Taking security+ 06-15-06

Hey guys, I'll be taking the security+ exam Thursday. I've passed the Cisco Intro. Failed the Cisco ICND first attempt, 2nd to come after sec+. I knew what to expect taking the Cisco tests because the Cisco instructor I had went over the test in detail before we went as a class to take the Intro.

I've heard many things about the Comptia tests. Some say they are too easy only asking for definitions. Some say it's moderately hard asking scenario questions. I have heard some word that there are no questions with multiple answers. I don't personally know anyone who has passed this test. What can I expect.

My IT background. Highschool took Cisco CCNA curculum and multiple programming languages. Worked in programming for 2 years from 16-18. For the last 15 months I have been working in a NOC and one of our main job functions is IDS analyst. I consider myself knowledgable for my skill level. So, uh ya....

Each practice test I've taken (online or from a book) seems to be at different difficulty levels.

Security+ guide to network security Fundamentals (College textbook. Comptia authorized curriculum. Easy practice test CD included.) <- Easiest practice tests. Doesn't go too indepth.

Microsoft Security+ Certification Training Kit (More indepth than previous book. Practice tests are a bit more difficult.)

Exam cram 2 Security+ practice questions (Questions are alot different from comptia textbook test.)

Bought Transcender Security + offline exams. Ya I don't event know where to start. So many questions on Unix and Windows security measures....

Anyways thanks in advance guys.

-Rob

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Comments

Vask3n

finalhour216 wrote:

What can I expect.

You can expect a test that covers pretty much all of the objectives evenly. I did, however, experience a question on a certain Linux file, even though Linux is not in the objectives. Make sure you cover the first domain extensively, as it is thirty percent of the exam.

Like I have said in my previous post, this is technically a "fair" exam. If you know your material, you will pass. If you do not know your material, you fail. I used Syngress, Exam Cram, Passport, Tcat's online book, and the Technotes. I would highly recommend multiple sources for this exam, as I noticed that each book covered something the others did not.

With that in mind, if you have read through previous posts on the forum, you will have noticed that many people state that the wording on the exam is horrible. This is to an extent true, however I did not have severe problems with this. Some questions seem like they have more than one answer, but none of the questions are multiple-answer, so choose wisely.

Good luck, good studying

keywa

I also am taking the exam on the 15th. I have studied multiple (5) test preps and I'm still nervous about the exam. It is good to hear however that the test doesn't contain any multiple answer questions.

Scoring works out like this:

100 questions times (x) per question + 100 = 900

answer: x=8 points per question

764 (needed) - 100 (just for showing up) divided by 8 = 83 questions right out of 100

If I just miss a passing score then I'll study some more and pay again to take the test. Only if I fail badly will I not take the test again. Because the test is 100 questions random from a large pool of questions, then luck of the draw of the questions has a nice chunk in the outcome of the exam results. That's why some people just miss a passing score while others do very well; why some say exam wording is bad and others say the wording is ok.

All the best Thursday....

thisisalex02

whats the result ??

finalhour216

Passed w/ 780 in 20 minutes. I came across 6 or 7 questions not covered in all the material I have. Not as hard as I thought. Could have done a bit better. Going to finish the Cisco ICND then onto SSCP.

janmike

Congrats!

Vask3n

Congrats!

What topics did you see that weren't on the objectives?

Danman32

keywa wrote:

I also am taking the exam on the 15th. I have studied multiple (5) test preps and I'm still nervous about the exam. It is good to hear however that the test doesn't contain any multiple answer questions.

Scoring works out like this:

100 questions times (x) per question + 100 = 900

answer: x=8 points per question

764 (needed) - 100 (just for showing up) divided by 8 = 83 questions right out of 100

If I just miss a passing score then I'll study some more and pay again to take the test. Only if I fail badly will I not take the test again. Because the test is 100 questions random from a large pool of questions, then luck of the draw of the questions has a nice chunk in the outcome of the exam results. That's why some people just miss a passing score while others do very well; why some say exam wording is bad and others say the wording is ok.

All the best Thursday....

I agree with the scoring algorithm. I compared this formula with a few test scores posted in this forum (including my own) and they all came out with an integral number of questions right/wrong.

Actually what I did was subtract a test score from the max of 900, and divide the result by 8 and it came out without any remainder.

So the max questions you can get wrong is 17, and the percent passing score (out of 100) is 83%. So I got an 82.

I knew it. One lousy question and I could have passed. And if I could pick a question to fix, I know exactly which one I could have corrected.

Megadeth4168

Congrats!