Chapter 9
Final Preparation

The first eight chapters of this book cover the technologies, protocols, design concepts, and considerations required to be prepared to pass the ISC² Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) exam. While these chapters supply the detailed information, most people need more preparation than just reading the first eight chapters of this book. This chapter details a set of tools and a study plan to help you complete your preparation for the exams.

This short chapter has two main sections. The first section lists the exam preparation tools useful at this point in the study process. The second section lists a suggested study plan now that you have completed all the earlier chapters in this book.

Tools for Final Preparation

This section provides information about the available tools and how to access the tools.

Pearson Test Prep Practice Test Engine and Questions on the Website

Register this book to get access to the Pearson Test Prep practice test engine (software that displays and grades a set of exam-realistic, multiple-choice questions). Using the Pearson Test Prep practice test engine, you can either study by going through the questions in Study mode or take a simulated (timed) CISSP exam.

The Pearson Test Prep practice test software comes with two full practice exams. These practice tests are available to you either online or as an offline Windows application. To access the practice exams that were developed with this book, please see the instructions in the card inserted in the sleeve in the back of the book. This card includes a unique access code that enables you to activate your exams in the Pearson Test Prep software.

Accessing the Pearson Test Prep Practice Test Software Online

The online version of this software can be used on any device with a browser and connectivity to the Internet, including desktop machines, tablets, and smartphones. To start using your practice exams online, simply follow these steps:

Step 1. Go to https://www.PearsonTestPrep.com.

Step 2. Select Pearson IT Certification as your product group.

Step 3. Enter your email/password for your account. If you don’t have an account on PearsonITCertification.com or CiscoPress.com, you will need to establish one by going to PearsonITCertification.com/join.

Step 4. In the My Products tab, click the Activate New Product button.

Step 5. Enter the access code printed on the insert card in the back of your book to activate your product.

Step 6. The product will now be listed in your My Products page. Click the Exams button to launch the exam settings screen and start your exam.

Accessing the Pearson Test Prep Practice Test Software Offline

If you wish to study offline, you can download and install the Windows version of the Pearson Test Prep practice test software. There is a download link for this software on the book’s companion website, or you can just enter this link in your browser:

http://www.pearsonitcertification.com/content/downloads/pcpt/engine.zip

To access the book’s companion website and the software, simply follow these steps:

Step 1. Register your book by going to PearsonITCertification.com/register and entering the ISBN: 9780789759696.

Step 2. Answer the challenge questions.

Step 3. Go to your account page and click the Registered Products tab.

Step 4. Click the Access Bonus Content link under the product listing.

Step 5. Click the Install Pearson Test Prep Desktop Version link under the Practice Exams section of the page to download the software.

Step 6. After the software finishes downloading, unzip all the files on your computer.

Step 7. Double-click the application file to start the installation, and follow the onscreen instructions to complete the registration.

Step 8. After the installation is complete, launch the application and click the Activate Exam button on the My Products tab.

Step 9. Click the Activate a Product button in the Activate Product Wizard.

Step 10. Enter the unique access code found on the card in the sleeve in the back of your book and click the Activate button.

Step 11. Click Next, and then click Finish to download the exam data to your application.

Step 12. Start using the practice exams by selecting the product and clicking the Open Exam button to open the exam settings screen.

Note that the offline and online versions will sync together, so saved exams and grade results recorded on one version will be available to you on the other as well.

Customizing Your Exams

Once you are in the exam settings screen, you can choose to take exams in one of three modes:

• Study mode: Enables you to fully customize your exams and review answers as you are taking the exam. This is typically the mode you would use first to assess your knowledge and identify information gaps.

• Practice Exam mode: Locks certain customization options, as it is presenting a realistic exam experience. Use this mode when you are preparing to test your exam readiness.

• Flash Card mode: Strips out the answers and presents you with only the question stem. This mode is great for late-stage preparation when you really want to challenge yourself to provide answers without the benefit of seeing multiple-choice options. This mode does not provide the detailed score reports that the other two modes do, so you should not use it if you are trying to identify knowledge gaps.

In addition to these three modes, you will be able to select the source of your questions. You can choose to take exams that cover all of the chapters or you can narrow your selection to just a single chapter or the chapters that make up specific parts in the book. All chapters are selected by default. If you want to narrow your focus to individual chapters, simply deselect all the chapters; then select only those on which you wish to focus in the Objectives area.

