Worried about passing Security +. Gibson book adequate?

Hello everyone,
I have been studying for the Security + exam for a couple of weeks now. I test on July 11th,
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I have read the entire Darril Gibson book and I can get almost all of the practice questions correct from his book and 100% correct on the iphone app
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I also watched EVERY single one of ProfessorMessor's videos and I am still doing poorly on practice exams (besides the Gibson ones which are pretty easy)
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I am getting worried as test day is getting close, I got a 60% on the practice exam from comptia.org, a 46% on the practice exam from Mike Meyer's book (the CD that comes with it), and a 55% on the ExamCram practice (200 questions on a CD)
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If I can get a 100 on the Darril Gibson tests, should I still be worried? Im wondering if all the other practices I have taken are just wicked hard, or the Gibson questions are way too easy? Are there any other practice exams out there that are not considered a brain ****? The comptia.org one does not tell me which one I got wrong.
Thank you in advance!

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Commguy23

Also, I was looking in to practice tests online, I want to find one to help me prepare that is not considered a brain ****. I found a couple, Transcender and Kaplan Self Test, which both say they are CompTia Authorized test prep companies. Does anyone have any experience with these? The Kaplan is much cheaper, not sure if one is better than the other.

NotHackingYou

Take the test on CompTIA's web site again. If you are not 100% sure about the answer, research the question until you are 100% sure. Understand which answer is right, why it is right and why the wrong answers are wrong.

Darril's tests are clearly worded and test that you know what he's presented. CompTIA's test introduces an element of complex language and ambiguity with what is actually being asked. You would do well to spend some time with the practice test CompTIA provides so you can better understand their questions and how to answer them.

Darril

Welcome to the forums.

While getting the questions correct in practice test questions is good, a better gauge is your understanding of the content. I often repeat that the most important thing is to be able to look at a question and know why the correct answer is correct and why the incorrect answer is incorrect. That way, no matter how CompTIA words the questions you'll be able to answer it correctly.

Many people have used that book as their sole source of study and successfully passed the exam the first time they took it. However, I also know that it's easy to memorize questions without trying and if you've accidentally memorized them you may need another source. You'll see the same content on the exam, but not the same questions.

I know CarlSaiyed is a big fan of the MeasureUp practice test questions (they are the questions on the CompTIA site) and if you do your own research on every answer for those questions as he recommends, you'll be well prepared.

Interesting that Kaplan Self Test is cheaper than Transcender. Kaplan bought out Transcender a few years ago but retained the Transcender name. Transcender was well known for quality practice test questions before the buyout and I've seen people post on this site both positive and negative comments about the Transcender Security+ questions. I don't know if they're using the same questions on both Transcender and Kaplan sites though. MeasureUp has some fans too.

Good luck on the exam.

ch!ko

i'll seat the SY0-301 tomorrow,
my lecturer said, it's not just being using the experience.its all about the comprehension the question given.
for time being, we're keep on continuing answering the visual cert exam again and again...
hopefully tomorrow will be success..

hope u all have other tips???

Commguy23

Thanks for the input! I take the test in 3 days!
Darril, I am able to answer most of the questions in your book now, scoring in the 90 to 100% range, and for the most part I understand why every answer is correct. I have been taking other practice questions and seem to get a lot of questions regarding specific topics that I have not seen much of in your book. One of the topics I see a lot deals with read / write permissions and Organizational units in Active directory, and group policy. For the most part, i have been getting the questions wrong. Is this something that is not very important for the Sy0-301?
As for practice tests, I can score 100% on the Transcender, but high 70s on the Measureup. Measureup has very specific questions that I feel are too deep, an not likely to be on the test.
One example would be: Which division of TSEC access control includes sub divisions of controlled access protection? Division, A, B, C, or D?
This seems like something that I would never see on a test.
Also, I get confused with which one is correct when it comes to XSS and XSF, is there a distinct difference between the two besides the fact that XSF uses an authenticated user?
I'm still a little rough on crypto.
Think I am ready?

N2IT

My money is on you.

afcyung

I know when I took the test I had a fair amount of crypto questions. I would make sure you know which keys are Symmetric and which are Asymmetric and which are considered the best to weakest.

DavidEthington

The Gibson book is adequate. However, like the author has said, it's more about understanding the reasoning behind the questions in his practice exams, and not simply answering the question itself. You'll find similar questions on the Security+ exam, but as long as you understand what Mr. Gibson wrote as opposed to being able to master the practice tests, you'll be fine.

Darril

I'm betting you're ready. I sincerely doubt you'll see anything on TSEC or OUs in Active Directory. Cryptography is 11 percent of the exam so you'll see some. You may want to brush up on digital signatures and when private/public keys are used. For example, what key encrypts when a digital signature is used.

Good luck.

