Passed the Test

November 22, 2016 by Adam in Adam

I drove up to Linn-Benton Community College this morning, listening to myself read off various security acronyms.  I got settled and reviewed everything again for an hour, stopping for coffee towards the end.  Eventually I checked into the test, getting rid of all my electronics, showing ID, signing things, and getting my picture taken.  The test itself was somewhat challenging, a mix of simple facts and applied knowledge questions.  An hour and a half later I walked out and ended up with 859 out of 950 points, with 750 needed to pass.

Hopefully it gives me a little more street cred, though it's really just the start of the endless certification cycle.

Study, Study

November 16, 2016 by Adam in Adam

I'm spending my days at work studying for my Security+ exam. It's both interesting and occasionally tedious. My brain is full of port numbers and encryption algorithms. Progress is going pretty well - I finished the 250+ videos and am halfway through a series of PowerPoint slides that covers the material. I've been taking the end-of-chapter quizzes and getting in the 85% to 90% range.

I'm going to see how far I can get over the next couple days. If I feel pretty confident and continue to do well on the practice tests, I'll shoot for taking the actual exam on Friday otherwise I'll schedule it for next week.

Hopefully having the certification gives me an air of authority. It's been fun digging a little deeper into things I kinda knew already. The details of encryption are kinda fascinating - basically our entire information age economy is based on math.