The best
Security Certifications books:
Reddit reviews
From 3.5 billion Reddit comments
The best of Security Certifications books by number of unique Reddit comments:
Top Reddit reviews mentioning Security Certifications books:
Professor Messer's content is not enough IMO, it very lightly touches upon a large number of subjects, and completely ignores others. I purchased Darril Gibson's Security + Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-501 Study Guide and used it alongside Professor Messer's videos.
The study guide provides a great pool of test questions (per chapter) and the summaries are extremely helpful.
Lol what?
Dude, you don't need any fucking classes to start out in IT
You can buy textbooks and earn certs while spending minimum amounts of money
Do not sign up for some fucking ridiculous 23k course. That's insane.
This field is so beautiful because you can dive in without any student debt whatsoever, don't hamstring yourself by going into debt like that
If you want an entry level job, go buy the A+ cert book on amazon
Maybe do network+ too(that's the path i started out with so I'm biased I suppose).
You're talking like less than 50 bucks for the textbooks and then a couple hundred bucks for the tests(total), and with those 2 certs you can easily get an entry level help desk job and start working your way up.
It beats the fuck out of manual labor, that's for sure
There sure are books!
My favorite authors are Mike Myers and Todd Lammle.
Here's a guide for the CompTIA A+ certification.
These books can be a bit pricey, but it's EVERYTHING you need to know for the certification. If you have this book and a computer to practice on, you have everything you need to pass. The book is nearly 1,500 pages long as well. If you struggle to afford the books, you can always search online for illegal copies of older versions and possibly even the latest version that I linked. I assume the copyright police aren't going to be breaking down your doors.
The A+ certification estimates 6-9 months of hands-on training to be able to pass, but it can definitely be done in a shorter amount of time. Don't get dissuaded if after a month you feel tired of studying. Even if you don't have the means to take the exam, the information you can learn will help you so much.
Money is better spent on buying Daryl Gibson's Security+ book. https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Security-Get-Certified-Ahead/dp/1939136059/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1548305275&sr=8-1&keywords=daryl+gibson+security%2B
$31. When I took my exam, EVERYTHING was in this book. I usually suggest multiple sources for study, but with this, that book was the only one I needed. I did use other ones (worry wort myself), but that book had it all when looking in hindsight. I really can't recommend that book enough. Dumps? I'll always pass on those. If you know the material, you'll be fine. Practice exams question if you know the material, but they may not be like the actual exam itself.
There is an all in one A+ book on amazon (https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X) This book is a good read through for general concepts - read it quickly, don't go super hardcore study mode on this book, its quite long. This along with professor messer (free, google it)after quickly reading through was all I used to get my A+.
If you have some knowledge of computers and perhaps built your own you could be ready for a helpdesk role already. I know all I had was "customer service" and some basic technical knowledge before I got my first job. Just be sure to word your customer service skills as if you were on the phone doing customer service - since this may be a large portion of the job. Asides from that - google common helpdesk interview questions, their answers, and then google the specific terms like dhcp and dns to understand how they work.
What are you using to study right now?
​
I have my second test today, but I've used Mike Meyer's book as well as his Udemy course. Then I used Jason Dion's practice exams. Those are all very popular resources to get started.
​
Another popular (and free) resource is professor Messer on Youtube.
Which one did you think was better?
1000 online practice exam questions that come with the Official Study Guide 7th Edition - http://sybextestbanks.wiley.com/course/start/id/102
vs. CISSP Official (ISC)2 Practice Tests - Chapple, Seidl Amazon
You can't do it this way. Linux is too big to learn everything sequentially in small steps. And it's not very practical. If you want to learn in a way that is practical and sequential, check out this book for Red Hat certification: https://www.amazon.com/RHCSA-Linux-Certification-Study-Seventh/dp/0071841962/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=red+hat+certification&qid=1594663391&sr=8-3
I would suggest the following:
1) Know how to install your favorite Linux distro. Do it several times so you are very familiar with it.
2) Learn how to boot into Linux manually with Grub.
3) Set up a firewall using firewalld, iptables, or nftables. Script it.
4) Learn how to start, stop, enable, and disable system services with systemd.
5) Add users and groups. Add user to wheel group.
6) Gain system access with su or sudo.
7) Learn the command line. It is your friend.
8) Learn the basics of Vi since it's on every Linux system.
9) Find your distro's documentation and get an idea of what's there. Pick out something that interests you and do it.
10) Figure out something you want and will use a lot. Do it in Linux.
> I’ve taken the 401 once and scored a 700 but now I have to take the 501.
Have you watched through all the Professor Messer videos? Did you take any notes?
(Edit to add: I recommend buying his notes PDF for $20, print it out, then add your notes onto that printed copy as you watch the videos)
> Does anyone have advice or links to free study materials for the test??
If you're determined to not spend a penny, you could look at the CompTIA exam objectives PDF, and then read the Wikipedia articles about each thing listed there.
Otherwise, the Darril Gibson ebook only cost $10 in Kindle format.
Actually you're right, I meant to say Gibson not Dion. This one: https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Security-Get-Certified-Ahead/dp/1939136059/ref=asc_df_1939136059/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312045876164&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14402276488610691589&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&...
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Certification-Guide-220-901-220-902/dp/125958951X
Basically the A+ bible right there. Mike Meyers cert books are pretty much the go to. For CCNA, they publish their own stuff.
Your sec+ will be the last part of your tech school
Resources for sec+ check out cyberforce and the AF e learning
https://portal.cyberforce.site/
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Security-Get-Certified-Ahead/dp/1939136059
>how many chances am i getting to pass sec+ exam? is it just one take or am i getting like 2 or 3 attempts
It depends on the person, ive seen some people take it 3 times and ive seen people only get 1 chance. It really depends on a lot of factors
Awesome! I'm feeling more and more confident about this now! I'll most likely attempt a networking certification through CompTIA as well, but later on. I believe you're referring to the book that I saw on Amazon:
CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Ninth Edition (Exams 220-901 & 220-902)
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/125958951X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_nTIlybCJWQ4J1
It's the one I was considering buying, but I saw 2015 somewhere on the page and didn't know if it was still applicable.
