Congratulations. You made it to the end of the course.
Now, we've covered a lot of material throughout this course
and our time together.
During our time together,
we've covered everything you need to know
to understand all five domains covered
by the CompTIA PenTest+ PT0-003 certification exam.
Now, I know we didn't cover these domains
and their objectives in a sequential order in the course,
and that's totally fine.
Instead, we went through all of these things
and all of the material covered by them,
but I've rearranged them to make it easier for you
to learn everything you need to know to pass this exam.
I can tell you,
with over 20 years of professional experience
working with CompTIA exams,
those CompTIA exams are not known
for ordering the domains and objectives
in a straightforward or logical order most of the time.
In fact, these exam objectives aren't designed to be taught
in the order listed in the exam objective PDF
that you downloaded back in Lesson 2 of the course,
but instead, we covered all of those objectives
and every bullet underneath them
as you went through the course but in a more logical order.
Now, if you need to review any of the specific objectives,
you can always look back at the title
for each video in this course
because I have clearly labeled them
with the relevant objective number
in parentheses after their name.
All right, what are those five domains?
Well, Domain 1 was Engagement Management,
and it accounts for 13% of the exam
by focusing on the initial steps of a penetration test
and emphasizing the importance of planning and scoping.
This domain ensures that you understand the importance
of understanding and complying with regulations,
clearly defining your roles,
and maintaining good communication
with all of your stakeholders.
It also navigates the differences
of various testing frameworks and details the elements
that make up a good report.
Domain 2 is Reconnaissance and Enumeration,
and it makes up 21% of your exam.
Now, in this domain,
we focused on the collection of information
and pinpointing the potential system vulnerabilities
in our networks.
This domain empowers you with the techniques
for both passive and active reconnaissance
and leverages resources like open source intelligence
to lay the groundwork for subsequent testing phases.
In Domain 3,
we covered Vulnerability Discovery and Analysis,
and this was 17% of the exam content.
Now, this domain dives into the methodologies
for identifying and assessing vulnerabilities
within diverse environments and equips you
with the analytical skills to uncover weaknesses
that could be exploited.
Domain 4 is Attacks and Exploits,
and it's the most significant portion of the exam
with 35% of the exam questions.
This domain covers the execution phase
of a penetration test, and this is where you apply
the techniques and tools to carry out your attacks
on identified vulnerabilities.
This domain also highlights the importance
of prioritizing targets and planning your attack strategy
with precision and skill when you're working
as a penetration tester.
And finally, we had Domain 5,
Post-exploitation and Lateral Movement,
which makes up 14% of the exam questions.
This domain is going to explore the critical actions taken
after the initial access was gained.
It focuses on deepening your access,
securing your persistence,
and moving laterally throughout the environment
to achieve your comprehensive testing objectives and goals.
So as you can see,
this is all stuff we've already talked about
as we went through the course together.
I really hope that you enjoyed our approach
as we went through the material in a more logical way
so you can move from one stage of a penetration test
into another in a more linear or chronological order
than what's presented in the exam objectives.
Now, I know we covered a ton of information in this course,
and you're probably excited to run off
and schedule your exam, take that test,
and become CompTIA PenTest+ certified,
but before you do, I recommend that you stick around
until the end of this lesson
because I'm going to give you my top five tips and tricks
for raising your score on the CompTIA PenTest+ exam
and getting you certified on your first attempt.
After all, this exam is expensive,
and you probably don't want to have to take it twice.
Now, speaking of the exam,
how do you sign up for and take that exam?
Well, you can take it at any Pearson VUE Testing Center
around the world using a local testing center option.
Now, personally, I've taken exams all over the world,
including in North America, South America, Asia,
and even out in the Middle East.
These days though, you can also opt
to take your certification exam at home or in your office
using the Pearson VUE OnVUE testing system.
To do this, you have to be in a room
where you can close the door and be alone,
have a good solid internet connection and have a webcam
so a live proctor can watch you while you're taking the exam
to ensure there is no cheating going on.
Personally, I've taken a handful
of my exams using this service too,
and it works pretty well most of the time.