Commguy23

Thank you Darril! And thanks to everyone else! I re-read a few chapters again and watched some professor Messor videos on topics I was weak in, such as crypto and went through all of the practice questions again and got pretty much all of them correct. I understand why the answers are correct, and why the other options are not. I really focused on the explanations. I feel more confident now. I will let you know my results Wednesday. Thanks again for the help!

Keener

I passed the SYS-301 on June 6th. I didn't see anything on TSEC then, though there are different versions of the test as well. In fact, I don't even remember seeing anything on TSEC A, B, C or D until I started studying for the SSCP last week. Maybe I glossed over it when I was tired, but I don't remember Darril covering it in his book either.

I look forward to seeing your update on Wednesday. Good Luck!

coolz203

I used the Gibson book, and I thought it was great. I found the Transcender exams to be very helpful as well.

afcyung

Well how did you do?

Carl_S_901

The practice test (free 100 question ones) on the CompTIA web site are not an accurate representation of what the real exam is like. I generally got around 65-85% on the Network+ and Security+ exams on that their site but did much better on the real exams.

manny355

I used Darril's book and passed with a decent score was so impressed with how well it was written I recommened it to a coworker...he bought it the next day...used it to pass the test also with a decent score. May I add that we both took and passed the test on the first try.

sec_wiz

I am also interested in how the OP went, as I think I'm in the same boat.

- I'm getting 85 - 95% on all of darril's questions, and 77% on the official CompTIA practice question test - I went through a couple of brain **** (god forbid) and get between 850 - 950 as well).

Do you guys think I'm ready to test in the next week?

Commguy23

Scored an 850 today! The test was more difficult than I anticipated, some of the questions had a couple answers that are so close to each other it's hard to make the right choice. There were quite a few failures, so the test is no joke. In the end, I was pretty well prepared. I even slept with Professor Messor playing in the background every night just to hear the information over and over. Make sure you spend plenty of time preparing, and you will be fine. I know some people who passed using only the Darril Gibson book, not very high scores but they passed.
@ Secwiz, I do not recommend using brain ****, our instructor said you can loose your cert for that. You don't need them. I am proof!
Study hard and good luck!

Carl_S_901

sec_wiz,

You need a 750 to pass the exam and based on your practice test scores I would say that you are just about ready. I say just about because you need to make sure you go over the questions you are missing on Darril's practices questions and figure out why you are missing them. This may mean re-reading 1 or 2 chapters and doing some Googling to get stronger in those areas.

Darril

Congrats on the pass.

Good luck with your next adventure.

gstdoa

Hello Everyone,

I have been fallowing this site for along time. I took my security + exam on July 19th and I got 830. I just wanted to thank to Darril and others who share their thoughts in this site. Darril your book is great and well written. Although, English is my second language it was easy to understand your book. I also bought your test book as well. Questions in your book are so close to real test questions.

Thanks again.

Roguetadhg

I have to also admit. I find myself actually engrossed in the book. It's not hard to want to read it. It's hard to find the time. I'm 2 chapters in.

I don't really know what's different about the writing, but it's definitely a good piece to pickup. My only problem is it's paperback, and the lamination is wearing off the book within under a week of use :P

Good work

Darril

gstdoa wrote: »

I took my security + exam on July 19th and I got 830. I just wanted to thank to Darril and others who share their thoughts in this site. Darril your book is great and well written. Although, English is my second language it was easy to understand your book. I also bought your test book as well. Questions in your book are so close to real test questions.

Congratulations on the pass with such a great score and thanks for the kind words on the book. Glad to hear the book and practice test questions helped.

RoyalTech

Although I haven't taken the Security+ test yet, I do have a little experience with a couple other CompTIA exams. I think that what Darril professes as the proper way to go about studying for the test is right on. As long as your comprehension of the topics and why an answer is right and why the wrong answers are wrong is solid, no one should have a problem with the test.

Even though they are shunned by most on this board for obvious reasons, I do believe that brain **** do provide one service. They give you an idea of what to expect on the test as far as how the questions are worded and what is covered. If you are memorizing those questions instead of actually studying the concept, you are doing yourself no good and you will quickly forget anything you took in when studying for the tests. The brain **** questions can often be wrong and the answers are not explained like Darril does in his practice tests. In other words, taking a look at a brain **** doesn't hurt but using it to study for the exam is foolish.

Regarding Darril's book, I used books by other authors including Mike Myers for the two certs I currently have and have I found Darril to be the best at explaining a concept clearly and concisely. When it comes to the results, I have yet to see those, but I have little doubt I will pass once I do take the test, based on my previous CompTIA exam experience, and I am only using Darril's book.

I would wish everyone luck but I am hoping that topic comprehension makes it so that luck isn't necessary for anyone to pass way more than any luck itself.