Security+ Advice

Donok

Hey Guys, I was hoping to take my Security+ exam today, but unfortunately due to some of the results( proprof's 4 practice tests) I've only been averaging around 70% so I cancelled the exam( However I think I could do the performance/interactive questions ). When did you guys know your were ready to take the test ? did you make sure you were getting above 80% in these tests? I'm going to search the forum now, to try and find some more questions/resources to test my knowledge etc, but if you guys have any advice I would appreciate it, Thanks.

Darril

Welcome to the forums Donok. By searching the forums, you might have found this answer already, but I'll repeat it. The best gauge of your readiness when taking practice tests isn't so much your score as your understanding of the topics. Ideally, you should know why the correct answers are correct and why the incorrect answers are incorrect. This way no matter how CompTIA words the questions, you can answer them correctly. This also helps when a question appears that you aren't intimately familiar with - you can usually eliminate the incorrect answers based on your understanding.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

CoolAsAFan

^definitely listen to this guy!

I just passed this less than a month ago and I can tell you that what Darril says is spot on. Don't pay too much attention to your scores on your practice tests, but rather the topics that you are missing and/or struggling with. One thing you might look out for that always happens to me is inadvertently memorizing the questions and answers on the practice exam. I tend to do this on accident and score 100% on practice exams only to sit the real exam and wonder why I all of a sudden feel horribly unprepared. The wording on the questions will be so different that you really need to think logically about every question.

Don't fall into the fallacy that all you need to do is practice exams to prepare you, this is not their purpose. They are there for you to gauge your progress and see where you need work. Good Luck!

ojcool

I just passed the Security+ exam.... yesterday. I got 825 out of 900. My book did not even mention that there were interactive questions on the exam at all (although I figured there might be). In all honestly the interactive's were horribly vague and it took at least 5 minutes to figure out what they were even asking me to do. The two that stick out in my mind were a drag and drop that was the very first question. It was a schematic of a "network" that had a bank of security concepts that you were supposed to assign to different areas. For example the bank incuded: cable lockdowns (for laptops), a safe, a locked cabinet, mantrap, retina scanner, etc. There were 4 different "areas" to put things in: unsecured pc lab, office network, server room, and just some random laptops off to the side. You would have to see it to understand that it was really vague and hard to understand graphically. I should have marked it for review, finished the rest and came back to it.
Second interactive: they gave you a "router" to configure with exceptions to accomplish certain goals. Once again, graphically hard to follow and not expected. So know how to physically configure router exceptions including memorizing the ports and the protocol for said port. For example, HTTPS TCP port 443, you need to know if it's TCP or UDP. I don't know if I got that question correct because due to the number of exceptions they allowed you to put in, and the goals they gave you to accomplish I had to assume there was an implicit deny for all other traffic, which there should be, but they did not TELL you there was specifically.
To do it again I would 1) for sure memorize all the acronyms on the exam objectives and their corresponding ports/protocols (I used flashcards)
2) focus on the information that the bulk of the exam comes from (it tells you specifically the break down in percentages on the exam objectives) be sure to know all the authentication protocols, I would read that chapter 3-4 times
3) the professor messer videos are pretty comprehensive if you pause and investigate concepts and protocols he touches on but does not always go into that much detail about, for example, if he mentions SFTP make sure you know what it is and what port and protocol it uses.

I actually read the whole book, watched 80% of his videos and did flashcards and to be honest during the test, I didn't feel ultra prepared, in fact I was pretty sure I failed it because being multiple choice, they do a good job of giving you two very close answers to choose from. You are not going to 100% be positive "I stake my life on this" for sure on many answers. Obviously I WAS prepared because I passed it first time and did pretty well actually considering I only studied 4 days prior to the test. It's not like a Microsoft test where if you know the material you are sure on answers, they are very good at being vague and making you second guess yourself.

Disclaimer* I am a very good test taker, make sure you know how to take a test. For one, read the question carefully three times, be sure you are getting the question objective before you read answers. I like to read it and get what I think it's asking, then go back and look at it trying to prove myself wrong about my initial interpretation. (before I look at answers) Then look at answers, eliminate the two that I know are wrong, then focus on the two that COULD be right (now you're at 50/50) Make your decision and then RE-READ the question one last time before moving on only to be sure you understood the question. Don't keep second guessing yourself, make a mental note of what your first instinct was when you first read the answers, if it comes down to "I'm just not sure" go with your initial instinct. Mark it for review and MOVE ON. Try to get ahead of the clock early on in the test if possible. The last thing you want is to get short on time and have to blast through the last questions. ALWAYS MARK AN ANSWER even if you are not sure, mark your best guess and select it for review at the end. DO NOT LEAVE IT BLANK thinking I will come back and answer it. Get to the end of the test with everything marked and THEN go back and spend additional time on difficult questions. Also, when reviewing, don't get hung up on a difficult question, THEY ALL COUNT THE SAME so for example if you get to the end and have 12 questions marked for review go though them all and focus on the EASIEST first. Invest your time in winnable battles, some questions you just don't know, make your best guess and move on.