To take the exam, you will have to purchase an exam voucher
whether you're taking it online or in person,
and then you can schedule the day and time
of the exam you want and if you're going to take it online
or in person.
Now, to do this, you can get the exam voucher directly
at pearsonvue.com when you schedule your exam
or by going to store.comptia.org
and going to their web store to buy it there.
Now, if you do either of these two options,
you will pay the full retail price
for your exam voucher based on the location
of where you're going to be taking that exam
because CompTIA uses different pricing
for different countries around the world,
but if you go to our website at diontraining.com/vouchers
and pre-purchase your exam voucher
before you schedule the exam,
you'll actually save 10% off by doing this.
Now from here, you'll go ahead to diontraining.com/vouchers,
select the voucher you need,
which country you're going to take the examine in,
and then you can purchase that voucher directly from us
where you'll get that discount applied.
We have vouchers for pretty much
every country around the world,
so I definitely recommend checking out
diontraining.com/vouchers to see if we carry one
for where you live because it will save you that 10%.
As a CompTIA Platinum delivery partner,
we get a special discount rate on these exam vouchers,
and we pass the savings onto our students.
When you order the voucher from our website,
you're going to receive that unique one-time use code
and get free access to our fully searchable library
of CompTIA videos to help you with any last-minute studying
you may need before you take the exam.
Now, once you have that voucher code,
you're going to go over to pearsonvue.com.
You'll be able to pick out whether you're taking it
in person or online, picking the day and time you want,
and then you'll be able to schedule that exam to take it.
Now, if you're willing to take that extra step
of going to diontraining.com/vouchers first, like I said,
you will save 10% or more off the cost of your exam
and get free access to our searchable library as a bonus.
All right, now as I promised,
here are my top five tips for increasing your score
on the PenTest+ exam.
First, use a cheat sheet.
Now, you're not actually allowed to carry anything
into the exam center with you,
but if you're testing at a local center,
they're going to give you a whiteboard
or a dry-erase sheet of paper
that you're going to be able to use during the exam
to take notes on or use as scratch paper.
Now, if you're taking the exam online,
they'll give you a digital whiteboard for this same purpose.
Now, when the clock starts on the exam,
you can write anything you want
on that piece of paper or that whiteboard,
things like ports and protocols,
terms or anything else you might forget
by the time you get to question 66 and beyond.
Personally, I recommend that you use the first one
to three minutes of your exam
taking the time to write things down
on that whiteboard they give you.
It will come in handy later on during the exam,
I promise you.
Second, skip the sims.
Now, simulations, or performance-based questions,
as CompTIA likes to call them,
are usually going to be the first three
to five questions on the exam.
Now, for most students,
these are going to be the hardest questions you have
on exam day, and they are the most time consuming.
My personal recommendation to you
is that when the exam starts,
I want you to mark those for review and skip them.
Do them last after you've finished
all your multiple choice questions.
Now, at the end of your exam,
you can go back and do your PBQs or simulations
and then review your multiple choice questions.
Don't even read the simulations
your first time going through the exam.
Trust me on this. Just mark 'em for review and skip them.
By doing this, you're going to gain confidence
while you're taking those multiple choice questions
that are going to help you out during those simulation
or performance-based questions.
Now, once you finish going through
all your multiple choice or multiple select questions,
now I want you to go back and do those PBQs or simulations.
My students who use this technique
will see their scores rise by at least 5 to 10%
over those who do not use this technique.
So trust me, skip the sims and save them for last.
Third, take a guess.
If you're in doubt, I want you to take a guess.
There is no penalty for guessing wrong on the exam.
So if you leave it blank or you guess wrong,
it counts the same.
If you have any worries,
just go ahead and eliminate as many choices as possible,
and then guess between the remaining choices.
Multiple choice questions only have four options.
So if you figure out that two of them simply can't be right,
you've now exponentially increased your chances
of guessing the right answer from the remaining two options.
Fourth, pick the best time of the day for the exam.
Are you a morning person or are you a night person?
I want you to pick the time of day that works best for you.
