Secruity+ 2008

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I am planning to take the Security+ at the end of Winter break, so I am giving myself a month to study. I have the new Sybex Security+ Deluxe book and the 2008 objectives http://certification.comptia.org/resources/objectives/Security_Objectives08.pdf.

I failed the test a couple of years ago because I did not study enough and I am not really good at memorizing things like subnetting and port numbers. Has anyone taken the new 2008 test yet? Anyone got any other suggestions? I have gotten my Associate of Science degree in IT Security since my previous failure, and have learned to study harder. I just hope there is not so much stuff that you have to memorize for the CompTIA tests that in the real world you would look up just to double check your memory.

Wish me luck!

 

Sadly, the Sybex Security+ book is pretty bad. Check out my comments and recommendations in this thread.

 

Thank you Michael. I was afraid that the quality of Sybex might go down after they were bought out by Wiley. Being currently unemployed, I am hard pressed to get another book right now, but perhaps my CISSP book might help?

 

Well, they've got an editing process... I just don't think they've got the right editors. When Josh and I wrote the Vista 620 book, the editors hardly marked up our writing.

The CISSP book might help, though I haven't studied for the CISSP, so I am not sure.

I'd offer to let you borrow my Syngress Security+ book, but a co-worker currently has it. Plus, it's from the original version of the Security+ exam (2002 objectives), so it's sadly out of date.

 

Either the editors are bad at their job or you guys are good at yours and the book didn't really need much improving. Either way I intend to get it so I hope it's the latter.

Good luck with the exam and the study Mary. I'm sure that you'll pass this time.

 

Well... I'd like to think that we're good... and we may be... but during the "final review" process where we were looking over the PDF version of the book to ensure that nothing fell through the cracks, I found one of my sentences that just stopped... in mid-sentence. Certainly something that egregious should have been caught by ONE of the multiple editors who looked at our work!!

No certification training product is perfect, and despite the weak editing, I will continue to endorse Sybex books for their Microsoft and Cisco offerings on the strength of their authors. But I cannot in good conscience endorse their Security+ book.

 

True... and in that case, I would wholeheartedly recommend the Syngress Security+ book... the big orange one. I think it was released in '07.

 

My only experience with Syngress was when Will Schmied asked me to review his book for the 70-214 MS Security test, and the editing/proofreading was horrible! Hopefully they have gotten better since then. One of my instructors who is a CISSP might have a book I can borrow, since I already have the older Sybex Security+ book and the new one. I used to have the Exam Cram also, but it got water damaged in my car during a storm. Additionaly, I have the MeasureUp test sim for Security+. I have some books from the classes I took, but those are from Thomson Course Technology, and are sometimes written by unqualified writers. The Security+ Guide to Network Security is by Mark Ciampa though, and I have heard of him. The book was published in 2005 though, so probably tracks to the original 2002 test.

 

Trust me, the Syngress is the way to go, if you can get your hands on it.

Our Security+ exam is currently being developed... if you're still studying for the exam by the time we're done, perhaps you'd be interested in giving it a thorough review.

 

The Syngress book only gets 3 stars at Amazon, and only 2 stars at Bookpool. http://www.bookpool.com/sm/1597491535 The older Sybex, which I also have gets a 4 star rating, and at least tracks to the 2007. The reviewer at Bookpool found some info in the Syngress book that was way out of date. I will try both of the Sybex books I have, and the Thomson book from my class in Network Security. I also have my CISSP book and my Cisco books, which will help with some of the network security stuff. Now I just need the time to read it all. I read very slowly, sadly. And I hope to take the test by the end of the second week in January, because my classes start again on the 12th!

I do appreciate your advice though! I will see if my instructor has the book and I can borrow it.

 

Always, always, always read the Amazon reviews first to see if they're bogus or ill-deserved. You'll see that one 3-star rating should have likely been higher:

...and the other 3-star rating dinged the book on things OTHER than what was on the exam:

Just sayin'.

Perhaps the older Sybex guide isn't as bad as the new one.

 

Having already purchased the 2008 Sybex book, I likely will take this exam next year and let you know if it's worth anything.

 

Good luck on the exam!

I am now using the newer book, since it is not tied to an outdated version of Adobe Reader, and I have found that it is mostly the same as the older book, but with some additional and more up to date info. Which version of the test I take will depend on which voucher goes on sale at http://www.getcertified4less.com/testvoucher.asp. They tend to discount them when the expiration date gets close.

 

You might want to check here before you purchase from them in the future... you certainly wouldn't want to give your hard-earned money to a site that is tied to braindumps, would you?

 

It is too late. I saved $79 with my voucher, and I am now scheduled to take the test Wednesday the 14th at 11 am! Hopefully this time I will pass. Last time I tried was a few years back and I did not study enough. Now I have taken some related classwork for my AS degree and have been studying daily since Winter Break started.

I have gotten vouchers at GetCertified4less for years now. They bundle with Transcender or something written by TCat Houser, who at least in the past did not do braindumps. I have not chatted with TCat recently, but it would be hard to believe he did a 180 degree turn like that. I find his stuff kind of unreadable, so I have no plans to use it anyways. I am just trying to save some money since I am unemployed.

 

I'm not talking about Tcat or Transcender... GC4L potentially has OWNERSHIP of braindump companies (or strong links to them), according to CertGuard.

 

I do not have a paid subscription to CertGuard, so I cannot see what those links might be. It just seems strange to me that TCat would have such a close relationship with a company that consorted with braindumps. Like the rest of us at the former Cramsession forums, he is dead set against them, and he has been writing for the owner of GetCertified4less since the vendors started requiring the bundling of training materials with the vouchers.

 

Why would you need a paid subscription to CertGuard? I don't have one either.