Passed the Security+ today with an 827/900. It was def. the most difficult of the three exams (A+, Net+, Sec+). I used the Darril Gibson book for this exam and was pretty pleased with it.

I must say, i hate the way comptia words the questions sometimes!!

Good luck to everyone working towards this cert.

Congrats on passing!
I agree with you on how they ask some of the questions.

Congratulations on passing!!!! Security Plus Certified for life!:D

Thanks for the heads up on the difficulty. I plan on taking it this month too.

@kidainny

How long did you study. I just finished the Network+, yesterday. Starting to wonder if getting the Security+ before the deadline is a good idea. I really like the Security stuff on the Network+, so figured good time to push it out and get it. I have about two months to push it out. Just wondering if the Darril Gibson book is all I need?

@bub (posted something in the network+ thread as well)

If we were in mid-Dec, i would say it would be close and some cramming would def be in order if you wanted to make deadline.

* Honestly though, when i found Prof's site, i wasn't aware of the deadline and couldn't care less. I just wanted to do these three exams. But i'm glad i got them in.

In my opinion, one could do the test easily within a month of study. For some, it may take longer, some can do it quicker - but i've seen on average about a month. I work full time so it's only an hour or two at night and lots on the weekends.

The Gibson book is all you need. I usually always use secondary sources - but with this test, people stressed that the book was really good. But i still went out and bought the exam cram as well, then wound up closing it up around chapter 4. If you want to get a secondary source - by all means, it can't hurt. Just read Gibson's book twice. The first time to get familiar with the material and the second to reinforce the concepts.

The book is well written, straight to the point. For some reason i flew through the book, probably because the font was larger than most texts and he kept the material pretty interesting.

Having recently finished the Network+, i think you'll be in a much better position to take the exam than without. For example, there's more ports to learn - but you know 85 percent of them already from the network+.

A whole chapter goes into a review of the OSI and Switches etc..Which you know already because of the Network+. It takes a lot of what you learned already and expands your knowledge from a security perspective.

The test is more difficult than the A+ and Net+, but nothing crazy.
If the A+ is a 1 in difficulty, and the net+ is a 3, then the sec+ is a 5. It's the same format as you've seen for the other comptia exams, but you have to slow down and read EVERY word in the question carefully.

Read every chapter in the book and go through the end of chapter exams. You'll have time to re read the book and do it again. Then take the final exam in the back. It's like 350-400 questions. Just make sure you understand all the chapters well.

If you decide to do it, good luck! Let me know if you have any questions.