Customer Reviews

CompTIA Security+: Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-201 Study Guide

5 star:		(160)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

perfect! i love this book. i had the original microsoft security+ book for class, and this book covered WAY more than what that book did, and alot less pages. i'm going to take my security+ certification exam on the 18th of December. i'm feeling very confident, as this book says it covers 100% of the exam. i'm just hoping there's no scenarios on the test =p, just questions about what i learned in the book, lol.

EDIT: Passed my exam with a 865/900 with this book! About 2-3 tricky questions throughout the entire test but it was ALL familiar. There was absolutely NOTHING unfamiliar on this test that the book didn't cover! Thank you :)

The best thing I like about this book is that it talks to you instead of technically instructing you and it makes for a comfortable read while riding the bus or in bed. Another good feature is the text size is exceptionally larger than Sybex books, which again makes it easier to read. You will pass with book read it cover to cover and once over any areas you dont understand and take all the practice questions(seriously like the real exam).

This book is excellent for both real world techniques for employing best practices for security as well as for passing the CompTia SYO-201 Security + Exam. It gets to the main points very quickly and actually is a very easy read...despite the fairly complex subject matter. The author doesn't preach to the choir, nor does he talk down to his audience...but it's almost as if he is engaging the reader in a discussion about various security related topics. The book is very well laid out and has lots of important points pulled out and highlighted in 'Remember' bubbles. Add to the excellent content a liberal sprinkling of Practice Exam questions thoughout the book and you have the perfect blend of study guide and reference book!

This is THE BOOK for nailing the Security + exam!

I just passed the exam with an 868/900 (96%) and I used this book almost solely. I will throw in the disclaimer that I'm a CCNA, MCSA, and VCP (VMWare Certified Professional) with 15 years experience and the real-world experience was actually tested pretty effectively at times. I feel bad for young bucks that have lived in the world of prolific anti-virus software on workstations, servers, and email relays.

I downloaded the Security+ 2008 Exam Objectives directly from the CompTia website and double checked that this book hit on every topic and ever acronym. I'd recommend hitting this same list before, after, and during to make sure you didn't skim or miss anything. If you're very solid on the content in this book and everything on the objective list then you should call yourself "ready for this exam".

I also bought the Sybex CompTIA Security+ Study Guide for the CD with electronic flashcards and a practive exam but the Sybex book and Sybex CD were 70% garbage. I did refer to Sybex in a few cases to get details on IPSec and some encryption algorithms but Wikipedia would have done just the same thing.

Where the book lacked: beware the epic fail on their port/protocol definitions of L2TP and PPTP which is flat-out embarrassing (see errata sheet on website), their mistakenly listing WEP as Wireless Equivalent Privacy in the index which is silly (it is Wired), missing details about the Blowfish algorithm (oddly not on the Exam Objectives list but brought up twice on my exam), the book's website is ugly and worthless aside from the Errata sheet (I had really hoped for new information or sample quesitons), and finally the synonymns of the authenitcation methods aren't all covered (they were mostly common sense on the exam, but not in all cases). That list actually looks more brutal typed out than it should.

The good: the book hit 98% of the questions on the exam, was clear and easy to understand, has terrific font size and spacing for readability, the author has a good non-condescending tone and excellent real world examples (this book reads the way that a good classroom instructor sounds), the acronym list at the end of the book is almost a perfect match to those listed on the exam objective doc on the CompTia website, the practice questions are decent match to the real exam.

For n00bies you should have excellent problem-solving skills, a ridiculously good grasp on security topics (many university courses would meet this criteria), and many hours on exam engines in addition to this book. Seasoned vets should have a big leg up and for sure don't need to drop the insane coin that all these "online training" places want (CompTia being one of them) and they'll be fine with this book.

You won't go wrong with this book if you just read the errata sheet and drill yourself forwards and backwards on it then sprinkle in a little real-world experience and a practice deciphering the hidden meaning in exam questions. I'd recommend it above any other Security+ material out there.