You can also select the exam banks on which to focus. Each exam bank comes complete with a full exam of questions that cover topics in every chapter. You can have the test engine serve up exams from all banks or just from one individual bank by selecting the desired banks in the exam bank area.

There are several other customizations you can make to your exam from the exam settings screen, such as the time of the exam, the number of questions served up, whether to randomize questions and answers, whether to show the number of correct answers for multiple-answer questions, and whether to serve up only specific types of questions. You can also create custom test banks by selecting only questions that you have marked or questions on which you have added notes.

Updating Your Exams

If you are using the online version of the Pearson Test Prep practice test software, you should always have access to the latest version of the software as well as the exam data. If you are using the Windows desktop version, every time you launch the software while connected to the Internet, it checks if there are any updates to your exam data and automatically downloads any changes that were made since the last time you used the software.

Sometimes, due to many factors, the exam data may not fully download when you activate your exam. If you find that figures or exhibits are missing, you may need to manually update your exams. To update a particular exam you have already activated and downloaded, simply click the Tools tab and click the Update Products button. Again, this is only an issue with the desktop Windows application.

If you wish to check for updates to the Pearson Test Prep exam engine software, Windows desktop version, simply click the Tools tab and click the Update Application button. This ensures that you are running the latest version of the software engine.

Premium Edition

In addition to the free practice exams provided on the book’s companion website, you can purchase additional exams with expanded functionality directly from Pearson IT Certification. The Premium Edition of this title contains an additional two full practice exams and an eBook (in both PDF and ePub format). In addition, the Premium Edition title offers remediation for each question by pointing you to the specific part of the eBook that relates to that question.

Because you have purchased the print version of this title, you can purchase the Premium Edition at a deep discount. There is a coupon code in the book sleeve that contains a one-time-use code and instructions for where you can purchase the Premium Edition.

To view the Premium Edition product page, go to www.informit.com/title/9780789759696.

Memory Tables

Like most Pearson Cert Guides, this book purposely organizes information into tables and lists for easier study and review. Rereading these tables can be very useful before the exam. However, it is easy to skim over the tables without paying attention to every detail, especially when you remember having seen the table’s contents when reading the chapter.

As an alternative to simply reading the tables in the various chapters, Appendixes A and B give you another review tool. Appendix A lists partially completed versions of many of the tables from the book. You can open Appendix A (a PDF available on the companion website after registering) and print the appendix. For review, you can attempt to complete the tables. This exercise can help you focus on the review. It also exercises the memory connectors in your brain, plus it makes you think about the information without as much contextual information, which forces a little more contemplation about the facts.

Appendix B, also a PDF available on the companion website, lists the completed tables to check yourself. You can also just refer to the tables as printed in the book.

Chapter-Ending Review Tools

Chapters 1 through 8 each have several features in the “Exam Preparation Tasks” and “Review Questions” sections at the end of the chapter. You might have already worked through these in each chapter. It can also be useful to use these tools again as you make your final preparations for the exam.

Suggested Plan for Final Review/Study

This section lists a suggested study plan from the point at which you finish reading through Chapter 8 until you take the CISSP exam. Certainly, you can ignore this plan, use it as is, or just take suggestions from it.

The plan uses four steps:

Step 1. Review key topics: You can use the table that lists the key topics in each chapter, or just flip the pages looking for key topics.

Step 2. Complete memory tables: Open Appendix A from the companion website and print the entire thing, or print the tables by major part. Then complete the tables.

Step 3. Review “Review Questions” sections: Go through the “Answer Review Questions” sections at the end of each chapter to identify areas in which you need more study.

Step 4. Use the Pearson Test Prep practice test engine to practice: The Pearson Test Prep practice test engine can be used to study using a bank of unique exam-realistic questions available only with this book.

Summary

The tools and suggestions listed in this chapter have been designed with one goal in mind: to help you develop the skills required to pass the CISSP exam. This book has been developed from the beginning to not only tell you the facts but also help you learn how to apply the facts. Regardless of your experience level leading up to when you take the exam, it is our hope that the broad range of preparation tools provided in this book, and even the structure of the book, helps you pass the exam with ease. We hope you do well on the exam.