CompTIA Security+ SY0-401 Cert Guide, Deluxe Edition

I failed the exam the 1st time after having studied for a few months using online training provided by my work. When I went to take the exam I saw a lot of content that I had never seen before so there was not much I could do but guess. Still I was embarrassed to tell my work. I did not like that feeling and I vowed to pass this thing just on principle and pride alone. I knew I would have to expand my access to content so I bought this book. And the book is good. I made myself read the entire book because I had failed. It's boring subject matter (even though it is well written) but I did it, taking all the chapter tests along the way. Then I used the attached disk which offered hundreds of sample exam questions and I fully used this too. I also studied subnetting through another avenue. When I re-took the exam it went very well. I even recognized a lot of the content right from this book. It was a good feeling and yes, I sure did pass. I actually felt confident during the test. Thank You David. But I'm here to tell you, if they decide to give you a hard exam filled with stuff you ever saw before, it makes it impossible to do well no matter how much you studied. I fell very lucky that the content matched my training the 2nd time around. They can alway trip you up with very foreign question if they chose to. Don't let it get you down, even though it will cost you another $300.00 to retake it. I would definitely buy the book again (and more from this same author) as long as the practice exam disk comes with it.

This book is the only book I studied for my Security+ exam. It is an easy read and paced well. You can read a chapter or two a day and not feel you are being overworked. I bought this book, which came with a DVD that gives simulations and other study gems. I then purchased the PDF version and extras for 70% off. All total 50 bucks for what I feel is the best study resource available. I also purchased the CompTia CertMaster training which was also very helpful, you can get this at a reduced rate when you purchase your test voucher. I scored 814 and I could not have done it without this book. Thank you David for writing and producing the materials that helped me achieve my goal!I want to address the people who are giving this book bad reviews. You must not have read or taken advantage of the resources this book provides. If you think you are going to buy this book for the questions and answers and only study them to pass, you might as well take that cash and flush it! The purpose of this book is to get you familiar with the "MATERIAL" on the test. The practice questions in this resource only break it down. The actual test is a whole other animal. You may see a total of 5 questions that are in this study guide. You need to study and understand the content of the test. You have to take this seriously or you will fail. Thanks again David!

I read every existing Security+ book available, because I did not have the two years experience, but I concentrated mostly on this book and Darril Gibson's. I read this book over, and then reviewed it about three times, and two times for Darril's book. Prowse's book is the better of the two, but I don't think studying from one book alone is likely to get you to the point of passing the test. These two books seem to be the best for studying from though. I spent a LOT of time studying, and used an application I created to review questions, by randomizing them and reviewing over whatever I missed, and continuing to do so until there was just nothing left to study. I took the test today and scored an 805/900, passing it with a pretty wide margin . . . . failing would have been no fun at that price, and be sure you get a voucher so you are not paying full price. I also used a lot of you tube videos, including Professor Messer. I did not watch every Professor Messer video, I just watched the ones that had concepts I was having difficulty with, and, I found other videos just by searching for whatever subject I needed to reinforce. You absolutely have to know this material inside out to pass this test, it is no walk in the park.

I found this guide to encapsulate the important aspects of the test. And the practice labs on the accompanying DVD were extremely helpful in getting ready for what I encountered during the test. Going into my self study, I didn't realize how extensive the subject matter would be. Fortunately, I have a couple decades of IT experience to leverage but still needed the details covered in this book to have a deeper knowledge to pass Security+. I thought Prowse's style was effective, concise and engaging. As others have done, I also used other study aids like Prof Messer to help ensure I had different material to draw from. I believe I would have passed the test with Prowse's book alone, but layer in the other study material was still helpful.

I purchased this book and the book by D. Gibson. After reading this book, and reading the other book, I ended up using the Gibson book for the rest of my studies. I did not feel the chapter summaries in this book were as comprehensive or focused as the Gibson book. I know this book worked for some folks, and that is great. I was lucky enough to have the luxury of being able to buy both books, but I had 9 days to get a handle on this material and take the test. Given that short time line, I went with the Gibson book and professer messer videos, 56 hours of dedicated studying, got an 838. As a few other people mentioned, if you are taking the practice tests and scoring well because you know the acronyms, that will not cut it. Different writing styles for different folks, but just wasn't a fit more me, and not the one I would recommend.

I have just used the comptia a+security 401, Delux, third edition cert guide for study. It helped me pass the exam in a couple of weeks. I have not studied for 10 years and I have no experience in IT system admin, networks or security but I found the book a clear and concise txt, with the concepts explained in a logical, helpful manner. The more challanging chapters are toward the end of the book (ie. Cryptography etc), which gives one time to learn and gain confidence before tackling the more gritty subjects. At the end of each chapter there are case studies and tests which help to cement the previously learnt material. There is a companion CD that comes with the book has 3 full prep tests (you need an authorization code for these which is in the book sleeve) and there are also Labs and simulations. Although I am a novice in this subject I would highly recommend this and his other guides. I found it invaluable..in fact I wrote and told him so and received a very nice reply from a very busy guy!Please Note : The Sy0-501 is now the current version of the exam and David has written a cert guide for that.

Comptia S+ cert guides are great, This is my second guide, my first was the N+.Easy reading with great quiz's at the end of each section, I am only on chapter 6 at the time of this review, but confident that it will not let me down.If your looking to get a good overview of IT security this is the book you need.

Passed my exam with this as the main source of information. Shout out to Professor Messer though!Dont buy this version because the exam is now retired. At the moment you will need the 501 course

Really well written , provides a nice illustration of each topic.

Great book and easy to read, reading it as my lectures go chapter by chapter so it helps me to be ahead and prepared for the upcoming exam!