: Organization of topics could be better.
Our Rating: 4.5 / 5

This fully updated, money-saving self-study set prepares you for the CEH v10 exam. You can start by reading CEH Certified Ethical Hacker All-in-One Exam Guide, Fourth Edition to learn about every topic included in the v10 exam objectives. Next, you can reinforce what you’ve learned with the 650+ practice questions featured in CEH Certified Ethical Hacker Practice Exams, Fourth Edition.

The full list of features include:

  • More than 1,000 accurate questions with detailed answer explanations
  • This bundle is 22% cheaper than buying the two books separately and includes exclusive online content
  • Includes a bonus a quick review guide that can be used as the final piece for exam preparation

While it didn’t take the top spot, this combo set is a fantastic choice for most people studying for the certification. Practice questions are one of the best ways to ensure you have a full handle on the material and focus your studies where needed most. They also help you know what to expect on test day, and this set is really fantastic for that.

Certified Ethical Hacker Complete Training Guide with Practice Labs

Certified Ethical Hacker Complete Training Guide with Practice Labs
1st Edition
by IP Specialist

Pros: Good coverage of test topics and all knowledge domains.
Cons: Typos and other mistakes can be distracting.
Our Rating: 4.3 / 5

The Certified Ethical Hacker Complete Training Guide with Practice Labs is next on our list. The book presents you with an organized test-preparation routine complete with practice questions.

Features include:

  • Complete and thorough coverage of all CEH topics.
  • Review and practice questions to drill and focus your study time.
  • Identify areas of weakness and improve both your conceptual knowledge and hands-on skills

The editing on this review book isn’t the best. There are plenty of typos and other gramatical errors that can detract from the overall usefullness. That said, if you’re able to look past these or have an aversion to our recommendations above, this is a passable option.

Certified Ethical Hacker Version 10 Cert Guide

Certified Ethical Hacker Version 10 Cert Guide
3rd Edition
by Santos & Gregg

Pros: A great condensed overview that's great for last minute prep.
Cons: Book organization isn't as great as it could be.
Our Rating: 4.2 / 5

In this best-of-breed study guide, leading experts Michael Gregg and Omar Santos help you master all the topics you need to know to succeed on your Certified Ethical Hacker Version 10 exam and advance your career in IT security. The authors’ concise, focused approach explains every exam objective from a real-world perspective, helping you quickly identify weaknesses and retain everything you need to know.

Features include:

  • Opening Topics Lists identify the topics you need to learn in each chapter and list EC-Council’s official exam objectives
  • Key Topics figures, tables, and lists call attention to the information that’s most crucial for exam success
  • Key Terms are listed in each chapter and defined in a complete glossary, explaining all the field’s essential terminology

Overall this book should be enough on its own to help you prepare. We recommend one of the guides higher up on the list, but this is decent too. One of the best approaches is to pick up a couple different ones to make sure you have plenty of fresh practice questions and other content.

Wrapping Up

The Certified Ethical Hacker is a globally recognized and well respected demonstration of your knowledge and expertise.

Study manuals, flashcards, and practice tests are a huge help to many people, and if you’ve read this far you’re probably one of them.

We’ve rounded up the top CEH study guides and presented them above.

Our top pick for most people is the CEH v10 Certified Ethical Hacker Study Guide. It’s the most comprehensive and accurate guide on our list, and is the single best resource available.

To compliment this, or any other guide on our list, we recommend the All In One CEH V10 Practice Tests, which comes in the bundle we’ve ranked second. The book is available seperately, but if you have the ability to pick up both the bundle and the top pick, it’s highly recommended.

Whatever your circumstance, supplemental study and review materials are a key part of ensuring success. We’ve listed some of the best books available. Good luck, and study hard!

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