CompTIA Security+: Get Certified Get Ahead SY0-301 Study Guide Edition

To repeat what has already been said, this is a fantastic book. I've been an IT professional since 2005 and have obtained other certs, mainly just to pad my resume, but this was the first one that made the difference of keeping or losing my job. Because of that, I took obtaining it seriously and decided to ditch the test dumps (which actually do teach you SOME things) and absorb the knowledge needed to not only pass the Security+ exam, but to perform my duties with confidence. While this book, and Security+ in general, isn't focused on the how-to, it does give you the concepts to at least halfway know what you're talking about when setting up and securing networks and gives you almost everything you need to know in order to pass the exam.Despite being in IT for several years, most of my expertise was focused on proprietary scanning equipment and their accompanying SQL databases. I had very little server experience before landing a new position as a server engineer and security administrator (how does that even happen?). I read through this book twice, took all the practice exams at the end of each chapter as well as each 100 question exam at the beginning and end of the book. The week leading up to the test, I went to CompTIA's website and took the practice/example exam and only once did I achieve a passing score, and even then, it was barely (82/100 where 80 is required). This made me nervous. I had no problem nailing the questions in Darril's book, but didn't understand why I struggled so much with CompTIA's questions. It was a confidence killer and definitely made me worry about the actual exam.I took the exam earlier this week on the morning of the 9th. Many of the concepts taught in the book were on the test. Even still, I couldn't shake the fact that CompTIA's practice questions really beat me up and I was nervous throughout the entire exam. I flagged questions I wasn't 100% positive on and went through all 100 questions 3 times. I wanted to make sure I passed. With 8 minutes left, I decided to bite the bullet and finish the exam. Much to my surprise, I passed with a score of 848, with 900 being the highest. While this score doesn't win me the affection of all the babes, it was much higher than I assumed I would get, but most importantly, it was over the passing score of 750. So, not only was my time and money not wasted, but I get to stay employed.I was hesitant to create a review since there's not much I can add to what's already been said, but I wanted to treat this review as a positive product review and most importantly, use it to give a sincere thanks to Mr. Darril Gibson. There is plenty of training material out there that covers the same information found in this book, but you will be hard-pressed to find any that's written in such a manner as this book. With real world examples and analogies, this book teaches in a way that most people are receptive to. You're not just memorizing terms and acronyms with this book, you're actually learning them by seeing how certain concepts and ideals apply to real world situations.I am now interested in picking up more of his training books and have since subscribed to his Twitter and blog.Bottom line: Want to pass the Security+ exam while actually learning something? Buy this book.

I am in a position where Comptia Security + is a requirement and my boss gave us all a dead line on when we need to have it by. During this time I only had my A+ certification and was going to go up the chain steadily at my own pace (A+ then Net+ then Sec+). My supervisor (who has his CCNA, CCENT, and SEC+) recommended this book for me. He said it was the best he has ever read. So I ordered this book...Content: The content of this book is EXTREMELY well written. It is written by Darril Gibson and you will find out shortly that when you read this book it is like one friend talking to another friend. I am new to IT and didn't know jack about Sec+ but as I started going through this book it just made sense. At the end of each chapter Darril has a section on things you should know that will be on the test and writes them out which makes a quick review/study cheat sheet and also practice questions. Gibson makes it extremely easy to reference any content that you might want to work on because he will put exactly where it is on the book at the beginning of the chapter overview.Difficulty: I would recommend this to anyone who is studying Sec+ whether you have an idea or even know a lot and would like to brush on Sec+, it is one of the easiest reads I have had since I started IT.Content related to Test: This books sole purpose is to HELP you with the test! It GIVES you the knowledge to know what you are talking about. On my actual test I remember having many questions that I have not seen or heard of before but solely because of this book, I absorbed this content so well I was able to slowly narrow down the question and delivered the correct answer. If I acn absorb the content that well I know anyone else can too!Overall: I have a VCE program on my computer which gives huge test banks of questions and yes you do see some of those questions on the real test but keep in mind SOME! I solely passed my test because of this book, not only do I feel like Darril and I are friends now (like mentioned earlier it reads as if a friend is talking to you), but the information that I absorbed in this book will help me in my IT career. There are many books on the market for Sec+ but this one was by far the best one that I have read. I passed my SYO-301 test with this book and you can too with this book!