CompTIA Security+: Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-401 Study Guide Kindle Edition

I never write reviews for products I buy, but I'm grateful for those of you who do. Your raving reviews of this book is what prompted me to buy it. And I couldn't agree more! I needed to pass the Security+ exam for a potential job, knowing that I'm losing my job at the end of this month. I was not given much to time to prepare for this exam, and I wanted to do everything I could (within reason) to learn what I needed to learn to pass this certification. So I bought this book, read it from cover to cover. Taking all the practice tests at least twice. And after a little over 2 weeks of studying this book alone, I was able to pass the exam on the first try.A little bit about my background, so as to help base your judgment on where I started and what it took for me to pass this test...I graduated with a bachelors in management information systems in 2012. In my studies, I only took one basic networking class and one network security class (neither of which I did well in, but I passed them both). Since, I have worked as an IT systems analyst, not a networking position by any means, but I have been exposed to normal IT security awareness (i.e. password rules, disaster recover plans, clean desk policies, etc.). The CompTIA recommends 2+ years of networking experience and having the Network+ certification before attempting the Security+ certification. I did not have either of those. Just this book and a determination to learn the material as best as I can a short amount of time.What worked for me:I started with the pre-assessment to judge my knowledge level. Then just read a chapter a day, taking notes on all the "Remember this" bubbles and answering the chapter practice questions at the end of each chapter. This book is great with the practice questions in that the answer sections didn't just provide the right multiple choice answer. They provided explanations as to why the answers were correct, and more importantly, why the wrong answers were wrong. When I finished the last chapter I jumped right into the post test. Pre-assessment: 64/100; Post-assessment: 83/100. A decent improvement, and I knew which were my trouble chapters. Went back and reread them. Read my notes. Retook all the tests and chapter quizzes and felt ready for the test.I'll admit, that test is not a joke, and the questions were not easy. I came out of the test thinking I failed. But that's the crazy thing about those types of tests. You never know how you did until you actually get the results. Needing a 750 to pass, I got an 833.So you might need a little more than I did. You might need a little less. But if you're needing to pass the Security+ certification, this book is a great place to start.

This was the only study material I used. The test isn't easy, and without this book I would have had no chance of passing. Pay special attention to the "Remember This" sections - they have very appropriate and useful suggestions. Good luck!

I thought this book did a great job of covering everything on the exam - BUT - the parts at the end of each little section where Darril says "Remember this:" - which implies that it is the most important thing to remember - is misleading. The test I took was super difficult if you were to compare it to the 'remember this' factoids. Every Dang Thing in this book, pretty much, was on my exam, at a high level of difficulty.About the only thing on my exam that was hardly covered was cryptography (which, while the CompTia folks say is only 12%, felt more like 2%) - and if you ask me is way more important to know about than whether somebody can remember all the buzzwords for types of risk. Darril however covers every topic in depth and quite well - just make sure you pay attention to EVERYTHING.Good luck with your studies, sec+ friends.

If you want to pass the test the first time, this is the only resource you need. I was required to pass this exam prior to my new contract beginning and only had 10 days to study for the exam. If I had not passed the first time, my contract would have been delayed and I would have had to take leave without pay. So needless to say, I was under enormous pressure to pass the first time. I scored an 801 needing only a 750 by following all the advice in this book, including memorizing all the tables, especially the port numbers and protocols. For those, I wrote them all down on the provided whiteboard prior to beginning the exam as suggested in the book's introduction. I took all the end of chapter practice tests, assessment exams and final practice exams several times and memorized all the acronyms and their meanings. I also had CompTia practice modules that came with the exam voucher package I purchased, but I found those beneficial only as a way to test retention of the material. The online CompTia modules were mostly memorizing the answers to the questions if used alone. This book does a much better job tying the material together with real world examples and in depth explanations. Additionally the author is entertaining and you get a few chuckles along the way. Great resource, thank you!

Background: 5 years as a software developer, 3 months in new role as a Security AnalystPrep: Read each chapter word for word before lunch, took chapter test after lunch. Read a chapter a day. Took practice exam in the back of book. Put book down for a week. Reread the chapter summary, then took chapter tests. Took 5 iterations of practice tests from main competitor's practice book (McGraw Hill cd-rom tests). Reread chapter summaries day of exam. Took test and passed.Knowing just definitions of all the material covered is not going to be enough. It is best to prep for scenario based questions on the material. The practice questions I feel are more definition based, where the exam was tougher. The only memorization you should focus on is port numbers, everything else you should have a good concept and fully understand. Practice tests gave me 90 questions and 90 minutes. Only would take like 30/40 minutes. The exam i used 80 minutes to get through the questions, with 10 minutes to spare to review questions i flagged.Final thought: Personally I feel luck was on my side passing this exam with only a few months in the field. I understand why they recommend a Networking cert and about a year's experience.

Just a heads up if you’re reading this after July 2018 you’re almost certainly looking at the wrong product - it’s the 501 version you need.Anyhow, I still think a review is a worthwhile since it is such a good resource. I passed the SY0-401 today with a 90% score. My resources were:This bookThe companion practice question bookThe companion app (quiz and flash cards)Professor Messer YouTube videosDespite passing with a relatively high score, this exam gave me a headache. A handful of the questions were horrendous in the sense that there was more than one legitimate answer depending on how you interpreted their phrasing of the question. There is definitely an element of luck involved. I would have been furious if I’d failed due to a bunch of weak questions.The format and difficulty of the practice questions is roughly similar to the exam, which is a huge help. If the updated 501 version of this book is of a similar standard then it will be a great addition to your study materials.Good luck

This is an excellent guide - one of the best I've read on this subject.Clear definitions and well annotated, important information is called out and highlighted. I'm very glad that I bought this and (providing I pass this exam) would recommend it for anyone in Infosec - it exposed gaps in my knowledge despite it being seen as a "baseline qualification"... Not as glamourous as the CISSP... Or the little brother the SSCP (which this isn't too disimilar to) but still solid and requires a pretty thorough understanding of key Infosec concepts (PKI, encryption/hashing etc) - it's an underestimated certification usually sneered at by people that have gone on and done harder ones - but, for what it's, worth I'm very glad to have done it!Edit: passed exam with 867/900 thanks to this book. Brilliant and highly recommended - well done Darril G - however some of the questions don't tally with the right answer choice!

This book covers everything needed to pass the exam. The topics are explained in a clear way and the overall structure of the book helps for the information to make sense. Also good to gain knowledge about IT security even if you aren't taking the certification.

I used this book to pass the exam first time. I have little IT experience but the explanations were clear and broken down into bite sized chunks when appropriate. The book covers all the topics from the exam and contains practice tests for each chapter, as well as two full length practice tests. The author's website is also handy for the exam. I would highly recommend this book.

This was a great resource to help me build my knowledge of concepts related to the Security+ exam. It was not the only resource I used, but it was the foundation of knowledge I built on and I definitely owe my certification in part to Darril's book.