English is not my first language, with that being said. Time for the review!!! I was actually awaiting after the exam to provide my review so here I go.

If you are looking for a non-boring book and one that give you all the knowledge in non-too technological terms in order for you to understand the material, this is the book for you. I watched all the reviews here prior to buy this book here and since all of them was 5 starts I decided to give it a try.

With Spanish being my first language I was afraid to get lost in a lot of difficult terminologies and stuff like that. Let me tell you something. This Book is magical. Even with only a year with Help Desk IT experience I was able to master all the subjects with this book. Sometime if I don't understand one word, I used to go to "Google Translate" and keep going. This is the best book I come across ever, its really fun to read and the real world scenarios are really helpful to better understand security. The Book is really easy to read (big letters), and it has a lot of practice question after each chapter.

After reading this book for a month, I fell really confident about taking the test. I went last Saturday November 11,2010. And passed the exam at the firs try with a score of 802/900!!! THE BOOK COVERED 100% OF THE EXAM.

I really recommend this book to all the rookies out there like me that are looking forward to pass the Security+ at the first Try. The ratings are 5 starts for a reason.

I'm glad I bought this book. If I could give it 10 starts I would.

Three of us in the office have used this publication to pass the Security+ test on the first try. So far with scores of 880. Great book with large print (for us old guys) and no fluff, just the facts.

The author has a great writing style, keeping the readers engaged all throughout. I have not seen many technical-books do this. Read this cover-to-cover and you are all set.

The book is great! It helped me tremendously in preparing for the exam. I read it cover to cover twice. While studying the material, I backed it up with the study questions at the end of each chapter. It's extremely important to understand why the answers are correct, and why the wrong answers are incorrect. Thankfully Darril has included extensive explanations for every practice question in the book. This really drives the points home!

It completely covered the material on the real exam. I sat for the exam and felt extremely comfortable. It made the exam feel easy. Now I'm confident that I know the information for the real world!

The exam is not as bad as everyone says it is. I was fairly new to the information until this year and managed to score a 900/900.

Perhaps that's just a testament to how good the book is; it has a perfect rating for a reason.

I started to get seriously interested in tackling the Security+ exam when I saw how much coverage of security there was on the Network+ exam. It seemed a shame not to capitalize on the overlap of material so I committed to more or less preparing for both tests together. After trying several other Security+ books I had second thoughts as the subject matter can ramp up quickly in difficulty. Then I found this book at Amazon and saw that everyone rated it 5 stars with glowing reviews. I got it, and as they say the rest is history!

Darril Gibson has taken this complex subject and presented it in a user-friendly, easy to understand way that actually makes it interesting and fun to learn. Mr. Gibson, I hope you are reading these reviews because I want to personally congratulate and thank you for your work. You have a unique talent for teaching - I can not remember ever having read another text book that was so easy to follow and yet so thorough and complete on its topic that it literally is a one stop solution for the test.

The large font, the "Remember" boxes, the chapter reviews, and the truly representative practice questions all combine to make this a noteworthy experience. The depth and breadth of material coverage is perfect - be assured if it's in the book you need to know it, and if it's not you don't. This book is so focused that you can't use the same approach many people use on text books - skimming and highlighting. There is no fat to trim and you really need to know all that is presented. But if you take the time to fully digest it carefully and have a good memory you will pass Security+ "just studying out of the book". I did!

Note: I've had NO PRIOR NETWORK/SECURITY experience. This book was a Godsend! I only had a weekend to study when I found out about this book. Bought it in Kindle format and read it on my PC with the free application from Amazon. This book is so easy to read, not boring, and the practice tests and answers (with explanations) helped to sink in the concepts even more. Plus, in Kindle form it was way easier to look up something I'd see in practice questions (from other sources) that I didn't remember the definition of, and bookmark those areas to review later. I read the whole book over the weekend, took the test on Monday and scored 828! Best $10 ever spent!