Just passed Security+ and I’m still feeling that post-exam adrenaline. Thought I was gonna fail the whole time, no joke — but I made it through and wanted to share how I prepped in case it helps someone else out here grinding.

My Study Setup:

• Jason Dion’s course (Udemy) — solid structure, great coverage of core topics. His practice exams are 🔥 and definitely harder than the real MCQs.

• Professor Messer’s videos — watched them when I needed a visual walkthrough or refreshers.

• Jason Dion’s Practice Exams (Udemy) — these were clutch for getting used to tricky wording. If you can handle those, you’ll be okay on test day.

• Cyberkraft for PBQs — this helps me understand the concepts but the test was nothing like anything that his videos. Way harder.

• ChatGPT — I used it to reason through concepts, break down tough questions, and make custom cheat sheets.

Exam Experience:

• MCQs: Honestly not too bad. I’d say easier than Dion’s practice exams. Still had a few gotchas, but if you practiced, you’ll recognize the patterns. My test had 75 questions with 3 PBQs.

• PBQs: These hit hard. Took time, and they weren’t the kind of thing you can guess your way through. They had me configuring 3 freaking firewalls and analyzed logs. I didn't know wth I did.

Book I Used (with ChatGPT prompts):

I uploaded the official CompTIA Security+ Study Guide (SY0-701) and used prompts like:

“Break this chapter down by topic. Make bullet notes and quiz me.”

“Explain zero trust like I’m 12.”

“Give me PBQ practice based on this section.”

I used ChatGPT as my personal tutor, flashcard generator, and brain-dump creator. It’s wild how much it helped with focus and clarity when stuff got dense.

Final Thoughts:

I went in thinking I’d fail, especially after the PBQs. But here’s the thing — if you’ve been practicing and you know your why, just ride the wave. Stick to your method, don’t freak out, and trust your prep. And if you need someone to break concepts down or simulate scenarios — use ChatGPT. Real talk, it pulled me through this.

Glad to have this cert under my belt and move on to the next.

I’m currently preparing for the CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) certification and I’m on the lookout for legitimate, good, and trusted sites that offer free practice tests.

I’m aware of Exam Compass, but I've noticed that some of the questions seem to cover topics that are outside the official study guide. Has anyone else experienced this?

If you have any recommendations for other resources that are free and closely aligned with the exam content, I would really appreciate it. I’m not looking for something extremely sophisticated, just effective practice tests that can help me solidify my understanding without having to pay for them.

Thank you in advance everybody 🙏