Sybex 7th Edition - Dry For Anyone Else? Losing My Confidence!

Hello,

I plan to tackle the CISSP with a total of 1 month (or less if possible) of study. I did the Cybrary videos last week. After the video series my confidence was through the roof as I thought "Hey, this exam doesn't seem that bad at all!" Granted I took the CEH in September 2015 so that covers over half of the domains so it is kind of like review.

I started reading the Sybex 7th Edition this past Saturday night. Since I have read that the first domain should be a higher focus for the exam and it is an area I do not know much about I took my time and really focused on it.

However, now I am on Chapter 8 which covers Security Models. My brain is simply overwhelmed here! No way can I fully memorize all of these various models and know there principles/key words. I have the general conceptual ideas of Clark-Wilson, Biba and Bell-LaPadula and what environments they are typically used. Should I really spend the time memorizing all of it?

Also, math is one of my biggest weaknesses. Chapter 7 that covers some of the algorithms of the encryption and formulas was overwhelming for me. I understand how the encryption work clearly and do plan to memorize the block size hash length/key size etc.

Is it me, or is this Sybex book pretty dry? I really have to fully focus and use all my will power to get through it especially Chapter 7 and 8. The first 5 chapters I flew through it seemed. Anyways, regardless my goal is finish this book by Sunday night if possible. Then I will go over the summaries/exam essentials for each chapter and start practice exams using Sybex, McGraw Hill and CCCure. Studying the parts for questions I got wrong on to help reinforce my weak areas.

Just had to make a rant. Appreciate any feedback.

Find more posts tagged with

Comments

StillStream

Yea, the book is VERY dry. But, it seems to be a great staple of what people use when they study. I'm reading through it too and have been since early April. I just got to Chapter 13 with 8 more to go. I tend to read longer than most so that's why it takes a while for me to get the info. Everyone is different.

Keep at it but pace yourself.

Seab

I heard that Eric Conrad's Cissp study guide 2015 is easier to read, with around half the pages, but doesn't cover 100%, maybe 85%?
I can't compare. But Eleventh hour cissp guide from same author is quite good after Sybex.

But also, everything is dry when you start reading cissp for the first time and in domains you have less experience. I think Shon Harris book was quite dry, so Sybex is way more interresting to read

ZzBloopzZ

Glad I am not the only one. It is just frustrating since I usually have a pretty good flow once I make my mind up to do something. Security+ I banged out in 2 weeks, and CEH I did in 3 weeks and that is with 8-9/hours of work per day with 1 hour commute each way.

Now I work from home 100% so have more time to study but this particular book is so DRY! Chapter 7 & 8 I had to re-read alot of times to comprehend so taking me much longer to get through. Luckily it seems starting from Chapter 9 to 20 will be more exciting topics for me or things I am MUCH more familiar with so hoping I will fly right through those.

ZzBloopzZ

Seab wrote: »

I heard that Eric Conrad's Cissp study guide 2015 is easier to read, with around half the pages, but doesn't cover 100%, maybe 85%?
I can't compare. But Eleventh hour cissp guide from same author is quite good after Sybex.

But also, everything is dry when you start reading cissp for the first time and in domains you have less experience. I think Shon Harris book was quite dry, so Sybex is way more interresting to read

Funny, I just read Amazon review where a person that runs a CISSP boot camp likes this book the best now. I am just going to stick with what is proven to work so I am going to finish this damn Sybex book. Then spend one day reviewing all of the chapters and taking notes for things I need to memorize. If I feel I still have some weaknesses I will go through the 11th Hour Study Guide. Last case scenario, if I still feel like I want to learn more I will pick up that Conrad 3rd Edition.

mkohi

Chapter is 8 is a *****, it gets easier after that! Also, you don't need to memorize formulas for the encryption. Ill give you a more detailed answer later once i Get home. I'm taking my exam in one week and i've using the Sybex books since February.

coffeeisgood

Sybex 7th Edition (1000 pages)
* spent approx. 1 day on each chapter although spent 3 on chapter 13 but made up for as a few of the later ones are shorter
* yes, it is a bit dry & long but this is the "official" study guide, so I powered thru all of it
* the practice test questions seemed rather easy

