Security+ and Patch Management

Are you planning to take the Security+ exam? If so, make sure you understand basics about patch management.

See if you can you answer this sample question.

Q. A software vendor recently developed a patch for one of its applications. Before releasing the patch to customers, the vendor needs to test it in different environments. Which of the following solutions provides the BEST method to test the patch in different environments?

A. Baseline image

B. BYOD

C. Virtualized sandbox

D. Change management

Check out the answer and a full explanation here.

Using One-Time Passwords

Are you preparing to take the Security+ exam? If so, make sure you know about one-time passwords. For example, can you answer this sample question?

Q. Your organization is planning to implement remote access capabilities. Management wants strong authentication and wants to ensure that passwords expire after a predefined time interval. Which of the following choices BEST meets this requirement?

A. HOTP

B. TOTP

C. CAC

D. Kerberos

Check out the answer and see a full explanation here.

Forensic Analysis Tools and Security+

Are you planning to take the Security+ exam?

Do you know some basics about forensic analysis?

Computer forensics analyzes evidence from computers to determine details on computer incidents, similar to how CSI personnel analyze evidence from crime scenes. See if you can you answer this practice test question.

Q. A forensic expert is preparing to analyze a hard drive. Which of the following should the expert do FIRST?

A. Capture an image.

B. Identify the order of volatility.

C. Create a chain-of-custody document.

D. Take a screenshot.

See if you're correct here.

Passwords and Security+

Are you preparing to take the Security+ exam? See if you can answer this sample question about passwords.

Q. An outside security auditor recently completed an in-depth security audit on your network. One of the issues he reported was related to passwords. Specifically, he found the following passwords used on the network: Pa$$, 1@W2, and G7bT3. What should be changed to avoid the problem shown with these passwords?

A. Password complexity

B. Password length

C. Password history

D. Password reuse

See if you're correct and view the full explanation here.

Security+ and Ciphers

Are you planning to take the Security+ exam?

Do you know the differences between block ciphers and stream ciphers?

See if you can you answer this sample question.

Q. An application developer needs to use an encryption protocol to encrypt credit card data within a database used by the application. Which of the following would be the FASTEST, while also providing strong confidentiality?

A. AES-256

B. DES

C. Blowfish

D. SHA-2

Check out this post for the answer and a full explanation.

New Security+ Exam

Did you hear about the new Security+ (SY0-501) exam?

Someone's talking about it because I've recently received several queries asking me about it.

Yes, it's true that CompTIA updates their exams every three years. And yes it's reasonable to expect that they'll update the Security+ exam this year.

When CompTIA updates their exams, it often causes anxiety with many people. They wonder how they should respond. And many of them send their queries to me.

I've outlined many of the frequently asked questions I've received and expect in this blog post.

Physical Security Controls and Security+

Are you planning to take the Security+ exam? If so, make sure you understand what physical security controls are.

In general, a physical security control is something you can physically touch, such as a hardware lock, a fence, an identification badge, and a security camera.

See if you can you answer this sample question.

Q. Employees access a secure area by entering a cipher code, but this code does not identify individuals. After a recent security incident, management has decided to implement a key card system that will identify individuals who enter and exit this secure area. However, the installation might take six months or longer. Which of the following choices can the organization install immediately to identify individuals who enter or exit the secure area?

A. Mantrap

B. Access list

C. CCTV

D. Bollards

See if you are correct and read the full explanation here.

Using Risk Assessment Metrics

Are you preparing for the Security+ exam? Can you identify various risk assessment metrics?

See if you can answer this sample practice test question.

Q. A security expert is attempting to identify the number of failures a web server has in a year. Which of the following is the expert MOST likely identifying?

A. SLE

B. MTTR

C. ALE

D. MTTF

See if you're correct and read the full explanation here.