Don't try to squeeze in the exam
after working a long day at the office either.
Personally, I like to schedule my exams
around 10 in the morning.
That way, I could take the day off work,
I don't have to wake up super early,
and I can avoid rush-hour traffic
if I'm going to a local testing center.
Also, schedule your exam so you have enough time beforehand
to relax a little bit.
There's nothing worse than showing up at the testing center
at 9:59 AM When your exam is scheduled for 10:00 AM.
You're going to be rushing, you're going to be stressed out,
and you're going to get a worse score.
Instead, I want you to be there
at least 20 to 30 minutes early.
Get comfortable with the facility,
use the restroom if you need to,
and then go in and take your exam.
This will help increase your score, I promise you.
Now a quick side note here.
If you're taking the exam online,
you can use the restroom before the exam starts,
but once the exam starts,
the proctor is not going to let you get up to use the restroom
because you could be using things like books in the restroom
to see what the answers are.
So instead, make sure you use the bathroom
before you log in for your exam
and make sure that you're ready to go.
Otherwise, you may be taking the exam with your legs crossed
for that 165-minute exam.
Now, my fifth and final tip is
that you need to be confident.
You've got this.
When you walk into the testing center
or your home office if you're taking it online,
you shouldn't be wondering, "Hmm, am I going to pass?"
No, you should already know you are going to pass.
You've already studied all the information in this course.
You've watched the videos. You've taken the quizzes.
You've looked over your downloadable study notes,
and if you're not confident right now,
I want you to just wait a few days
and then go schedule your exam.
Now, in this course,
I've included a full-length practice exam as a bonus for you
to help determine if you're ready to take the real thing.
Now, I want you to take that practice exam,
and if you aren't scoring high enough,
re-study the areas you missed by re-watching those lessons
in the course and then take it a second time.
If you're still not confident,
I want you to go out and get some other practice exams
so you're not just memorizing my test,
and that way, you can get more practice
from a quality training source.
Now, here on Udemy, we are limited
in the number of practice exams we can include
in a video course like this one,
but I do have a separate practice exam only course
that includes six more full-length practice exams
with all new questions for you to use
for your preparation for the exam as well.
Now, when you take a practice exam,
your goal is not to memorize the answer key.
After all, my team and I wrote these questions,
and CompTIA writes the official exam questions.
So this means you're not going to see our questions
on the exam word for word,
but you will see the same concepts being tested on the exam,
and we try our best to mimic the way
the real exam writes the questions
so you're going to be well prepared for the real thing.
Now, please do yourself a favor
and do not try to memorize our answer key
and then expect to pass the real exam.
Instead, you need to understand
why the right answer was right
and why the wrong answers are wrong.
If you can do that,
it doesn't matter what question they ask you on test day.
You're still going to be able to pass with no problems.
Now, when you review your practice exam results,
we are going to provide you with a full detailed explanation
for every single question in our practice exam database.
I want you to take the time to learn from your mistakes,
and you will be doing great on the real exam
if you follow this practice.
So keep taking the practice exams until you feel confident,
and then run off and schedule your exam
and walk in there knowing you're going to pass
just like they did.
All right, remember, if you follow my five tips,
you're going to be ready to take
and pass your CompTIA PenTest+ exam on your first attempt,
and I know that's what you want.
Now, I know you're going to be doing great on this exam,
so keep studying, take the exam,
and let me know when you pass.
Now, I said "when" and not "if" here.
That's because I'm confident in your ability
to conquer the PenTest+ exam,
and when you do, I want to hear about it.
Post about it on Facebook or LinkedIn
and tag me or Dion Training in it.
Share your success story on our Facebook group
or go ahead and post it in the Q&A for this course.
Your fellow students and I want to hear about
your success and what worked for you
as you prepared for the PenTest+ exam,
and we know you're going to be super excited
when you receive that passing score come test day.
All right, once again, congratulations on making it
to the end of the course.
Now let's go ahead and put all your newfound knowledge
to work in your practice exams.
Good luck, and I hope to see you again
in a future course as you continue
to climb the cybersecurity certification ladder
throughout your career.