What happens if I fail the exam?

You can retake it after a 24-hour cooldown, as many times as you need. Retakes are free, and each attempt draws a fresh random set of questions.

How long is a certificate valid?

The Safeguard Certified Practitioner credential is valid for 24 months from issue. The expiry date is printed on the certificate and shown live on its public verification page. Renewing means passing the current exam again.

Courses

Wireless Local and Wide Area Networks, Bridging and Virtual Local Area Networks

IntermediateFree5 modules · 14 lessons · ~2 min

About this course

A working tour of wireless local area networking and the switched wired networks it usually joins: the 802.11 family and how a device associates with an access point, transparent bridging, the Spanning Tree Protocol, Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) tagging and trunking, and the wide area wireless world of cellular generations and satellite links. Every module closes with what changes for security when the medium is shared and unbounded.

What you'll learn

Wireless Local Area Network Fundamentals

The 802.11 Architecture, the Access Point Model and Association
The 802.11 Standards Family and Working With Spectrum and Channels
The Shared, Unbounded Medium: What Changes for Security

Bridging and Switching

Transparent Bridging and How a Learning Switch Builds Its Table
The Spanning Tree Protocol and Loop Prevention
Switch and Port Security: Hardening the Access Layer

Virtual Local Area Networks and Trunking

The Virtual Local Area Network Concept and 802.1Q Tagging
Trunking and Inter-VLAN Routing
Virtual Local Area Network Security: Hopping and Segmentation as Containment

Wide Area Wireless: Cellular and Satellite

Cellular Generations From 1G to 5G and How Handover Works
Satellite Communication Basics
Security Considerations Across the Wide Area Wireless Path

Bringing the Attacker and Defender View Together

Attack Patterns Across This Course, Mapped to Defences
A Practical Wireless and Switched Network Security Checklist

01Wireless Local Area Network Fundamentals3 lessons

The 802.11 Architecture, the Access Point Model and Association
The 802.11 Standards Family and Working With Spectrum and Channels
The Shared, Unbounded Medium: What Changes for Security

02Bridging and Switching3 lessons

Common questions

How much does Safeguard Academy cost?

Nothing. Every course, exam, and certificate on the catalog is free — including retakes. All you need is a free Safeguard account.

What are the prerequisites?

None. The flagship course, Safeguard Certified Practitioner, is a beginner-level course — basic familiarity with how software is built helps, but every exam question is answerable from the lessons themselves.