Police Seize Assets of TestKiller.com
7/10/2002 -- On June 6 San Antonio police seized assets of TestKiller Ltd., the company that runs the practice exam Web site TestKiller.com.
According to a police report filed with the Bexar County, Texas District Court on June 20, the raid was prompted by Microsoft, who alleged that the site was selling Microsoft certification exam questions.
In his affidavit, seizing police officer Daniel Flaharty, a detective in the Special Crimes Unit of the San Antonio Police Department, wrote that he was contacted by a representative from the anti-piracy office of Microsoft. The unnamed representative alleged to Flaharty that TestKiller Ltd. was selling Microsoft "trade secrets" in the form of questions and answers to Microsoft exams.
According to the report, Flaharty began an investigation based on Microsoft's complaint, which led to the June 6 seizure of $408,566.84 in cash as well as several phones, printers, computer equipment, software and other items from at least one location.
No charges have been filed in this investigation. Calls made to the Bexar County district attorney's office to determine whether the investigation was ongoing were not returned as of press time.
Garry L. Neale, one of Testkiller Ltd.'s owners, politely declined CertCities.com's request for an interview, referring all questions to his attorney, who is out of the country this week.
A spokesperson for Microsoft confirmed that the company was aware of the investigation but said he could not comment on it due to the legal nature of the story.
The Testkiller.com Web site has been offline since early June.
Neale is the former owner of Troy Technologies (TroyTec.com), which in December settled a civil copyright and trademark infringement lawsuit brought by certification vendor CompTIA (see "CompTIA v. TroyTec Settled; Company Pulls CompTIA-Related Products from Site, Denies Wrongdoing").
CertCities.com will continue to follow this story and bring you further updates as they develop.  -B.N.
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There are 254  user Comments for “Police Seize Assets of TestKiller.com”
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| 7/18/02: SpongeBob says: |
I have used a couple of TroyTec and TestKiller guides and they did not help me anyway. They were a good reference, but I did not see any of the same questions on the tests! Using a complement of study guides, practice tests and real-world experience is they key to passing the Microsoft Exams. |
| 7/18/02: MS says: |
All of you Braindump and Bootcamp people must want to be management some day. I bet all of your resume's say that you're John Studley Technowizard, but like a previous post asked, can you create a user account? Can you tell me what com port a modem is using? I bet not. I've seen many people come into my shop due to my idiot boss's lack of screening, and I can tell 5 minutes after reading their resume that they don't know shit. Here's a suggestion to those of us who worked to learn the concepts that we've been tested on: Read the Braindumper's resume, then ask him some "performance based" questions about his experience. Like, "I see that you set up the network at your last job...hmm...what was the topology, and why did you choose it?" Watch 'em squirm. hahaha It works every time. These idiots are too lazy and stupid to study the things that they say they've done much less learn the massive amount of material needed to be a competent Sys Admin, etc. You can usually get them out in a week, hopefully before they screw up your servers, which you get to fix after they've gone. |
| 7/19/02: Anonymous says: |
I am really glad to learn about all these IT exam resources by reading this page. Braindumps are great. They cut down our research time and let us pass the everchanging stupid tests without getting ripped off. Unfortunately, those stupid certificates, like many papers that human resources regard as guiding posts, are necessary for us to put food on the table. |
| 7/19/02: AnonyMoose from Third Rock from the Sun says: |
No, MOC's and other classes don't completely prepare you for passing the tests. They give you the basics and you are supposed to work with the product for a year or so before attempting the tests. Getting certified means you have mastered the basics. IF the hiring manager is worth a dime, they will KNOW that you don't know what you are talking about and you'll never get a job. If you get one, you'll likely lose it. All of this is solved by good hiring practices. The interviewer should be able to look at a resume and know how much experience a person has or determine that information during the interview. If the candidate is MCSE with little or no experience - hire them for an entry level job on a Helpdesk or Support. If they have a couple years of solid experience or more, hire them appropriately. When cheaters learn that they are spending all that money to get an MCSE (or whatever) only to get a $20,000 entry level job - it will stop. |
| 7/19/02: T. Bowman from Huntsville says: |
Microsoft can also help. Tie the certifications to experience. Pass one or more tests with less than 2 years experience equals MCP. Likewise, pass all MCSA or MCSE tests with less than 2 years experience - still an MCP. Pass MCSA or MCSE tests and have 2 - 5 years experience equals MCSA. 5 plus years experience equals MCSE. (I would add a Master MCSE for those who have 10 or more years of documented experience) If this is done, then the paper means something and a hiring manager knows that this person has experience with their peice of paper. |
| 7/19/02: Anonymous from NC says: |
I'm hearing some pretty lame stuff here :( I can say that I recently used several of the Test Killer study guides to update my cerficiations (MCSE 3.51 doesn't look very impressive anymore) :). One study guide in particular had at least 1 in 10 questions wrong. The material was good anyway because questions that I didn't have a full grasp on I researched. And therefore learned more information than some overpriced class that would have surely allowed me to fail the exam spectacularly. Are there any Pilots out there? Didn't you use a study guide? (The FAA publishes the entire question pool on their web site). I learned more from the question bank in 2 weeks than my flight instructor in 1 year. How about Cliff Notes? Is it cheeting? or just learning more, faster? Didn't you use a driving handbook to get your first drivers license? The answer to every question was right there in the book. You just had to learn it. Was it cheeting? Not! It was learing. How about the SAT? I don't see any of those study guides being made illegal. I'll bet everyone of the 'complainers' leaving messages have used nearly everyone of the study guides I've mentioned here, plus MANY more. Think about that you whiners. ;P |
| 7/19/02: Anonymous says: |
MCSE is worthless. Look at the salary drops in recent times... Look at the quality of the average MCSE admin. Certs mean nothing anyway, besides, every vendor on the face of the EARTH has a cert now. It's going to eventually become so watered down it doesnt mean anything at all. "I'm a big bad MCSE, MCP, MCT, MCSA, I KNOW WHAT I AM DOING!!!" Yeah right. |
| 7/19/02: Anonymous says: |
I don't complain about the study guides but how about a complete exam stolen. Look at the design exams for W2K,these exams have long case studies (4 to 5 pages long). I have seen these case studies word for word on braindump sites. What kind of exam integrity does MS have? What about the value of it and the cert. program credibilty? This affect us all. It devalues the MCSE, damage the reputation of truly MCSE's and affects the salaries of all us! This is wrong. |
| 7/19/02: Anonymous says: |
Microsoft have no intention of getting rid of ALL the study guides, from time to time they will take action against a single "scapegoat" company to make it look as though they give a damn. Just remember that Microsoft make a fortune from the certification racket and they are not about to bite the hand that feeds them!!....just the occasional finger.... |
| 7/19/02: Anonymous says: |
It takes brains to pass a test with testkiller. Everyone has their own favorite study method. The reason that MCSE has declined in value is because NT MCSEs can't pass the 2000 tests so they attack the ned for the 2000 certification. They have benefited from their certification, and they don't want smarter, more qualified 2000 MCSEs to pass them. Bottom line - Testkiller is a good study reference if you already know the material. If you passed nt 4.0 and can't pass 2000, you are a dubm-ass. |
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