Security+ Certification Training Kit (Pro-Certification)

This book covers all aspects of security and the blueprint that CompTIA has posted on their website. If you are in need of a study or referecne guide this is the book for you!! Good luck to all the people who are striving to attain the CompTIA Security+ Certification.

The Microsoft Press Security+ Certification Training Kit is a study guide for the CompTIA Security+ exam. This book is a better aid for security novices than other Security+ certification books like the one from Syngress (ISBN: 1-931836-72-8).

The Security+ Certification Training Kit is well-organized and has a clear writing style. It provides a basic initiation to the versatile world of information security without too much fluff.
However, it stops at the basic fundamentals and does not cover the whole examination scope. It's a fact that several topics in this book require a more profound explanation and are sometimes too much Microsoft minded.

The book contains good references to essential security sites and names fundamental security related tools and utilities. Using these links and tools, it is recommended that the student conducts his or her own experiments with these tools as the exercises offered in the book are quite weak.

The CD that accompanies the book contains the e-book, some chapters from the Microsoft Security Resource Kit, NIST, CC, a couple of RFCs and a Security+ practice exam (note: don't rely on this practice exam alone).

Review by: Stijn Huyghe (stijn.huyghe@thti.telindus.be).

Publisher: Microsoft Press, Microsoft Corporation, 2003.
ISBN: 0-7356-1822-4
Pages: 700
Cover: Hardcover.
General rating: 2.5/5.

I have used Microsoft Press books to get through my entire MCSE certification. I bought this book and used it along with Transcender and that was not enough to pass the exam. This book did not stress enough a lot of the key areas that were covered on the exam (especailly in the area of cryptography).

I recently took the Security+ exam and used this book as my only Study Guide. I have years of experience in IT, but I failed the test on my first attempt. This book does present some good information - but there were areas covered in the test that this book doesn't touch. Don't depend on it as your only information source to pass the test - it's not enough.

I read 5-6 books and passed this exam in my first go. MS PRESS is definitely the worst among all. Some chapters does explain stuff quite well but in general it covers only 50% of what's suppose to be in exam. So if you read only this there's no way u can pass unless you already know other stuff not covered.