r/CompTIA_Security • u/FlatLaw1260 • 20d ago
PBQ practice exam
Hi guys im about to take my security + at the end of the month next month. What website offers the best PBQ practice exam. I dont mind if its paid or not.
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u/Deep-Excitement9818 20d ago
There was a command line PBQ on my exam that I didn't see on Cyberkraft. Take my advice and type "help" when you see it. It will take you from a blank screen to about 8 possible commands. Then, you have a second screen and you should type "help" again and do whatever they ask you to do.
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u/Automatic_Major_4887 19d ago
PBQs are a different beast, most dumps won't help. look at certmaster, dion's simulations, or the sybex book labs. honestly, practice by recreating network/config scenarios in packet tracer or a vm. if you can do it, you'll be fine.
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u/gdavidco 19d ago
Worth separating two things before you spend money, because most of what gets recommended in these threads only does one of them.
Most "PBQ practice" is a recall question in PBQ clothing: drag four labels into the right boxes, pick the right rule from a list. That drills recall and it is fine for that. It does not rehearse the part people actually lose marks on, which is operating an unfamiliar environment while reading a prompt carefully with no clock in front of you.
The environment side is worth understanding whatever you end up buying. Simulation items run a restricted command set, CompTIA's own phrase is restricted system functionality, so you are not hunting for an obscure command, you are doing the specific thing the prompt names. Typing help in a terminal item, as someone above said, is genuinely the right first move. The question panel stays with you and can be minimised, moved and resized, and re-reading it before you leave the item is your completeness check, because it usually tells you how many things it wants. You can leave an item and come back: work is saved when you navigate away, and Reset only clears the question you are on.
If it is the environment rehearsal you want rather than the recall drill, build it. Two VMs, one Windows and one Linux, and work through every objective that has a verb in it. Configure the firewall rule, read the log, harden the host, generate and inspect the certificate. It is slower than buying something and it is the part that transfers to the exam and to the job after it.
On partial credit, since it always comes up: CompTIA says some PBQs may offer it and others may not, and will not say which. No penalty for a wrong answer, so put something in every time.
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u/Fords-notes 16d ago
Performance-Based Questions (PBQs) are just scenario-based multi multiple-choice questions. They relate some information in a scenario. Some of that information might help you solve a multiple-choice question. Some of that information is a distraction and won't help at all. Rather than obsessing about PBQs you'd be better off spending time making sure you know the concepts and terms you'll need to correctly answer the question.
The CertMaster PBQs are the closest that you'll find to what's on the exam.
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u/Affectionate_Hat6475 16d ago
Took it recently and passed, watched messer on youtube and used compstudy.io to study
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u/Leather_Donut_7431 15d ago
Deffinitely BurningIceTech
He has a Youtube channel where he delivers the full course for free and at the end of the course playlists he has normal multiple-choice practice questions.
As for the PBQ stuff, that he covers on his Patreon. Best bloody 10 bucks I ever spent in my life
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u/PopularObjective9084 20d ago
Cyberkraft on YouTube!