Security+ Failure :-(

lananc1

I am new here, my first post actually. Took my Security+ exam on Dec 16, felt I was 100% prepared, and failed. scored 732, think thats only a couple of questions short of passing. I have two other certifications, CNA (Novell Admin) and A+. I felt Waaaaaaaay more prepared for this exam than I did the others. So to fail was a shock. I havent seen anyone say they use TestOut materials for their studies, this is what I used for all so far. However, when I got to the actual test, there seemed to be much that wasent covered in my materials. However, since I was close to passing, thinking of giving it another shot first week in Jan. Question is this, besides the practice tests here , any suggestions for real GOOD materials to pick up the bits I am missing from my materials? Thanks in advance for any info!

Webmaster

Question is this, besides the practice tests here , any suggestions for real GOOD materials to pick up the bits I am missing from my materials?

Yes, if I may say so myself, my Sec+ TechNotes:
www.techexams.net/co_securityplus.shtml
They are kinda meant to fill in the gaps that are so prominent in the available Sec+ study material, however, I haven't finished writing for all the exam objectives, and with the odd questions CompTIA throws in, you won't ever be able to get 100% coverage from study material.

I also liked the PrepLogic exams and you may want to browse through previous posts in this forum to see what others recommend.

Good luck on your next attempt!

jkstech

just keep trying, keep studying, and if possible get specific info on the topics you feel are lacking

if you don't feel too comfortable with crytography...look for info on just that topic, and so on

i find this is a great way to study on top of the typical "comptia security+ study guides"

keep at it man, IT is a long never ending journey

RussS

Sorry to hear that dude. I know the feeling of missing this exam as it is the only exam I have ever failed and that is one heck of a shock.

Johan is right though - his technotes here are first class and the Preplogic exam sim is pretty good.

crap I forgot my old pwd

yeah man, I feel ya. I failed this one after 10 months of studying...then I gave it another shot in a couple of months and got like 850 on it. I used Syngress,exam cram, and this site's wonderful Security+ notes/quizes. Good luck to you!

lananc1

Thanks for the help guys, assuming yer guys, and I'm guessing based on yer "mans" you think I am a guy as well, I am a girl...heheh

RussS

Thats OK lananc1 - we let females play here too

pizzafart

This is also the only exam I've ever failed. Conceptually, this test is not as hard as the ccna or the ccda. After I failed, there was no clear indication of what it was that I needed to brush up on. I passed the second time - though it seemed more so by luck than by additional study. Also, some of the questions I felt were worded in a way so that more than one answer would be correct. I took this exam about a year ago. Has anyone else had this experience? Also, when I took this exam, it had a $200 tag on it. What's up with that?

crap I forgot my old pwd

I didn't quite know what to study after I failed the first time, so I just redid almost everything. I think I needed the most help on Communications Security, mainly because of its technical bredth.

lananc1

In response to Pizzafart (nice name by the way lol) Yes I totally agree, I felt like I was lost after I took it, I knew for sure studying the material I already had was not going to help, that I needed to find more stuff. I passed my exam sims 100% every time! (course how much of that is memorization) Having taken previous exams, I was concerned going in about wordage of questions, and on alot of them, even ones I was not familiar with, I could manage to rule out 2 of the 4 choices. So I guess my 50/50 guessing was a little off. Still havent re-took, waiting for the refund from my exam software (guaranteed pass) and I'll retry - and to RussS - thanks, I'm glad you'll allow me to play also!