CyberCop's CISSP blog - PASSED

Henry.net

Glad to see you are still going steady, I did my first Boson practice set of questions today.
Confidence.destroyer. lol.

From now on just going to keep doing some everyday, I have the sybex question bank too so not sure which to focus more of my time on.

CyberCop123

Henry.net wrote: »

Glad to see you are still going steady, I did my first Boson practice set of questions today.
Confidence.destroyer. lol.

From now on just going to keep doing some everyday, I have the sybex question bank too so not sure which to focus more of my time on.

Good question

In my experience and from what others say Boson is best and far better than Sybex. HOWEVER... Im avoiding using it too much as I don't want to memorise the answers rather than learn them

that is why I am doing 100 random questions every Saturday.

Im doing Sybex whenever I want. As it's in the later stages I choose random questions in the question book

e.g.:

questions 60-70 in chapter 4
quesfions 15-30 in chapter 12
quesfions 80-90 in chapter 10

If I know there's a weak area then I obviously will include and focus on that

PeterHands

what are the Boson questions like in comparison to the Sybex Practice tests. And by that I'm sure your practising the 2nd edition of the Sybex test book.

https://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1119475929,miniSiteCd-SYBEX.html

CyberCop123

PeterHands wrote: »

what are the Boson questions like in comparison to the Sybex Practice tests. And by that I'm sure your practising the 2nd edition of the Sybex test book.

https://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1119475929,miniSiteCd-SYBEX.html

Yes that's the book I'm using.

Firstly most say the Boson questions are more like real life.

Sybex go way into the weeds and very specific details of a topic. From what I know about the exam it's not all about knowledge. It's about understanding of the domains, the CISSP mindset.

Sybex in my view is more about knowledge checking and highlighting weak areas and quizzing yourself.

Id recommend both. (Although I've not done my exam yet!)

PeterHands

CyberCop123 wrote: »

Yes that's the book I'm using.

Firstly most say the Boson questions are more like real life.

Sybex go way into the weeds and very specific details of a topic. From what I know about the exam it's not all about knowledge. It's about understanding of the domains, the CISSP mindset.

Sybex in my view is more about knowledge checking and highlighting weak areas and quizzing yourself.

Id recommend both. (Although I've not done my exam yet!)

Okay dude, ill book Boson too.

PeterHands

Have you bothered with the practice lab? I'm thinking just the test one for $99

CyberCop123

PeterHands wrote: »

Have you bothered with the practice lab? I'm thinking just the test one for $99

Didnt even know about the labs. I thought you'd made a mistake there

looks good but I personally feel it's over the top for this cert

EVERYONE SAYS:

- you are the manager
- it's not your job to fix
- you simply assess risk, vulnerability, impact and tell the CEO
- if you are looking at commands, syntax, technical issues it's far too deep

I like YouTube for videos on things I want to know a bit more about or just have someone tell me. For example I watched quite a few on cryptography. I saved lots into a CISSP playlists.

I would recommend this video by Kelly Handerhan - "why you will pass the CISSP"

https://youtu.be/-99b1YUFx0A

Henry.net

I've been doing some practice questions on domains 1,2,3 & 4 today (not Boson ones yet, I'll do some tomorrow).
I clearly need a bit of work with domain 4, the restI feel feel pretty OK about, the sheer amount of acronyms is alarming

What kind of flashcards were you going to use? A mobile app or something?

I'm listening to Kellys videos a bit more on my commute which is great for when I am just reading and not much is going in.

CyberCop123

Henry.net wrote: »

I've been doing some practice questions on domains 1,2,3 & 4 today (not Boson ones yet, I'll do some tomorrow).
I clearly need a bit of work with domain 4, the restI feel feel pretty OK about, the sheer amount of acronyms is alarming

What kind of flashcards were you going to use? A mobile app or something?

I'm listening to Kellys videos a bit more on my commute which is great for when I am just reading and not much is going in.

The acronyms are ridiculous. I don't mind ones like "WPA2" or "HIPPA"

But I flip out at stuff like "if the company is looking for high availability (HA) then....". Why in all that is holy, is that an acronym?!

Well all of my notes are on flash cards but that is just a way of note taking. I may not even look through them. It just helps to write it down. So I'm not using flash cards in the traditional way. I have heard people say Quizlet are good.

Kelly H MP3/video is amazing. I've listened to each domain about 3 times now. There's some fantastic content in there and it's helped me loads

CyberCop123

UPDATE

Been a very poor week of studying, or lack of studying. I've barely done any. Apart from MP3s, I've probably studied about 4 hours due to work being so busy and working quite long hours.

The next week is unpredictable but after that I should be in a better position. I think I may need to keep my exam date as 20th December, as I'm really not achieving much at the minute

I just did another 100 BOSON questions and got 63%.

Domain 7 (Security Operations) I got 25 questions for and only 56% correct. Absolutely terrible there. Also, Category 4 (Communication and Network Security), I got 15 questions and 53% right. Concerning as I have read both of these domains in recent weeks.