Eric Conrads 3rd Edition (600 pages)
* Currently in chapter 4 (domain 3 : Security Engineering), it is shorter which is nice & I really enjoyed the cryptography. I understood all the terms from both some experience & reading Sybex but it all just started to really click after reading this section
* Eric's 3rd edition guide takes a different approach by going thru the domains in order & one per chapter. Where Sybex 7th has it broken down a bit more logically (& a manageable pace) in 21 chapters. I find myself breaking mid-chapter in Eric's 3rd & someone flipping ahead to what they reference
* the practice test questions are a bit harder than Sybex 7th but still easy if you read the chapter. Although only 15 questions per chapter vs 20 in Sybex 7th + a lot less chapter's in Eric's 3rd
* I really like this study guide and yes while there is less material (600 vs 1000 pages), there is different material then the official study guide.

I hear you on memorizing the encryption bit sizes but everyone keeps saying this is not really a technical exam so I am not too focused on memorizing them all. That said, I would know the bit size of the one-time pad and maybe the pro/cons of using it to determine the best answer.

As for the models, I am curious how they are going to test because so often I hear the study book questions & prep-exams are not like the actual exam questions (& they do not even really line up similarly) This really has me confused but whatever...

I struggle with the non-active TCSEC but I keep hearing it is still very testable.
TCSEC
(reference the "NOTE" section on Eric's 3rd edition page 114)
& seriously does ANYONE memorize the equivalent ITSEC/TSEC ratings chart? Is this really tested?

As for the Cybrary.it videos, I just started them but find them dry. I will power thru them because everyone gives them so much praise, and so often the praise for Cybrary.it videos comes AFTER passing the test so maybe my mind will be blown away & changed. That said, everyone learns differently....

currently looking into a test date next week (My local test center has really open availability)

ZzBloopzZ

Thanks for the detailed info coffeeisgood!

Please keep us posted on other useful chapters/pages on that Conrad 3rd edition. :c)

Just noticed there were only 2 slots open for the month of May for times that I could make it. I just scheduled for the 24th! I have more motivation now that a date is set in stone.

lobk

If readying is dry for you, you may be like me. I'm more of a visual learner. I looked at a lot of video and then ran through test simulations. What I didn't understand on the sim I would then turn to books (conrad, sybex, shon harris) and read the topics. The two books I used alot was Conrad and Shon Harris.

ZzBloopzZ

Just finished Chapter 9. Was a long chapter with some dry parts. Luckily got easier to read after the 1/3rd mark.

chrisone

1 month of study only? Sorry man I don't think this is humanly possible without 10 years experience or brain ****. Good luck though !

havoc64

You think the Sybex book is dry, try reading the official Study Guide...lol

Ertaz

havoc64 wrote: »

You think the Sybex book is dry, try reading the official Study Guide...lol

That's exactly my sentiment. Read one chapter of the CBK and you'll think the Sybex Book was written by George RR Martin.

ZzBloopzZ

LOL @ the George RR Martin comment. You guys are too funny!

ZzBloopzZ

chrisone wrote: »

1 month of study only? Sorry man I don't think this is humanly possible without 10 years experience or brain ****. Good luck though !

Thanks, now I have even more motivation to prove you wrong friend!

Also, thank you everyone for such supportive comments. I was just having a bad day or I guess those chapters just sucked. I am flying through it again and almost done with Chapter 11. I flew through it since much of it was review from CEH. I will memorize all the specifics that I need 48 hours before the exam, such as different port numbers and such.

mkohi

You don't have to rush the exam. As far as chapter 7 is concerned, go watch https://www.cybrary.it videos, she will tell you what to focus on more. Do the same for chapter 8. You will have to know the Models of Bell-LaPadula, Biba etc.. Also, you can watch her old videos (which were replaced 2 months ago) if you scroll down their website and click Archived Cyrary Courses.

Sorry for the typos, I'm tired.

ZzBloopzZ

Starting on Chapter 14 now. I really thought I could finish reading this book in 1 week... boy was I wrong. I am going to plow right through it this weekend and hope to finish the book by Monday night at the latest if possible. Seems I can manage 2-3 chapters maximum per day though. I know my self, if I don't make aggressive goals I will easily waste time browsing reddit lol. If I don't understand something I re-read the paragraph until I do. Sometimes I am on a roll fully comprehending while others it can take a while to get the momentum going.

