CompTIA Security+ Performance Based Questions in 2023

A performance-based question is what, exactly? The Security+ performance-based questions (PBQs) are exam items created by CompTIA to assess test takers’ aptitude for problem-solving in the actual world before they formally enter the IT industry. What should you understand about this exam question then? For more useful information, keep reading this article.

Start by taking our free CompTIA Security+ practice test to be ready for the real exam and pass it with flying colors on your first try.

General information

IT security is crucial to organizations, as cloud computing and portable gadgets have revolutionized the way we do trade. With the gigantic sums of information transmitted and put away on systems all over the world, it is vital to have successful security practices. That’s where CompTIA Security+ comes in to guarantee experts have the information and aptitudes to unravel an assortment of today’s complex issues. This certification may be a noteworthy door to an IT security career.

The CompTIA Security+ certification is universally trusted to certify foundationally, vendor-neutral IT security information and abilities and is “chosen by more organizations and defense organizations than any other certification on the showcase to approve pattern security aptitudes and for satisfying the DoD 8570 compliance.”

This CompTIA Security+ certification guarantees that a fruitful candidate has the total information and skill to handle and oversee security capacities moreover by setting critical accentuation on testing for hands-on investigating aptitudes that demonstrate know-how to secure frameworks, programs, and equipment.

CompTIA has moreover made a few revisions to its CompTIA Security+ exam destinations. These revisions cover the foremost center’s specialized abilities in hazard appraisal and administration, occurrence reaction, forensics, venture systems, hybrid/cloud operations, and security controls, in this way guaranteeing better execution of the work. For more on the Security+ certification, see our CompTIA Security+ certification center. Now, let’s investigate what you wish to know in terms of the performance-based questions.

Read more >> The Comprehensive CompTIA Security Plus Study Guide

Security+ performance-based changes

For the purpose of preserving the ISO/ANSI accreditation status of CompTIA Security+, CompTIA is required to come up with completely new exam questions after a certain period of time (regularly every 3 years). Changes are aiming to reflect the changing world of IT security, as well as aptitudes and work part necessities.

To that conclusion, they’re ceaselessly overhauling their performance-based questions (which are also called PBQs for short), which test a candidate’s capacity to fathom issues in a reenacted, virtual environment (e.g., a firewall, arrange graph, terminal window, or working framework) — see the CompTIA Sample PBQ Answer Key — that’s included at the side Multiple-Choice Questions (which are also called MCQs for short) within the CompTIA Security+ exam. 

The completely new CompTIA Security+ certification exam covers 5 major spaces rather than 6 as in the older version of the CompTIA Security+ certification exam. 

• The exam will center more on hot subjects in today’s IT world such as administration, compliance, operations, and occurrence response. 
• It centers on the significance of chance moderation, evaluating the cybersecurity pose of venture foundations, and securing cross-breed environments. 
• The CompTIA Security+ certification exam moreover incorporates a completely new accentuation on policy-based choices and security strategies, particularly as they relate to all pertinent laws.
• The most recent version of the CompTIA Security+ certification exam adaptation contains a longer exam targets record but really fewer targets: 35 exam goals compared to 37 on SY0-501. In reality, the latest version of the CompTIA Security+ certification exam simply adds about 25% more illustrations beneath each objective to assist candidates way better in getting the meaning of each one. Underneath may be a list of conceivable themes secured by performance-based questions: 

• Explain the security concerns related to different sorts of vulnerabilities, or diverse dangers on-screen characters, vectors, and insights sources. 
• Given a situation, analyze potential markers to decide the sort of assault related to systems and applications. 
• Understand the methods utilized in security appraisals, entrance testing, and social engineering. 
• Identify secure application improvement, arrangement, and mechanization concepts. 
• Explain the significance of security concepts in a venture environment, or with virtualization and cloud computing. 
• Clarify confirmation and authorization plan concepts. Identify the security suggestions of implanted and specialized frameworks.
• Provided a situation, execute cybersecurity resilience. 
• Knowledge of the significance of physical security controls.
• Acquainted with the essentials of cryptographic concepts. 
• Given a situation, actualize secure arrange plans, conventions, have or application security arrangements, as well as open key infrastructure. 
• Figure out how to introduce and design remote security settings. 
• Recognize secure versatile solutions. 
• Give subtle elements on how to apply cybersecurity arrangements to the cloud.
• Comprehend feature and account administration controls.
• Know the suitable instrument to evaluate organizational security. 
• Justify the request for approaches, forms, and methods for occurrence response. 
• Given an occurrence, utilize fitting information sources to back an examination, and apply moderation strategies or controls to secure an environment. 
• Describe the key viewpoints of computerized forensics. Knowledge of the significance of pertinent controls, benchmarks, or systems that affect organizational security posture. 
• Disclose chance administration forms and concepts. 
• Explain security and touchy information concepts in connection to security. 

What’s more, test-takers will experience hands-on investigating in guaranteeing candidates have commonsense security problem-solving aptitudes required to:

• Assess the IT pose of an undertaking environment and suggest and execute fitting security solutions. 
• Monitor and secure cross-breed situations, counting cloud, versatile, and IoT. 
• Operate with mindfulness of pertinent laws and arrangements, counting standards of administration, hazard, and compliance. Identify, analyze and react to security occasions and occurrences.

Read more >> Commands to know for Security+

How much are performance-based questions of the CompTIA Security+ worth?

Performance-based questions of the CompTIA Security+ certification exam are esteemed more than a regular multiple-choice address. Whereas CompTIA Security+ does not make the real esteem of any single Security+ question open, it is exceptionally anticipated that each question within the is worth a small more than 4% of the aggregate.