The last four weeks results have been: 67, 63, 62, 63. Some of the questions are so stupidly subjective, even with the CISSP mindset which I think I have now, it's still so difficult to know. Also, the BOSON Questions seems to have so many crazy questions about light... such as "What is a characteristic of XXXX type of light?".

Priorities are Domain 2+3. They're the only ones I have left to cover and then I will be reading the 11th Hour book to fill in the gaps I have.


Confidence Rating: 57.6%
Days until Exam: 46 days (6.5 weeks)

FSF150

I was averaging "not great" scores on the practice tests while studying too. It isn't necessarily a bad sign (though higher is always better!)

A good chunk of the CISSP is understanding what ISC2 is asking as well as what they're actually presenting in the form of possible answers. If you actually know the base material then you can read a screwy question and say "Ok, what you're trying to say is this, and this answer looks stupid, but you mean to say that." Learn to embrace all the acronyms

I always push this webinar in the CISSP threads: "Fun with CISSP Questions: "The Absurd, The Drink the Kool-Aid, and The Ugly" http://www.sans.org/webcasts/99157 it gives a good perspective.

PeterHands

CyberCop123 wrote: »

UPDATE

Been a very poor week of studying, or lack of studying. I've barely done any. Apart from MP3s, I've probably studied about 4 hours due to work being so busy and working quite long hours.

The next week is unpredictable but after that I should be in a better position. I think I may need to keep my exam date as 20th December, as I'm really not achieving much at the minute

I just did another 100 BOSON questions and got 63%.

Domain 7 (Security Operations) I got 25 questions for and only 56% correct. Absolutely terrible there. Also, Category 4 (Communication and Network Security), I got 15 questions and 53% right. Concerning as I have read both of these domains in recent weeks.

The last four weeks results have been: 67, 63, 62, 63. Some of the questions are so stupidly subjective, even with the CISSP mindset which I think I have now, it's still so difficult to know. Also, the BOSON Questions seems to have so many crazy questions about light... such as "What is a characteristic of XXXX type of light?".

Priorities are Domain 2+3. They're the only ones I have left to cover and then I will be reading the 11th Hour book to fill in the gaps I have.


Confidence Rating: 57.6%
Days until Exam: 46 days (6.5 weeks)

hinking of booking mine on Dec 17th. On my 2nd run through now
T

Henry.net

FSF150 wrote: »

I was averaging "not great" scores on the practice tests while studying too. It isn't necessarily a bad sign (though higher is always better!)

A good chunk of the CISSP is understanding what ISC2 is asking as well as what they're actually presenting in the form of possible answers. If you actually know the base material then you can read a screwy question and say "Ok, what you're trying to say is this, and this answer looks stupid, but you mean to say that." Learn to embrace all the acronyms

I always push this webinar in the CISSP threads: "Fun with CISSP Questions: "The Absurd, The Drink the Kool-Aid, and The Ugly" http://www.sans.org/webcasts/99157 it gives a good perspective.

Interesting webcast, thanks!

I will be sure to watch this a couple of days before my exam.

Almost done with domain 6, will probably finish it tomorrow, I'm tired for now.
Will finish 7 & 8 this weekend.

I plan to do the written labs and questions in Sybex and then full steam ahead with Boson.

I then plan to take the sunflower PDF on my commute to work and just read it over and over and over lol.

I'm feeling pretty OK actually.

PeterHands

Okay so ive now purchased BOSON, but unlike Sybex practice exams, there doesnt seem to be able a choice to practice individual domains.

You have to practice a whole exam. Thats annoying.

CyberCop123

PeterHands said:

Okay so ive now purchased BOSON, but unlike Sybex practice exams, there doesnt seem to be able a choice to practice individual domains.

You have to practice a whole exam. Thats annoying.

You can.  Choose Custom Exam

Then you can choose how many questions, and also de-select domains so that you're left with only the one(s) you are focusing on 

CyberCop123

UPDATE

I have not done a thing in the last two weeks due to a work project which has meant I have worked 14+ hour days and some on the weekend too.  When not working I just wanted to relax and switch off.

I'm glad I didn't move my exam date forward now.  There are 32 days until my exam.  Within this period I also have 6 days off work to study.  

Priorities include:

1. Covering Domains 3+4 which means that I have then finished the whole book
2. I will then go back to Sybex and read some 4-5 of the chapters I'm weak on
3. I will put the big books away and focus only on the 11th Hour book and some tons more test questions

Thanks for reading!

CyberCop123

I'm in a Pickle

I'm unsure what to do...

As part of my job I need to study for and take a specialist exam which is in March.  It takes around 3 months of studying to be prepared for it - it has absolutely NOTHING TO DO with IT at all.

