Professor

Peter Reiher

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Easiness N/A/ 5
Clarity N/A/ 5
Workload N/A/ 5
Helpfulness N/A/ 5
Easiness 2.2/ 5
Clarity 4.7/ 5
Workload 2.2/ 5
Helpfulness 4.8/ 5
Most Helpful Review
Class: Security class is very difficult. As professor explain, "this is the field where your opponent actively tries to screw you over." Teaching method is like this: class teaches theory where discussion practice those theory. However, the exam is purely on the theory. It is kinda hard. How to get best possible grade: As mention on the post on May 2010, you need to go to class. Before you attempt to take this class, try to mentally commit yourself to go to class every morning at 8 a.m. and listen to his slide lecture. Yes, he teaches by slide, because there is a lot of information. He does stop and explain if you have questions and ONLY IF you have questions. You have to actively follow his lecture. I did commit going to class, but after time zone change in the fall, I can't get up so early (because I commute); I ended up sleeping in. The exam is on what he said in lecture and in slide and in textbook. DON'T RELY on slide along, because after midterm, the slide is not helpful as the slide before midterm. Oh, one more thing about the slide: there are some "hidden" slides (some feature by Microsoft office). If you attempt to print out, those hidden slide does not get printed out. He said he will not test on the hidden slide. Do you willing to or trust him enough to take his words on it??? Yes, some information on the exam also come from the textbook. I think the best time to read the textbook is after listen to the lecture. You can determine what he didn't cover in class, but in the text. Discussion: Peter Peterson is my TA. He is very helpful and knowledgeable. The assignment is very fun to do. There are TON OF EXTRA CREDIT for the assignment. You might want to do them. :P I won't tell you what are the extra credit, because I think it is same every quarter. If you don't do well on the exam, consider the extra credit. Final thought: He uses slide; but but he tells you "stories" about everything on the slide. The stories is what you will remember. That is what make him better than other professor who uses slide. And you should read other post on May 2010.
Easiness 3.0/ 5
Clarity 5.0/ 5
Workload 2.0/ 5
Helpfulness 5.0/ 5
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2020 - For Secure Software Development. Truly a great class - it’s essentially CS 136 Part 2: practical project time. There are no exams, and few lectures. Most lectures are designated as team time - where you meet with your team and work on your project/reports. The entire class revolves around proposing, designing, and building a piece of software in a secure fashion. You do this in a group of 4-5. Your grade is entirely based on the reports you write, and the project demo. First, you write a short project proposal. Then, you write a detailed design document, mainly focusing on security. These are done in weeks 1 and 2, respectively. Then, you work on the project. You’re expected to complete the project by the end of Week 7, at which point you’ll demo it. Then, you conduct a security review of your project, and write a report on it. After that, you have a week to fix bugs/issues you found. From there, you do a security review of another team’s project, and write a report. Finally, you have one final report which details your final implemented design - including all the security fixes you made after your own security review. It really is a great class. Reiher and the TAs are always available and willing to help, and encourage you to try new ideas and challenge yourself. It’s very much student-driven: it’s entirely up to you what you make, and how you split up your time building your app/service (procrastinate at your own peril). The only requirement Reiher makes for project proposals is that they have some significant security element (say, processing payments, or storing passwords). I feel like this class and CS 136 should be mandatory for graduation - they’re that valuable in my opinion. 136 gives you baseline theoretical knowledge of computer security, and small practical applications in the labs. This 188 gives you a complete real-world experience in building a secure piece of software. Reiher is knowledgeable, helpful, and has put together a truly practical class. Take this if it ever is offered while you’re at UCLA.
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