Braindumps vs. Study Guides: Who keeps the checkers in check?

For years, CertGuard has been "checking" the certification industry, but who's checking CertGuard? This, along with questions such as "How does CertGuard determine which websites are providing braindumps and which are actually helping your earn your certifications?" and "What checks and balances are in place if CertGuard is blacklisting websites?", have been seen in various forums and newsgroups and should probably be answered by us in public.

What checks and balances are in place when checking certification websites?

Our #1 check is you, the IT professional. For those of you that are attempting to earn your certifications without putting them at risk, we want nothing more than to help you do that honestly. We try to make every honest effort at classifying websites with the value of your certifications in mind. Maybe it's because I've been looking at certification websites day-in and day-out for the past two years, but to me classifying websites has become increasingly difficult. When I first put together our database of 600 certification websites I was amazed at how simple it seemed. As time rolled on, the sites I was running into got more and more difficult to classify. At this point, we have over 2,600 certification related websites in our database and there are still just under 200 of them that I will not classify because I am not 100% certain of their nature.

Another check that we have in place is a little thing called the law. Basically, libel is "anything that is defamatory or that maliciously or damagingly misrepresents" (1). All of our reports up to this point have been true and to the best of our knowledge, and I intend on keeping it that way. We aren't making any money at this yet, but I'm still not willing to risk a lawsuit if I don't have the proof to back our claims.

How does CertGuard classify websites?

Manually. I personally verify and classify every certification website that goes into our database. I have a few dozen checks in place that I use before I do classify any website, and if I have the slightest doubt about the nature of a website I leave it as "In Progress" until I can make a clear determination. We still have websites in our database that have been in there for over a year that I have not been able to classify, but I guarantee that when the time comes that a classification is required, we will have one for you.

Site classifications, as I stated earlier, have become increasingly difficult. Many of the checks I have in place pertain to ownership of the site. If the site is owned by someone that is a known braindump owner, then it's fairly safe to say that this particular site is more than likely providing dumps too. Other checks involve actually interacting with the website or the "study materials" they provide. If after the numerous check that I've performed, I still cannot classify the website, I spend hours scraping the internet for clues that will give me a better idea of what the site is providing their customers.

We welcome all questions in regards to integrity in the Certification Industry. If you have a question about what we do, we definitely want to have a chance to answer it publicly. Do you have questions that you would like us to answer?