When I finish reading a chapter, I read the summary and then take the chapter end quiz. Then I look into why I got certain questions wrong and then finally go back to read the Essential Chapter Review section. This helps me to calibrate if I am learning/understanding. All chapters so far I have scored 80% or above. There was one chapter I scored 75% but I was not reading the questions properly for that as I was rushing/tired since it was late at night.

Edit: Finished with Chapter 14, took a little over 2 hours to get through. I'm done for the night. Brain is fried.

ZzBloopzZ

Just wanted to give a quick update. I finished the Sybex book last night. I was really burnt out on Sunday so did not study as much as I could but due to the rest my brain was fresh again and I started studying with faster/better comprehension then ever before.

Tonight and tomorrow I plan to review all the chapters while taking NO MORE then a page of notes for each chapter. I am just going to read the summary and exam essentials use that as references on what to take notes on that have not clicked in my head.

Then Friday - Sunday I plan to start doing all the various practice tests across Sybex and CCCure. Then next week focus on the domains/areas where I am weak on as determined by the test results.

Also, I just wanted to say I enjoyed reading this book overall. It started becoming fun/addictive to read as it was neat to see how the different domains all tie together to create Defense in Depth. I was surprised how much real world experience I have in the different domains except the Software part so lots of things clicked or "Ah Huh!" moments on how it is all connected. Please don't shy away from this book, when you are first reading it it can be intimidating but after having read it once I already feel much more confident about this exam. With review, practice tests, and going to re-watch Cybrary few days before the exam... don't see why I won't pass after this hard work/discipline.

alfred06

Nice Bloop, keep us Updated with your progress I want to see if you can really do this in a months time

I am just starting out with this. Going to purchase the book you are using.
there is another book that will be released May 22, 2016 CISSP AIO Exam Guide, Seventh Edition by Shon Harris, might purchase that as well.

Ertaz

alfred06 wrote: »

Nice Bloop, keep us Updated with your progress I want to see if you can really do this in a months time
I am just starting out with this. Going to purchase the book you are using.
there is another book that will be released May 22, 2016 CISSP AIO Exam Guide, Seventh Edition by Shon Harris, might purchase that as well.

i thought she had passed away.

alfred06

lol I just searched guess she did. Oct 8, 2014. the CISSP AIO, 6th Edition was by her. So I'm assuming the 7th Edition is an updated of it by Fernando Maymi.

CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide, Seventh Edition: 9780071849272: Computer Science Books @ Amazon.com

Ertaz

alfred06 wrote: »

lol I just searched guess she did. Oct 8, 2014. the CISSP AIO, 6th Edition was by her. So I'm assuming the 7th Edition is an updated of it by Fernando Maymi.

CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide, Seventh Edition: 9780071849272: Computer Science Books @ Amazon.com

The man has big shoes to fill.

webpriestess

Hey Homie! I'm so glad you finished this book up. I'm actually starting to get used to it myself. I think the *only* reason why I seem to be flying through it so quickly is because I've already read the Comrad book, I took a boot camp, and I've indulged myself in many other resources.

I think I got almost half off on Amazon, and there were only a few left. I'm almost halfway through. This weekend I'm going to spend time reviewing what I've read in the book by doing the written workshops.

Thanks for keeping us posted on your CISSP adventure

Ertaz wrote: »

The man has big shoes to fill.

(((Nods)))

You ain't lying, friend.

ZzBloopzZ

Just wanted to post an update. I finished my 2nd pass through of the Sybex book earlier today before noon. I only read the end of chapter summary's and Exam Essentials. Based on those I wrote down notes for stuff I did not know too well. I ended up writing ~20 pages of notes filled to the brim. I feel MUCH better after the 2nd pass about the overall content. I understand the overall concepts but will do wikipedia/youtube on certain concepts I want a better understanding of.

I noticed writing things down REALLY helped in remembering the specifics/steps much better. Thanks to webpriestess for the tip she gave me earlier.