I honestly have no idea between the differences of the two without looking it up. I took my Net+ back in 2007. The new test and objectives should be fun because it covers all the new things out there to include SCADA. Pretty good stuff.
From my experience doing certs, I really love the "All-In-One" series books. Mike Myers has been authoring the Network+ (and other books) for a while now and he has a book on Amazon for the n10-006 version. I would highly recommend getting that!
https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Network-Guide-Sixth-N10-006/dp/0071848223
have you looked at the sybex practice exam book? its the most accurate to what you will see on test day IMO and only $25ish on amazon.
I'm not sure of any websites but if you look up Professor Messer on youtube he streams a study group that you could follow along with. His channel is here:https://www.youtube.com/user/professormesser . You can buy the book from amazon for like 30 bucks I think. Good luck!
Yes everyone gets the cup, it comes with your webcam. How much IT experience do you have? Are you bringing any certs in with you(A+ maybe?). If not I'd suggest beginning to study for them now because they can eat a lot of time. There's a lot of resources for A+ out there that are free or close to it. I really liked Mike Meyers A+ book. It's $24 on Amazon but well worth it. Same for his Network+ book.
I think these are the defacto study guides:
I strongly recommend the Comptia Network+ Exam Book. I've had it for a while now, and you will learn quite litterly everything there is to know about the backbone of networking and the internet. It's meant as a preparation for the CompTIA Network+ Certification, which certifies you are competent enough to work in a networking environment, and is very comprehensive (~ 600 pages). It was invaluable for my positions in cybersecurity.
So you can do subnetting in your sleep, configure and troubleshoot OSPF & or EIGRP, know about HSRP, port-channels, VLans, and trunks, static routing, inter-vlan routing and ACLs? You know about broadcast domains and layer 2 security? You know how a switch operates differently than a hub? How a switch builds a mac table, cut threw vs store and forward?
I don't intend for any of that to come off as condescending but that is the type of material you come into contact with for the ICND1.
If any of that is unfamiliar then start at ICND1 and start with this book.
Thank you for all the info as I just Stumbled upon this post. I have this book by Odom but find it hard to read with my ADD. Is the book by Lammle any easier? I am interested in learning, CCENT/CCNA since i picked up CCNA 2015 200-120 Video Boot Camp With Chris Bryant for 10$
That's accurate. If you are planning to take the Sec+ before November, then use a 601 study guide. If you don't think you'll do it before November, wait until a 701 study guide comes out.
Also, this book is all I read and I passed it. Take a month to read and take notes and you'll be good.
By reading this and taking a lot of Anki notes. I had some basic ideas of viruses, malware, ddosing, etc but I've never worked IT and it was never was properly looking up the terms, more like, I watched a YouTube video sometime casually on the subject.
Even if you take it easy and study for an hour a day, you could pass Sec+ within a few weeks. 100%. It's virtually all memorization. The important part is downloading and getting comfortable with Anki. If you don't know the term, put it in Anki. Review it, review it, review. Write down physical notes too. Still confused on a term? Look up Professor Messer, Dion or (my favorite) Mike Meyer. Mike Meyers is the best, you'll love him. I recommend his video courses for S+, A+ and N+ imo.
Put in the hour a day and don't sweat the timeline. That's what I did to get the trifecta. 1 hour at least a day. Also, I saw that you're unemployed, have you tried enrolling into something like WGU? Man, they're great. After financial aid? I have a student loan of $800 per 6 months, it includes ALL my cert fees (and if I fail, free retake).
Anyways good luck king :) keep grinding
You can pass from watching enough random YouTube videos. It's about being able to retain the information thats being taught. I would recommend trying a different learning format, like a book. I used Prof. Messer, Mike Meyers course on Udemy, and the get certified get ahead book.
Mike Meyers Udemy Course (don't buy at full price, goes on sale once a month for $12)
Get Certified Get Ahead - Amazon
Please note that as stated, there are a lot of free resources to help you for the exam. The above links are just what helped me. Good luck!
I took the Sec+ exam before SY0-601 (new version of the test) using only Darril Gibson's book. He has an updated version here. I tried watching videos but they were slow. What I did was divide the total number of pages in the book by 14 (2 weeks of studying), it worked out to 25ish pages a day. I'd do that over 30-90 minutes each day, if I knew whatever the page showed, I'd skip it. I'd copypaste in Anki for unfamiliar terms and review the flashcards each day for a few mins.
By the end of the book, I felt like I over studied. I took the exam tired while not in my best shape and scored around an 800.
IMO it's not as easy as implied. For a DoD job a Security+ cert is a bare minimum requirement for any IT job even if it doesn't have anything to do with cybersecurity. DoE doesn't have cert requirements like DoD but LANL and Sandia sometimes have some ridiculous education requirements. If you're still interested I'd start with this book.
Just took it yesterday. Passed, barely. But that's still a pass.
​
What did I do to prepare? I read this https://www.amazon.com/CompTIA-Security-Get-Certified-Ahead/dp/B096D1LGSK/ And then took as many practice tests as I could online.
​
The labs, I'm not sure what I got right or wrong. However, they weren't as bad as I though they'd be
yeah i’d highly recommend professor messer and the get certified get ahead textbook (not free but only 30 bucks right now). i passed the comptia security+ years ago with their SY0-401 materials: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096D1LGSK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_E5PVKBRK11G2ZYF2SYWG