Can anyone give me some pointers on the Security +

I am studying to take the security plus in March. Can someone give me an idea on the test how long I should study and what is the best book to read. Any other ideas as well. Thanks

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jrmeulemans

I'm studying for it too. Get Darril Gibson's book ISBN 978-1-4392-3636-9. I have read through it once, and now I am Filling out the Official SY0-201 Objectives in a word document and answering it with the information in the book as a review sheet. The book also has info boxes throughout the chapters of key points to remember. I am making flash cards of those for additional study. I will let you know if this method of study works when I take the practice test at the back of the book.

Killermac

gpitts85 while I took a little over a year to study it is hard to tell someone how long it should take. Without knowing your background it could take as little as a month or as long as a year. Check out some practice tests around the web and see how you feel about the questions. look over the objectives from Comptia and see where you think your weaknesses lie. I knew that I new very little about PGP and Encryption so I pushed harder on that. Many of us have purchased Darril's book because it is really well written. KM

gpitts85

Thanks Fellas I will look for that book

twodogs62

So far, I am liking the Security+ In Depth book. It follows objectives.
I'm also just ordering the Darill Gibson book mentioned here.
I have various other security+ and general security books also for reference.
Like an older CISSP shon harris, CEH, and SSCP, etc....
Also, surf web for practice tests. Maybe order a practice test.....
Browse these forums for other suggestions.

Darril

jrmeulemans wrote: »

I'm studying for it too. Get Darril Gibson's book ISBN 978-1-4392-3636-9. I have read through it once, and now I am Filling out the Official SY0-201 Objectives in a word document and answering it with the information in the book as a review sheet. The book also has info boxes throughout the chapters of key points to remember. I am making flash cards of those for additional study. I will let you know if this method of study works when I take the practice test at the back of the book.

These sound like great study methods.

Years ago, a student told me of another method he used. I seem to recall someone else writing about it on one of TechhExams forums, but I can't find it right now.

Use an MP3 recorder to record key concepts in your own voice. Whenever you have the opportunity to listen to the recording, listen. You can listen when you're exercising, driving your car, walking your dog, or whenever you like. Since it's in your own voice, it frequently sinks in better.

As a twist, someone recently told me they had their girlfriend record the items. He liked hearing her voice more than his own. Think about your girlfriend or boyfriend saying in their most sultry voice "Confidentiality is used to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of data."

The repetition is great for reinforcing the material. You take time identifying what the important points are. You then take the time to read these points to record them. You can also reword anything in language that is clear to you.

The info boxes you mention in the book were written with this method in mind. You can go through the book and record each of them. Similarly, you can do the same thing with the questions. Read the question, the correct answer, and the explanation. Don't skip the explanations though.

Of course flash cards as you mention are also very helpful.

HTH,

Darril Gibson
Author: CompTIA Security+: Get Certified Get Ahead
ISBN-10: 1439236364
Security+ Blog

[Deleted User]

I purchased Darril's book and received it this weekend. In the past 2 days I have read through about ~250 pages. The book is fantastic and provides a lot of great examples and through a bit of repetition helps you learn. I read through the Sybex book and didn't understand some concepts very well but that book is also good. I am understanding the way that Darril presents the information better than the way that Sybex did.

In addition to Darril's book I have been using Transcender for flash cards and practice exams and these have been a very good learning tool. Overall, I think if you combine these two you will have all of your bases covered. I am going to take my exam soon so I will let you know my results and how well I was prepared through these study mechanisms.

earweed

I used the Sybex Study guide.
The test was hard. Most questions asked what is the best and most had 2 fairly good answers.

2E151

Mileage varies from candidate to candidate.

I studied several hours a day, pouring over books and practice questions at work during downtime and attending a local S+ class twice a week since January.

When I sat this week I was in and out in 30 minutes with a score of 900.

What I found was the bark is far worse than the bit. The questions were clear and concise. Many where one word answers. Very few were genuinely "tricky", almost all of the questions had a single answer that clearly fit best. None of them delved too deeply. Remember, this is a user level security cert.

What helped me the most? The Sybex book, the Exam Cram book, and the structure and pacing of the class. With the class I was forced to slow my studying down and concentrate on one chapter a week.

However, while the class was good for basic security labs (packet sniffing, baseline configs, vulnerability scanning, ect) and practice crafting security policies, you can easily pass this cert with self study.

earweed

900!!! I only made a 855 and I was also out in about 40 minutes. I used the sybex books and Labsim. Self paced as I go to WGU. The Street Smarts book helped a little (Just to remember which tools were which) and gave me a little hands on with Windows Server 2k3.

2E151

Reading the books everyday helped with the test, but I'm glad I took the class. I feel much more well-rounded for it. The class didn't help much with what I found to be the hardest part of the cert (the crypto), but it gave me valuable experience with access control models, security policies, and the fundamentals of Wireshark.

pixelperson1

Darrel, I picked up your book through Amazon the other day. I must say, "good job!"

I graduated from Barry University last March with a B.Sc. in Information Technology. (I returned to the university life at age 53 to earn a 4 year degree.) I am already A+ and Network+ certified. My job benifits pays for tuition, so I am going for a MIS degree (online) through South University.

Last month I decided to take a 6-week hiatus from the MIS degree to concentrate on getting the Security+. (This was when I heard about CompTia changing their policy on lifetime certs.)

First I found that the test is now SY0-201. Which told me that much of the study material that I had was outdated. So I started looking for new material. I am very glad that I found your book.

I couldn't help but notice that much of the information is highly relevant if you want to study for CCNA - theroy-wise. Which is obvious, when you think about it. Tons of security details are relvant to the CCNA track.

Nicely written and a good read. I will let you know how it goes.

Pixelperson
Miami, FL

Darril

pixelperson1 wrote: »

Darrel, I picked up your book through Amazon the other day. I must say, "good job!"

I graduated from Barry University last March with a B.Sc. in Information Technology. (I returned to the university life at age 53 to earn a 4 year degree.) I am already A+ and Network+ certified. My job benifits pays for tuition, so I am going for a MIS degree (online) through South University.

Last month I decided to take a 6-week hiatus from the MIS degree to concentrate on getting the Security+. (This was when I heard about CompTia changing their policy on lifetime certs.)

First I found that the test is now SY0-201. Which told me that much of the study material that I had was outdated. So I started looking for new material. I am very glad that I found your book.

I couldn't help but notice that much of the information is highly relevant if you want to study for CCNA - theroy-wise. Which is obvious, when you think about it. Tons of security details are relvant to the CCNA track.

Nicely written and a good read. I will let you know how it goes.

Pixelperson
Miami, FL

Thanks for the kind words. This book is helping a lot of people pass the Security+ the first time they take it.

Security+ certainly requires a lot of Networking knowledge. When I teach it, I always spend extra time making sure that everyone has the basics for Networking, and I added the same knowledge in this book. I never thought of it as being good for the CCNA, but as you say it makes sense when you think about it. There is a lot of crossover - just no Cisco IOS commands:)

Good luck with your studies. Let us know how you do.

Darril Gibson
Author: CompTIA Security+: Get Certified Get Ahead
ISBN-10: 1439236364
Security+ Blog

subl1m1nal

Darril wrote: »

As a twist, someone recently told me they had their girlfriend record the items. He liked hearing her voice more than his own. Think about your girlfriend or boyfriend saying in their most sultry voice "Confidentiality is used to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of data."

LOL. I had my wife read my Exam Cram book to me while I rubbed her feet. I love it when she talks nerdy to me! I wish I would have checked up on here before purchasing my book. I would have got your book Darril had I done a bit more research.

Seriously, I learned a lot of the material from watching a podcast show called Hak5. Some good material there about man in the middle attacks, arp cache poisoning, stealing cookies, encryption, etc.

I'm filling in the gaps using the exam cram book and some practice tests. I'm frequently hitting 95% on the practice tests and I feel confident I'll pass. I take my test on March 26th, 2010.

[Deleted User]

subl1m1nal wrote: »

LOL. I had my wife read my Exam Cram book to me while I rubbed her feet. I love it when she talks nerdy to me! I wish I would have checked up on here before purchasing my book. I would have got your book Darril had I done a bit more research.

Seriously, I learned a lot of the material from watching a podcast show called Hak5. Some good material there about man in the middle attacks, arp cache poisoning, stealing cookies, encryption, etc.

I'm filling in the gaps using the exam cram book and some practice tests. I'm frequently hitting 95% on the practice tests and I feel confident I'll pass. I take my test on March 26th, 2010.

Chances are if you feel that confident about the test, you are ready to go. I was getting ~85% on the Transcender practice exams and about 90-95% on the exams in Darril's book. I got an 850 on the exam and didn't feel that it was that challenging. Good luck on your exam!

earweed

Good luck. Sounds like you'll do alright. Wish I had known about Darril's book before I took my exam. I've heard a lot of good things about it.

Plantwiz

I just purchased Darril's book and it is laid out very clean and straight-forward. I'll know better after getting all the way through, but nice work at this point!

veritas_libertas

Noticed the CIW in your list Plantwiz, are you attending WGU, or did you take it for another reason?

gpitts85

I ordered Darrils book last month but havent even took it out the shipping box. I lost my job the month before due to layoff and was unable to sit for the test. spent alot of my time finding a job which I have and boy do I love it. I will open up the book tonight and start studying anyone read the book only and took the test right after and passed?