I have options:

1) I don't have to take my work exam now, I can put it off for 12 months but it would be likely to hold me back a bit and just be annoying

2) I could move the CISSP exam forward and just give it my best shot.  I've read the entire Sybex book and the big 500 Page Conrad one too

3) I could just put the CISSP exam off until the middle of 2019.  I'm worried though as once again I will have to re-start the studying process.  I know I won't forget everything, but I'm likely to forget somethings and it's exhausting re-learning old stuff at times.

I'm considering moving the exam forward.  I don't feel I'm that far off being ready.  It's scheduled for 20th December... so I could move it forward to say the 2nd/3rd December and try then.  If I pass - great... if I fail then I just accept that and try again in 2019 after I do the work thing.  

Any thoughts?

PC509

Can you do both? Study your ass off for a month, take the CISSP when you have it currently scheduled (Dec. 20th) and kill it. Get that CISSP certificate. Then, immediately move to studying for the work cert. You'll have close to 3 months to do it, but you may suffer from some brain drain and burn out. But, you'll get both done and be kicking some ass. 

A lot of studying involved and could just get burnt out with it, but after passing the test in March, take a vacation and don't touch a book (unless it's a beer menu).

CyberCop123

PC509 said:

Can you do both? Study your ass off for a month, take the CISSP when you have it currently scheduled (Dec. 20th) and kill it. Get that CISSP certificate. Then, immediately move to studying for the work cert. You'll have close to 3 months to do it, but you may suffer from some brain drain and burn out. But, you'll get both done and be kicking some ass. 

A lot of studying involved and could just get burnt out with it, but after passing the test in March, take a vacation and don't touch a book (unless it's a beer menu).

I did think of doing that actually.  The work exam is in the 2nd week of March if I did it.  I'm just not sure if I will have the energy to have done 3-4 months CISSP, and then 2-3 months hard study for a work exam which is not at all related to IT.  :-:neutral:

Just did another 100 Questions and got 65%

My Scores then for 100 Boson questions have been:

Week 1: 67%
Week 2: 63%
Week 3: 62%
Week 4: 63%
Week 7: 65%

wayne_wonder

I think you should go for it you only live once and this might be a sign!!! 

COBOL_DOS_ERA

I would say, don't fast forward the exam on Dec 3/4th, take it on the 20th and be done with it. Take a week break, enjoy the year end and from the Jan 1st or 2nd start studying for the other exam. Good luck, I believe you will pass the exam.

CyberCop123

Thanks for your responses, I know one of you said to do the exam, and one said not to move forward but...

I did decide to move it forward.  I'm just reading through the last chapter of the Boson book and I know I'm ready to give the exam a try.  I feel like if I left it another month from now (rather than 13 days) then I would just be itching to do the exam and impatient.  I just want to try now. 

I've refreshed my memory on Cryptography.  I'm going to try to re-read 2-3 of the domains now, and fill in some of my weak areas.

Exam date is now Thursday 6th December

The good thing is too, I'm off on the Saturday, Sunday and all the weekdays up to the exam.  That means I have a solid 5 days of time to re-watch some videos, go over some of the material, etc...

COBOL_DOS_ERA

Good luck with the exam!! let us know how it went.

CyberCop123

promethuschow said:

Good luck with the exam!! let us know how it went.

Thanks, I definitely well do! 

Looking forward to it actually 

Info_Sec_Wannabe

CyberCop123 said:

promethuschow said:

Good luck with the exam!! let us know how it went.

Thanks, I definitely well do! 

Looking forward to it actually 

Good luck!

Don't forget a good night's sleep 2 to 3 nights leading up to the exam and don't skip breakfast. These may sound trivial, but will prove useful on the exam day itself.

PeterHands

Very best of luck old chap!

CyberCop123

Thank you to you both, and everyone else for the good wishes

4 Days to go

Today is Sunday and I am off all week, with my exam on Thursday.  I've not done too much over the past week in terms of studying.  I've just done 100 Questions from the Sybex mock exam and scored 73%.  I've made a bit of a list of things I need to re-study.  

I'm going to watch all of Kelly Handerhan's videos over the next few days.  I will also cover a few chapters in the Sybex book.  I'm not sure how much I will study.  I will do more during the week than today.  I find it hard to concentrate on Sundays as I watch a lot of sport and so I'm doing bits in between watching that.  

Other plans include:

- Boson questions all week
- Watching some of the Larry G videos on YouTube
- Learning the ISC2 code of conduct 

That's about it.

Will update on each day.  

wayne_wonder

Have you got The LinkedIn cissp videos by the guy who wrote the sybex book? Very high level but decent enough 

DZA_

Good luck on your exam this week CyberCop, keep us updated on how you do. 

Cheers, 

CyberCop123

wayne_wonder said:

Have you got The LinkedIn cissp videos by the guy who wrote the sybex book? Very high level but decent enough 

Hi Wayne, I don't have them.  Do you have a link?  I have searched but unfortunately I can't find them.

Thanks

DZA_ said:

Good luck on your exam this week CyberCop, keep us updated on how you do. 

Cheers, 

Thanks, I will be sure to update the thread after the exam, either Thursday or Friday depending on how I do!