Best Book, Practice Test?

msubtain

Hi,

I am getting back to the certification world after long time , so very much out of touch , the goal is to start with Security+ this year and than appear in CISSP exam next year.

Could anyone who recently passed the exam recommend the best method to prepare and books + practice test etc..

also i read in earlier posts about CompTIA changing the exam or doing some sort of revision? any news about that? is it happening this year or next year?

Thanks
msubtain

mrjawbones

I used the official CompTIA course book, CBT Nuggets, and MeasureUp for the practice tests. Served me well, as I passed with an 852.

matradley

I found Sybex's book on this to be most helpful as well as Mike Meyer's Passport.

Megadeth4168

IMO The Sybex book is the best to read because it has the right mixture of depth and ease of reading. The best practice tests i found were included on the CD that came with the Passport book.

Vogon Poet

Sybex is very good.
Exam Cram 2 Practice Questions are very good.
(I also used Mike Meyers Passport and MeasureUp. Decent book and practice test, but not as extensive as the others.)

bertieb

When I started on the Security+ trail, I asked pretty much the same question. Several folk responded (Vogon Poet being one ) and I don't regret following their advice.

I thought that the Sybex book was excellent and I used this as my main study resource. I also used the Learnkey vids and the Mike Meyers passport book. Personally, I didn't think that these went into enough detail for the exam but I found them useful to watch/read over to help consolidate things just that little bit more.

Good luck.

linuxgnubee

I'd agree with the others, msubtain, that Sybex was a great reference. I used it and The Security+ Exam Guide as a cross-reference - although a little dated, it served me well. I passed with a 803.

Heck, I swear, there were a couple of questions that appeared word-for-word from the Sybex text!!

I used the CD that came with the text, I used the practice questions from here, and practice questions from the exam guide.

- Know your ports
- Know your attacks and how to recognize/defeat them
- Know your OSI model and what operates at what level

Some of the questions are scenario based, so knowing this stuff will help in answering them more easily.

Hope this helps.

snadam

matradley wrote:

I found Sybex's book on this to be most helpful as well as Mike Meyer's Passport.

+1 on matradley's choice.

Per his suggestions, I also went with this combo and was very happy with the results; 2 good books to put in the library and a Sec+ Cert on the wall

geezer

Hi, just got my CCNA recently and thinking of going the Security+ route and then perhaps CCNP but apart from the Sybex book has anyone knowledge of http://www.amazon.co.uk/Security-Study-Guide-2E/dp/1597491535/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4/202-2106061-8292668?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193006784&sr=8-4
which is recently published but a bit heavier (864 pages) than the Sybex book?

TIA

ceterisparibus

I only read a chapter or two of the Syngress book you mention at the bookstore. Based on that sampling I'd say the Syngress book is easier to read and more enjoyable - however, I believe it goes deeper into detail than the exam does. As I stated, I only read two chapters so I can't really tell you if I had used that as the sole book I had used for studying I'd have passed or not but I can say that about the Sybex book (as dry as it was). BTW - I had the regular Sybex book in addition to the "Fast Pass" book. I used the FP book to get an overview then went through the regular book once I had a general feel for the material.

The practice tests from this site, the comptia site, free-tests.com, from the sybex book, and preplogic will prepare you pretty well for the level of difficulty of the actual exam - they're all pretty comparable but the more practice you can get, the better.

Good luck

geezer wrote:

Hi, just got my CCNA recently and thinking of going the Security+ route and then perhaps CCNP but apart from the Sybex book has anyone knowledge of http://www.amazon.co.uk/Security-Study-Guide-2E/dp/1597491535/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4/202-2106061-8292668?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193006784&sr=8-4
which is recently published but a bit heavier (864 pages) than the Sybex book?

TIA

geezer

Thanks

KGhaleon

I used some Sybex quickpass book when I took it a couple years ago, though it was lacking a lot of information. I just filled in those gaps with practice tests and internet research. It was a lot easier than I was expecting, and I seemed to only have gotten the easy questions about port numbers and junk.

KG