I test in 2 weeks

So I'm in one of those situations that requires me to get a Sec+ certification but it has very little bearing on my actual job. I have a huge stack of flashcards that my buddy used (he passed) and I've been studding those for about 2 months. I'm looking for more study material but with the limited time I'm not sure where to turn. Thank you!

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canito487

Well, I am not sure I am the best to answer your question because I have not taken the exam yet. But from what I have read here in the forums and from people I have met who have passed the exam, a great majority including myself use Darill Gibson's book for preparation for the exam. Many have passed using solely the book along with supplemental materials such as test preps. So far, I feel pretty good about the book. I have also purchased the android app that goes along with the book for test prep questions. I don't know exactly how much time you have left to study but I would definitely recommend that book because many have used it and passed the exam. Hope this helps.

OfWolfAndMan

Check out CBT Nuggets and the book mentioned above. The paperback may be 20, but the kindle is only 10! Good luck man!

TestBot

I have the app and its pretty good, similar questions to what is on the flashcards. Ill look into the book as well. Thanks guys!

donw35

the one thing I should have studied/memorized more was Ports, a few questions and performance questions intergrate them and memorizing them would help your confidance.

FTP data port
20

FTP Control port
21

SFTP
22

SSH,SCP
22

Telnet
23

SMTP
25

TACACS /TACACS+
49

DNS
53

TFTP
69

HTTP
80

Kereros
88

POP3
110

NNTP
119

NETBIOS
137-139

IMAP
143

SNMP
161

SNMP Trap Messages
162

LDAP
389

HTTPS
443

Ipsec (for VPN with IP6)
500

LDAP/TLS
636

LDAP/SSL
636

Layer 2 tunneling Protocal
1701

Point to Point tunneling Protocol
1723

RADIUS Authentication
1812

Terminal Services
3389

Remote Desktop Services
3389

ICQ messanger
4000

Yahoo Messanger
5000

TestBot

its weird some of the ports stick in my head and the other ones I can not memorize for the life of me. Thank you though im printing it out now so I can glance at it throughout the day.

omi2123

Sec+ is the most boring cert u can ever study for......

JamesKurtovich

Darill Gibson's book is definitely the most digestible book on Security+ that I've come across. I recommend it.

Professor Messer offers free certification courses, including the Security+. Professor Messer's Free CompTIA SY0-301 Security+ Training Course | Professor Messer - CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+, Linux, Microsoft Technology Training

TestBot

test is scheduled for the 10th!

Deathmage

LordSevink wrote: »

Darill Gibson's book is definitely the most digestible book on Security+ that I've come across. I recommend it.

Professor Messer offers free certification courses, including the Security+. Professor Messer's Free CompTIA SY0-301 Security+ Training Course | Professor Messer - CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+, Linux, Microsoft Technology Training

I concur. I can actually read the book chapter to chapter without getting bored with the wordy chapters...

I also have the Exam Cram book for Security +; those tear-out sheets really helped with problem area's for the A+ and Net + exams; the Sec + one has the ports on it and you can generally review the tear-out in about 10 minutes. Very helpful!

JamesKurtovich

Deathmage wrote: »

I concur. I can actually read the book chapter to chapter without getting bored with the wordy chapters...

I love how he shares his experiences that are relevant to the objectives. It really puts what he's telling us in real-world context and makes it seem more than just information to memorize.

Deathmage

JamesKurtovich wrote: »

I love how he shares his experiences that are relevant to the objectives. It really puts what he's telling us in real-world context and makes it seem more than just information to memorize.

I concur, I just got done with Chapter 9 and 10 and didn't even realize I spent 2 hours reading them. The chapters just flow so well. It also helps that a majority of the stuff explained in this book I do on a daily basis at work being the Jack-Of-All-Trades IT Manager but understanding what I take for granted and applying it's real-world meaning adds so much to my understanding of things...

TestBot

I think I'm going to pick up Darill Gibson's book, if at the very least to better understand the concepts.

donw35

His book is all you need to pass the exam

randyrandy

Yeah, Darill Gibson's book / website is a great resource. Make sure you know your port numbers and whether they are TCP / UDP!

donw35

randyrandy wrote: »

Yeah, Darill Gibson's book / website is a great resource. Make sure you know your port numbers and whether they are TCP / UDP!

Especially that...

TestBot

I was looking at a port list list and some of them are both TCP and UDP, how am I supposed to answer a question that asks that?

scaredoftests

The numbers of the ports mostly.

TestBot

donw35 should I mainly focus on the list you provided?

djentlemetal

All I used was Gibson's book and his blog: I passed with an 847 (Come to think of it, I should have made the traditional 'Pass!' thread about it, but I'm a habitual lurker). Ports are important for the sim questions and a few of the regular questions as well. It took me exactly two weeks of studying a chapter a day from the book, and the end-of-chapter quizzes served to really nail down the concepts in my head (this is VERY important: know the what, who, where how and why of each of the concepts for each exam objective). Darril's blog will help you prepare for the sim questions, as well.

The test wasn't easy or hard. Just know your ports, TCP/UDP and get used to the wording of the questions by studying Darill's practice quizzes (they're fairly close to the actual exam) and you'll be just fine!

TestBot

djentlemetal Im not sure if you will know but I have his app, is that similar to the practice exams you are referring to?

bostianz

Where can I find what ports are exactly TCP/UDP. I notice a lot of them are either.

djentlemetal

TestBot wrote: »

djentlemetal Im not sure if you will know but I have his app, is that similar to the practice exams you are referring to?

Oh yeah! I almost got it myself, but didn't want to overload my brain with too much information (trust me, the book is more than adequate). The app comes with flash cards and practice questions, right? If so, that can't hurt at all in terms of getting you used to how the questions are formed on the actual exam.

djentlemetal

@bostianz Many ports are BOTH TCP/UDP because, well, they can use either protocol (connection-oriented vs. connectionless). I believe Darill's book lists the well-known ports and whether they use TCP, UDP or both (Any). Also, you should be able to just google a list of the well-known ports along with the protocols they use. The importance for knowing what protocol each port uses is mostly for the sims themselves (at least in my experience).

bostianz

djentlemetal wrote: »

@bostianz Many ports are BOTH TCP/UDP because, well, they can use either protocol (connection-oriented vs. connectionless). I believe Darill's book lists the well-known ports and whether they use TCP, UDP or both (Any). Also, you should be able to just google a list of the well-known ports along with the protocols they use. The importance for knowing what protocol each port uses is mostly for the sims themselves (at least in my experience).

Alright I guess I will look those up. Also one more question, how do you tell whether a certain protocol is being used for UDP or TCP purposes. It may be a straightforward answer, but I must know!

djentlemetal

To be honest, for the exam, you don't need to know whether a port is using either TCP or UDP. If they're capable of using both, you would select/type 'Any'. There's really only one section on the exam that deals with this, too.

Edit - Just to clarify my first sentence: of course you need to know what port a protocol uses, but if the protocol can use both then...yeah.

TestBot

today is the day!!!

djentlemetal

Sooooo....what's the haps?

TestBot

Passed!

CJWelch89

Congratulations man! What was your pass mark? I'm testing in about a week!

Dakinggamer87

Congrats on pass!!