After reading this book in its entirety, I was able to pass with a 776 out of 900, or approximately a 86.5 out of 100, where a passing grade is a 750 out of 900 or a 83.33 out of 100. I figure the best way to give you my advice and recommendations on taking this test and how to gain the most out of this book is going to be sharing my experience with you of how I came to take the test.
During my undergraduate studies, I decided to take a major in Cyber Security Systems. Other than college classes, I DO NOT HAVE ANY OTHER EXPERIENCE WITH IT AND SECURITY. I MAJORED IN BUSINESS, SO I DID NOT HAVE THE 2 YEARS OF PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE AND PRIOR CERTIFICATIONS. Two of the classes that I took, spanning the course of a year, used CompTIA verified material in order to teach. I took these classes throughout 2016's calendar year (one in the spring semester and another in the fall semester). The professor was less than mediocre, but the one thing I took from the class was that this was a certification I may be able to use in business so I decided to attempt it. That said, coming out of those classes I did not feel prepared with the textbooks we had used. A quick Google search yielded Gibson's book, along with its recommendations as one of the best materials to prepare for the exam.
In purchasing the exam itself, you are able to buy from a variety of different options. Obviously, this is a review of the book, so I'll keep my comments about the different options brief, but maybe it can provide some insight, since it can be very daunting making the decision without any advice like I did (thanks for nothing professor...). You can purchase one exam license by itself, a license that is good for a retake if needed, or a deluxe package that comes with a CompTIA Certmaster training course and a $100 gift card for their marketplace, as well as the two-use license. At approximately $100 more expensive, I decided to go for the deluxe package, just because I had limited experience in IT, and didn't want to risk it all on one test. I firmly recommend you do the same, since it is only a little bit more expensive, but opens up a lot more opportunity and wiggle room for you to learn and prepare for the exam.
I spent the next 11 weeks or so reading a chapter a week and practicing exam questions, in addition to my regularly scheduled academic coursework of 15 credits. I actually ended up postponing my test for another month so that I could finish the semester, and then started studying again. In addition to reviewing each of the end of chapter questions, I took the two full-length tests in the book, did not use any of his labs that are referenced in the book, and paid no attention to any other additional material that Gibson offers throughout the manual. The one thing that I used to supplement my studies was the CompTIA Certmaster, which is the training course that is included in the deluxe bundle that you can purchase when purchasing an exam. It, similar to the book, gives you a variety of multiple-choice questions that you can answer.
The morning of the exam, I took about an hour to reread each of the chapter summaries, and then made a copy of the list of common ports found in Chapter 3 to study on the go, and went to my test site. As I mentioned before, I passed by the skin of my a**.
The pros of the book are that the questions really are realistic. None of the questions on the exam seem unfamiliar if you take the tests and repeat the questions a couple of times. Explanations are detailed, so if you take the time to review ones you got wrong (or even right), you tend to learn a lot of little, technical things. And Gibson does do a lot to make sure that you are well instructed through the book.
That said, a lot of people will fail this exam because of the breadth of the material. If you look at any of the manuals for this exam, they range from 500 to 1000 pages. And that is because there is simply a lot of things to cover. I took a look at some of the less favorable reviews, and saw that many people fail the test, and then took to berating the book. While I know that each person's experience is different, I think it's fair to say that Gibson really does give you a lot of material. It is YOUR job to make sure you know it, and YOU decide how well you know it.
The biggest strength of the book is that he introduces you to the design of the test questions, mainly situations that define the context that will help you to answer a question. For example, the first sentence will tell you that it is very hot in the room. The question, located in the second sentence, will ask you for the BEST solution to this problem. If you read the question carefully, specifically the first sentence, you will see that temperature is the main issue. So when answering you look for temperature controls. The answers listed are a AC, fan, water, and EMI shielding. The first two are temperature related, and the BEST choice is going to be AC over the fan. This line of thought it something I learned in the book, and its clear that it is very much the way that questions are asked on the exam.
The cons of this book, and probably many other books, is that it can never totally prepare you for everything you will see on the exam, particularly in the realm of those devious performance-based questions at the beginning of the exam. They require you to complete some IT or security related task, more than just answering a simple multiple-choice question. It is simply impossible for a book to do this without some sort of online companion. Interestingly enough, I one of the very questions in the book was on my exam. AN EXACT REPLICA, just computerized instead of on paper. Another one of the questions on my exam was something that I swore I had never seen before. At some point while I was pondering if I would fail or not, I remembered one of the chapters of the book that discussed the topic, but never guided me through the technical aspects of it. Perhaps realizing and drawing connection so late isn't the best thing in education, but if you aim to pass the exam the first time like the book says, it is never too late!
So there you have it. In my opinion this book will give you everything you need to pass. What the book lacks is more than made up for in the depth which Gibson affords readers. You need to read it, and thoroughly understand every sentence that you take in. If you cover it, from beginning to end, I have no doubt that you will have what it takes to score at least a 750 and pass the Security+ exam.
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Used to pass with only 9 days to study.
Update: Changing my review from 1 star to 5. I do not want to discourage people from purchasing this book on account of the defect I received. The book itself is great and much better than the material the Air Force gave me to study. Long story short, I studied this book in the 10 days the AF gives you and passed with a 798.TIP: If you plan to purchase this book for the Air Force you should do so a week or so before the class starts ;)First off let me say the one star I gave this book has nothing to do with the material in the book, but the quality.The book I received must have been some sort of defect as 3/4 of an inch was missing from the top of the book. This cut off all page numbers and headers for all the pages. This made it terribly difficult to reference chapters and certain sections of the book. Also a day into reading it the binding started giving out (shown in picture) I read plenty of books to know this does not usually happen. Unfortunately I only had 10 days to study for this test (Air Force) and did not have the time to send it back for a replacement.As for the study material written by Darril Gibson, All I can say is if you buy one book to study with it should be this one. Great book, just hopefully you do not get a defect like mine.-Matt
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Z. Elvira
Abbastanza buono per essere edizione del 2014
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Z. Elvira
Reviewed in Italy on August 17, 2022
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Amazon Customer
Helped Me Pass the Exam after 2 Failed Attempts
Reviewed in Canada on October 5, 2017