mrobinson52
12-21-2003, 04:39 PM
I attempted the Security+ test on Saturday and failed. I knew that I was not ready, but I had a discount coupon that was due to expire by the end of the year, so I figured that I would at least make the attempt. I figured that if I passed, it would be great, and if not, at least I only paid for less than half on the test.
Security+ is now considered an elective for both the MCSA, http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcsa/requirements.asp and for the MCSE, http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcse/requirements.asp which is the first time a CompTIA test has been directly credited for MCSE. It can also be substituted for the ISA Server test 70-227 for the MCSE Security Specialist designation. So this is a very worthwhile test to take! My next attempt will be after I get a discount voucher from <a href="http://www.getcertify4less.com/category.asp?CtgID=1358&REFID={B9C55E28-7FE8-4F07-8C34-526987FC25BA}" target="_blank">getcertify4less.com</a> since the Security+ is one of the most expensive single tests from CompTIA, at $225 USD. So, on to the test specifics:
Security+ has 100 questions in 90 minutes. The passing score is 764.
There were a few surprises for me on this test and there were the usual problems of vaguely worded questions. I have never been good at memorizing things like common port numbers, and there were several questions that wanted me to choose which ports to either enable or disable according to a given scenario. I will work on getting this info into my head. There were a few VPN questions, and I need to do some reviewing there, as I studied that for the MCSA, but I seem to have lost some of the details over time. I am pretty much a technician or admin by heart, but there were some questions on business plans and policies as outlined in objective 5.4 of the Security+ outline http://www.comptia.com/certification/security/security_objectives-domain5.asp Operational / Organizations Security was my worst topic. I had wrongly figured that since it is only worth 15% in the objectives, I could get by without knowing it well.
This was a fair test, and I will pass the next time, because I will make sure to complete my studies before the next attempt. I recommend that anyone going for this cert download the objectives and not figure on skimping on any of them!
:winkwink:
Security+ is now considered an elective for both the MCSA, http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcsa/requirements.asp and for the MCSE, http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/mcse/requirements.asp which is the first time a CompTIA test has been directly credited for MCSE. It can also be substituted for the ISA Server test 70-227 for the MCSE Security Specialist designation. So this is a very worthwhile test to take! My next attempt will be after I get a discount voucher from <a href="http://www.getcertify4less.com/category.asp?CtgID=1358&REFID={B9C55E28-7FE8-4F07-8C34-526987FC25BA}" target="_blank">getcertify4less.com</a> since the Security+ is one of the most expensive single tests from CompTIA, at $225 USD. So, on to the test specifics:
Security+ has 100 questions in 90 minutes. The passing score is 764.
There were a few surprises for me on this test and there were the usual problems of vaguely worded questions. I have never been good at memorizing things like common port numbers, and there were several questions that wanted me to choose which ports to either enable or disable according to a given scenario. I will work on getting this info into my head. There were a few VPN questions, and I need to do some reviewing there, as I studied that for the MCSA, but I seem to have lost some of the details over time. I am pretty much a technician or admin by heart, but there were some questions on business plans and policies as outlined in objective 5.4 of the Security+ outline http://www.comptia.com/certification/security/security_objectives-domain5.asp Operational / Organizations Security was my worst topic. I had wrongly figured that since it is only worth 15% in the objectives, I could get by without knowing it well.
This was a fair test, and I will pass the next time, because I will make sure to complete my studies before the next attempt. I recommend that anyone going for this cert download the objectives and not figure on skimping on any of them!
:winkwink: