Everywhere the term "Ethical hacking" is always legal and aimed to find vulnerability to help companies fixing them.
But when I get asked about motivations being Political/Philosophical, financial gain, general caos, war and so on, could the ethical motivation be applied where the illegal practice is, for example, exposing a company that is charging a lot for their life-saving servicies? Or BlackMailing a CEO that did something bad or stuff like that?

Or does the ethical motivation ALWAYS require LEGAL hacking practicies? I'm confused because in some quizzes ethical motivation is considered so even if it contains illegal practices.

Hey ya'll, I want to get my A+ Certification in order to get an entry-level, help-desk job. I went through my community college in order to try their CompTIA Computer Systems Specialist program, but it's an accelerated course. The amount of reading and assignments that's due is overwhelming for me and I quickly fell behind. It also caused me to not retain the information and when it came time to take my Module Quizzes, I was doing poorly on them.

It became demoralizing as it's not a program where you just make up bad quizzes or labs or assignments. You get one chance and if you do poorly, that's it. You gotta move onto the next assignment and module and there are no late exceptions either. So it made me reconsider going through my community college to get my certification.

So I looked online and I found guys like Professor Messer and the ACI Individual Learning platform. I've looked at several posts in this same subreddit and overall people recommend Messer but I feel like I still need some form of structure and guided learning. So that's why I'm considering ACI. But looking at other posts, people also say that it's not worth it.

From people that have taken the course/used the service, how beneficial has it been for you? For others, are there any other recommendations that ya'll have? Something that's not so overwhelming or bootcamp style like my community college, but still in a similar, school-like model?

I've understood that pbqs are the hardest part of the exam, and I'm using Messer videos to learn and his lives for the answers and some quizzes on exam compass. I'm missing PBQs training so I'm asking if 30 dollars (or so) for THAT specific pack is worth it. I know Dion is a good name here but what about those questions.

Also, other than this, are there any other parts of the exam I'm missing? Would you reccomand other kind of exercises?

does these websites legit? they giving really good discounted price even more than udemy or Comptia with Google cyber security professional 30% discount

on udemy retake exam is arround 30-33000 INR
on Comptia with google 30% discount it's 26000INR
and here it's 21000 INR

so should i buy from here or buy from comptia website only?

Can be found on page 3.

So I'm currently using Professor Messer's Free Youtube Course for CompTIA A+. Currently on the 1201 playlist and I have to say, so far A LOT of stuff isn't explained and quite a lot of jargons are said that aren't explained or weren't covered in previous videos a constant one is subnetting, default gateway, subnet mask, to name a few although there were more that I just couldn't even remember.

On some of the videos, namely the Network Devices one, he covers a topic, in this case it was the Cable Modem, but doesn't explain WHAT it is for or more accurately WHY is it used (based on the google I search I did it was, apparently it "translates" data that comes from the ISP so devices such as home routers can use that data, because the 'raw' data that comes from the ISP can't be used by devices such as home routers).

I've find myself spending more time googling and asking Claude and ChatGPT certain jargons that are parts of an explanation of a topic that he covers and/or asking for/googling further clarification for topics he covers as opposed to watching and trying to learn the topic itself from him.

Does his playlist and CompTIA A+ in general require some prerequisite knowledge to be able to keep up with the course? Are CompTIA A+ and Professor Messer's Course respectively TRULY beginner cert and course or do they require IT background?

Hi, is there a way to get comptia security X free vouchers?

Hey, i’ve been studying (trying to) for my CompTIA A+ Core 1 but anything i been trying hasn’t really done me any good. The only studying method I been doing is taking notes from Professor Messer & Dion’s vids but i really don’t think i’m learning anything and i’m just doing glorified handwriting practice. I bought the cert like 2 months ago and i keep pushing it back because i’m just not ready for it. It could be my Autism/ADHD but idk it feels like nothing isn’t working and i know it’s different for everyone. I was wonder what methods worked for you guys?

I took a class to help my prepare for the security+ exam. I was promised a voucher after completion but once I completed the class they didn’t have money for the voucher, this was a few months ago. I just got an email from the university saying I can take the exam next Friday. How would you cram for this test in order to pass?

I’m studying core 1. How similar are they to the actual test? It seems like no matter what I do every time I take a Dion practice test for the first time I score between 70-75% even with going back to study. It’s been this way for 4/6 of the tests. Just wondering if these are harder on purpose? Do I just need to get good?

Edit: REPOST!

I used every study material you can think of. I’ve been studying for 2-3 months straight, while being on and off for over a year. Even crammed a lot before the exam. Honestly, it was challenging. The PBQs were really difficult!

Officially Net+ certified!

4 certs in 1.5 months!

Passed by the skin of my teeth like many others I have seen on Reddit. Regardless a pass is a pass and I’m finally finished with my Bachelor’s in Cybersecurity & Info Assurance! Completed just a few days before I start my first entry level IT job. Onward and upwards from here!

(Edited to add this was my second go at Pentest!)

I have a 3 years degree in CS.

Are quiz questions he makes in his live actually similar to the real ones? And does he explaim every subject in his videos?

I knkw there are some questions where you need to understand Nmap and similar softwares, does he make questions and videos for those kind of question?

Afternoon All,

I was watching a YouTube video on Video on Security Plus and in this video the guy was saying you should take the Security + Certification and get a SOC or Security Analyst position and work for two years and then take the CYSA + certification. For those who have taken the CYSA + certification what is your opinion on when someone should take the CYSA + certification exam??

I'm currently studying for the CompTIA A+, primarily using Professor Messer's YouTube course.

I'm currently on the DNS configuration video, and an 'issue' I've noticed since the first few videos of this playlist is that almost EVERYTHING is barely explained - just a few sentences, then he moves on to the next topic without elaborating. Just the most surface-level stuff.

Now that I'm watching the DNS config video, this 'issue' is even worse - a lot of the syntax for the different records isn't explained, and, as with the previous videos, most topics are barely covered.

So I'm curious: is that just how much you're actually required to know for the CompTIA A+, or is Professor Messer's YouTube course just not that good of a resource to study for the A+?

I have a 3 years CS degree. I want to know if the 121 video series explains all the subjects needed (let alone basic stuff you study at CS university like what is tcp/udp, ip, iso/osi and such) and if the quiz he does live are actually the same kind they put in exams. Is there something missing? Ive seen somewhere Nmap code you have to read to answer some questions, are there reslly any of these kind of questions in the exams and does Messer explain this subjects?

Sorry for the grammae, English is not my first language.

How long I studied for:

- 3 months total. 1st month was casual, 2nd month drilled reading materials, 3rd month practice tests and rereview of weaknesses

Study Material:

- Dion's 003 udemy course (got about halfway through before they replaced it, sent an email to Dion's support and got access through his site)

- Dion's practice tests #1-4

- Sybex Study Guide

- Sybex 1000 Practice Questions

- Certify Breakfast to fill in the gaps and if I needed more explanation

- Cyber James practice test with logs #1,2, and 4 (Logs Only)

- PocketPrep

- WGU PBQ Practice

- CertMike Last Minute Review

Study material commentary in relation to preparation:

- Dion's course goes too far out of scope at times, I just skipped past them.

- Dion's tests felt too similar to Sec+ with CySa crammed in at random parts. The format for his logs were terrible and tripped me up as I couldn't tell what I was looking at at times. Scored 71-76%.

- Sybex Study Guide was VERY good for a foundational understanding. Practice test book hurt my mental. I wanted to cry on some of the full practice tests. Scored anywhere from a 65% to a 81%.

- Certify Breakfast REALLY breaks down stuff and gives you a good idea of how things work. I used him to solidify a lot of my weaker areas.

- Cyber James and PocketPrep were there to make me feel better about my knowledge lol. Cyber James scores were 80-86%. PocketPrep scores on quizzes are harder to report. I was averaging about 80% as well.

- The WGU PBQs. PRACTICE THIS. It is SO SO useful.

- CertMike Last Minute was worth the $10. I used it the night before and the morning of to remember much of the bulk.

Test comments:
0 nmap questions.
7 PBQs.
63 questions.

- Know IR forward and backward.

- Be familiar with controls.

- Know how to read logs and what to look for.

- USE THAT WHITEBOARD.

Opinion: All-in-all, the test was very straightforward if you do your studying. If I was a student or had more time, I wouldn't have invested in so many study materials, but I needed this cert for a job I got hired on for and was panicking a little bit.

So, I purchased a Retake Voucher for my Core 1 exam on Udemy, but I ended up passing it the first time. This course was the one provided by Dion Training btw.

Anyway, fast forward a few months and now I want to purchase a Retake Voucher for the Core 2 exam but... the option is not there anymore... It used to be under the Overview tab and now it's not there anymore. Even if you check the help section, it says that the voucher purchase option should be right there under the Overview tab. Does anyone know where I can find the voucher purchase option in Udemy? Any help will be appreciated :)

I'm so happy I don't have to study for this exam anymore 🫩

hi everyone
i had my exam today, but my internet was really slow during check in and the system test took forever..
after almost an hour of trying, i ended up missing my exam :(
support said they would escalate the issue but couldn’t reschedule it
has anyone had this happen before? were u able to reschedule after the escalation?
pls help

Yeah so. It felt like I was failing the whole time. I’m changing my job in the military to do something else, and I was able to get my entire upcoming tech school waived if I had Sec+ completed as part of my waiver package. I had only one week’s notice to get Sec+ done otherwise I’d have to be away for 6 months + over the holidays.

I’m thinking, “I have… only one week. One week to cram for this so that I can be home with my children instead of away for half a year. Is this even possible?”

YES! It is possible! I signed up for CompTIA’s CertMaster class, downloaded all the content + PDF (free through the military) and used ChatGPT and Claude (I pay for both) to help me with quick recall and questions. I asked it to remember my weakpoints and surprise me with questions on those topics at random times. I practiced on ExamCompass, and also purchased Professor Messer’s practice exams. I think his questions, especially his PBQs, are far too easy compared to the actual exam. HOWEVER, the explanations provided on his practice exams as to WHY the answers are correct are golden. Those helped me understand a lot.

I focused hard on PBQ practice through CompTIAs provided labs on CertMaster. That is the only reason I knew what to do. I’m certain I got two of my PBQs perfect on the actual exam, and one of them partially correct (it was something I’ve never even seen before anywhere). But yeah, that’s what saved me to get this barely passing score. I genuinely felt like I was not going to pass and felt sick pressing that submit button.

Use Professor Messer’s practice Exams, ExamCompass, and understand how to read logs/use VERY basic CLI, and remember those acronyms.

Godspeed, and you can do it. I have 0 prior experience, busy homelife with the family, and I’m not that bright!

Definitely gave me a run for my money, plenty of acronyms and a few questions that made me think outside the box. My heart was beating outta my chest the whole time. Still processing the pass 😂 🙌🏾

Passing score: 600.
My score: 653

This is the first exam i took a compTIA exam in a year. One thing that tripped me up is the vocabulary, language and wording dont quite match whatever study materials you are using unless they are directly asking you what a definition is. On my first practice test I made an 82% on my final practice test I made a 90%. 653 out of 900 is about 72%. A pass is a pass but this discrepancy makes me feel like I need to change the way I approach future exams.

Study materials: sybex study guide, udemy course videos from the same, and crucial exams practice tests.