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Security+ passed today
First of all, my biggest thanks to techexams.net forum, that timed out and the whole post I was typing for almost half an hour is gone. LOL
All right, I will try to write something similar, once again.
Well, I passed the Security+ exam today with 861 out of 900. As I today discovered (just few hours before the exam, lol again) there are some performance based questions. I had 6 out of 66 and they are in the very beginning. I found them quite difficult, simply because you cannot only rely on "best guess" from a,b,c or d but you have to be 100% sure your answer is correct. My tip? Make sure you know all the ports and related services, but not only the numbers, but also if this is TCP, UDP or both.
Although I have spent nearly 8 yrs in IT businnes and also have MSc in IT, I was still quite afraid of the exam for two obvious reasons: a) English is not my native language and I still sometimes struggle to understand and b) even if English is your native language, the questions might be tricky and you need to focus on what they put stress on in the question. I absolutely recommend reading the questions 2 or 3 times.
I used these resources:
a) CompTIA Security+ Study Guide: SY0-401, 6th Edition from Emmett Dulaney and Chuck Easttom
It is very good book and covers pretty much everything needed for the exam. Some guys here however prefer the "CompTIA Security+: Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-401 Study Guide" by D. Gibson and I would most probably go for it next time. The author also has very useful content on his website (getcertifiedgetahead.com). I read the book from beginning to the end without taking any notes - this resulted in the fact that I barely remembered 50% of the content. Next time, I would watch videos first and then go through the book. I also found that the book used in English was a bit more difficult to understand for me.
b) Security+ CBT Nuggets by Keith Parker
Keith is an amazing trainer. He uses a lot of drawing to explain things, use a lot of real world scenarios and the way he presents the topics is simply awesome! It is well worth the money you need to spend for CBT subscription. This course has roughly 18 hrs of videos and helped me a lot to understand the concepts and principles.
c) Professor Messer videos (PM)
This youtube channel is free of charge and a great alternative to CBT. I used both sources (this one is also roughly 18 hrs) to get prepared. The way PM videos are presented was however a bit boring in comparison to CBT. There were some interesting chapters later on with practical demonstrations, but I would still favourite Keith's videos. I discovered just yesterday, that PM's channel is missing the last chapters, it ends with objective 6.1
As I want to retake an MS exam just before I go for holiday, I wanted to take the Sec+ exam as soon as possible. THE MAIN PROBLEM I DISCOVERED is that you have to take the exam in your country of origin or get an approval from CompTIA to be able to take it elsewhere. Fortunately there wasn't any problem with that and I got it approved in 2 business days.
You can also get a discount, I used 10% off from the Sybex book. I have found some bigger discounts for people across US however, just use google. Those who do not feel confident, I have seen a discounted offer for US$368 including a free retake.
I hope some of you will find this informative. I wish GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE
All right, I will try to write something similar, once again.
Well, I passed the Security+ exam today with 861 out of 900. As I today discovered (just few hours before the exam, lol again) there are some performance based questions. I had 6 out of 66 and they are in the very beginning. I found them quite difficult, simply because you cannot only rely on "best guess" from a,b,c or d but you have to be 100% sure your answer is correct. My tip? Make sure you know all the ports and related services, but not only the numbers, but also if this is TCP, UDP or both.
Although I have spent nearly 8 yrs in IT businnes and also have MSc in IT, I was still quite afraid of the exam for two obvious reasons: a) English is not my native language and I still sometimes struggle to understand and b) even if English is your native language, the questions might be tricky and you need to focus on what they put stress on in the question. I absolutely recommend reading the questions 2 or 3 times.
I used these resources:
a) CompTIA Security+ Study Guide: SY0-401, 6th Edition from Emmett Dulaney and Chuck Easttom
It is very good book and covers pretty much everything needed for the exam. Some guys here however prefer the "CompTIA Security+: Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-401 Study Guide" by D. Gibson and I would most probably go for it next time. The author also has very useful content on his website (getcertifiedgetahead.com). I read the book from beginning to the end without taking any notes - this resulted in the fact that I barely remembered 50% of the content. Next time, I would watch videos first and then go through the book. I also found that the book used in English was a bit more difficult to understand for me.
b) Security+ CBT Nuggets by Keith Parker
Keith is an amazing trainer. He uses a lot of drawing to explain things, use a lot of real world scenarios and the way he presents the topics is simply awesome! It is well worth the money you need to spend for CBT subscription. This course has roughly 18 hrs of videos and helped me a lot to understand the concepts and principles.
c) Professor Messer videos (PM)
This youtube channel is free of charge and a great alternative to CBT. I used both sources (this one is also roughly 18 hrs) to get prepared. The way PM videos are presented was however a bit boring in comparison to CBT. There were some interesting chapters later on with practical demonstrations, but I would still favourite Keith's videos. I discovered just yesterday, that PM's channel is missing the last chapters, it ends with objective 6.1
As I want to retake an MS exam just before I go for holiday, I wanted to take the Sec+ exam as soon as possible. THE MAIN PROBLEM I DISCOVERED is that you have to take the exam in your country of origin or get an approval from CompTIA to be able to take it elsewhere. Fortunately there wasn't any problem with that and I got it approved in 2 business days.
You can also get a discount, I used 10% off from the Sybex book. I have found some bigger discounts for people across US however, just use google. Those who do not feel confident, I have seen a discounted offer for US$368 including a free retake.
I hope some of you will find this informative. I wish GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE
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jimdandy1
Member Posts: 11 ■□□□□□□□□□
Great Tips! Thanks for taking the time to post those.
and more to the point- CONGRATS!!!
Has to be a great feeling to have worked hard and achieved this- well done! -
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fuz1on
Member Posts: 961 ■■■■□□□□□□
congrats!timku.com(puter) | ProHacker.Co(nsultant) | ITaaS.Co(nstultant) | ThePenTester.net | @fuz1on
Transmosis | http://transmosis.com | LinkedIn | https://linkedin.com/in/t1mku
If evil be spoken of you and it be true, correct yourself, if it be a lie, laugh at it. - Epictetus
The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows. - Buddha
If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you. - Unknown