Tonight and all day tomorrow I plan to do practice tests. I just did the 13 question extra bonus quiz on the Sybex site and got only one question wrong, this can be found under "Other Study Tools". Right now I am going to do Sybex Practice Exam #1 using this awesome free online stopwatch. I am going to set a countdown to 4 hours instead of the real world 6 and treat it as if it's a real exam. I will do this every other day. I plan to use CCCure all day tomorrow and Monday. The stopwatch/countdown website is: http://www.online-stopwatch.com

I plan to go through Cybrary a 2nd time across Thursday/Friday and then the 11th Hour Conrad book over the weekend as a review. Then next Monday memorize as much as I can specific procedures/steps/OSI Protocols etc. Monday night I will relax with movie and a drink. Exam is Tuesday the 24th, where I will just do a 30 minute light review and that's it. Exam is at 2PM, wish I could have found timing around noon but all 5 test centers in this area had limited schedule for end of May.

Seab

Hi Zz,

Thanks for posting your schedule, I'm going for the exam on 3rd of June, wanted to go for 30th May, but schedule was full.

I am finishing Sybex book at the moment, highlithing in the ebook and creating awesome notes from copy/pasting afterwards. It's a lot of work, but the more you work with the material, the more you remember I guess. I should have similar notes pages as you, about 20-25 for final review.
I do 125questions from CCCure after reading every domains, normally with a decent score.
I did one exam simulation with 74%, was deceiving. So I'm planning to do 3 more exam simulations, using Sybex, CCCure, and Eric Conrad Exam.
I am half way to 11th hour, but plan to complete it this week, same as Sybex.
I listen to Cybrary MP3, but will watch the video before the exam.

Don't forget to give feedback after the exam, I'll look forward to hear about it !

Good luck!

ZzBloopzZ

Good luck to you too Seab!

How are you liking the 11th Hour book so far? Worth the read?

Seab

Yeah! Probably one of the best ressource around, as it summarizes everything perfectly. It is quite close to my personnal notes with more details and more readable. About 200 pages. It is not up to date with 2015, but still, it is 2013, which is almost up to date honestly, no big difference.
I will try to read it a second time before the exam.

webpriestess

ZzBloopzZ wrote: »

I noticed writing things down REALLY helped in remembering the specifics/steps much better. Thanks to webpriestess for the tip she gave me earlier.

You got it, Homie

ZzBloopzZ

I ended up doing the Sybex Exam #1. I scored 78.40%. However, I did not answer the first few questions as I did not realize that you can't go back to a question once you click "Next Question". Freaking stupid! I am positive I would have gotten at last a 80% if it was not for that.

Also, I am glad I listened to someones advice. Once I submitted the exam I copied the unique URL address, as my session timed out during reviewing of what questions I got wrong. Simply logging in again and pasting the URL let me go back to my results. Sybex needs to have a way to go to previous questions.

I am feeling more confident about the exam but defiantly some concepts I have identified that I need to learn more. Also, I have not memorized certain details yet such as what protocol is at what OSI layer and what data type is used at each layer. I plan to memorize those few days before exam so those kind of questions were at least 10% on this practice exam.

I am going to memorize what I can and watch youtube/wikipedia on certain concepts I want a better understanding such as IPSec as there were many questions on it and I also see passed threads that say they had many IPSec questions. I already studied my butt off on the BCP/DRP sections and SDLC since I Knew they were my weakest.

alfred06

good job Bloopz, sounds like we are getting another "I Passed May 24, 2016"

Seab

ZzBloopzZ wrote: »

Also, I am glad I listened to someones advice. Once I submitted the exam I copied the unique URL address, as my session timed out during reviewing of what questions I got wrong. Simply logging in again and pasting the URL let me go back to my results. Sybex needs to have a way to go to previous questions.

Great! I think that was my advice a few days ago!

Yeah Sybex have some improvement to do, but still a great reference and tool !

What is exam 1 or 2 ?
I don't know if questions are random or on purpose to give a 'reel feel' from the exam. Even if there is no such thing as we all know!
I did 75% at exam 1 yesterday, again not very satisfied with, but still 3 weeks to go!