For illustration, in case the initial CompTIA Security+ certification exam has 100 multiple-choice questions and the completely new version of the CompTIA Security+ certification exam has 87 multiple-choice questions with three performance-based questions, these three performance-based questions might be worth almost 13% of the entire. In case you separate 13% by 3, it’s a small over 4.

Do they give partial credit for CompTIA Security+ performance based questions?

It isn’t clear or expressed by the CompTIA Security+ certification exam that they provide fractional credit. In truth, here is what is said within the PBQs: “There may be questions for which fractional credit as advertised. Be that as it may, exam questions and their scoring are private, so no assist data can be given with respect to which questions may offer halfway credit.”

What performance-based questions of CompTIA Security+ should I expect?

As the CompTIA security+ certification exam is overhauled frequently, it is troublesome to anticipate precise questions. In any case, here are a few sorts of questions that allegedly show up within the CompTIA security+ certification exam:

Coordinating: You can be asked to coordinate subjects with each other. For illustration, you might have a list of port numbers and a list of conventions, and after that be entrusted with coordinating the ports to the protocols. 

Diagram: You may be asked to press on a chart to choose something. As a basic case, you might see an organized chart with numerous gadgets and be inquired which gadget gives the leading security amid an assault.

Adjust arrange: You may well be inquired to orchestrate subjects into a particular arrangement. For illustration, a scientific examiner is required to know the arrange of instability for data and given a list to put it within the redress order: 

• Archive media
• Data in Slam, counting cache, and as of late utilized information and applications 
• Data in Smash, counting framework, and organize processes 
• Data put away on local disk drives 
• Logs put away on inaccessible systems 

Access Control List: You could be inquired to donate points of interest for the control list on a switch or firewall. For case, in case you require permitting a certain IP address, you might include an exemption within the Access Control List to permit activity from or to this IP address. 

Configure a WAP (Wireless Application Protocol): Networks commonly use remote get to focuses (WAPs) and arranging security with them could be a noteworthy aptitude to know. You ought to be able to design nuts and bolts such as:

• Alter the SSID Enable/disable 
• SSID broadcast 
• Enable MAC address filtering 
• Configure security such as WPA and WPA2 

Command incite: You could be inquired to realize an errand from the command incite. You may have got to a reenacted command provoke and be required to perform a particular assignment.

Read more >> CompTIA FAQ in 2022: What Should You Know About CompTIA?

Tips for CompTIA Security+ performance-based questions

A few CompTIA Security+ certification exams presently contain performance-based questions, which test an IT professional’s capacity to illuminate issues, in expansion to the conventional format of the multiple-choice questions. We inquired about CompTIA authorized preparing and substance accomplices, how they’re coordinating this organization into their preparation, and how all understudies can best get ready for the completely new questions. Here is their counsel.

Know what to expect

The format of the performance-based questions within the CompTIA Security+ certification exam included the side multiple-choice questions within the CompTIA Network+ and CompTIA Security+  exams. The CompTIA A+ 800 series exams, presented final year, incorporate types of performance-based questions. The 700 arrangements of the CompTIA exams don’t.

Multiple-choice questions in CompTIA Security+ certification exams require a test-taker to choose one or more rectified answers to a particular address, and the candidate clicks on the proper reply or answers. Be that as it may, performance-based questions require the candidate to perform an errand or illuminate an issue in recreated IT situations. For each CompTIA Security+ certification exam performance-based question, the exam prompts the test-takers to perform a particular errand or illuminate a particular issue. A recreated environment is at that point propelled in which the test-takers complete the desired steps.

Learn tasks

“There’s an enormous distinction between learning the substance so you’ll be able to perform the work and learning it to pass the CompTIA Security+ certification exam. In the event that you get ready to do the work, you ought to be able to pass the test.” “CompTIA is one of the leading at giving exceptionally comprehensive exam objective postings,” said Abernathy, who habitually takes the CompTIA Security+ certification exam.

“So I’ll take those destinations posting, say for the CompTIA A+, and I’ll think ‘I know the knowledge-based stuff for this—the speeds, the sizes, the number of bits—but how would I apply that information base in a real-world environment as a technician?'”

Without the appearance of the performance-based questions, a CompTIA Security+ certification exam taker may be able to successfully pass this IT exam by just memorizing information, said Abernathy. “Presently you have got to require that same fabric and utilize it.” “There’s a huge distinction between learning the substance so you’ll perform on the work and learning it to pass the CompTIA Security+ certification exam,” said Dusthimer, a previous preparing teacher who is presently editor-in-chief for certification at Pearson Instruction. In case you get ready to do the work, you ought to be able to pass the CompTIA Security+ certification exam.

Utilize what you have

Utilize any accessible hardware to assist learn the errands required for your CompTIA Security+ certification exam. “Most individuals have a tablet or a few sorts of PC, and broadband or DSL,” said Richard Millett, item lead and senior teacher for CompTIA Conveyance Accomplice Torch Preparing in London. “That’s adequate for them to do a part of what they’ll require.”

Take advantage of the Internet

Got to learn to do something for your CompTIA Security+ certification exam, but do not have the required equipment? Look at the official Web. Merchant websites, YouTube instructional exercises, and tech gatherings offer wealthy data approximately the components, advances, and forms found in exam goals. “In case you need to do something on a computer, someone someplace has done a YouTube video around it,” affirmed Millett.

Abernathy concurred, noticing that Microsoft’s TechNet Virtual Labs for Windows offers virtual situations in which to memorize particular Windows-related tasks—for completely free. “It’s not a locked-down environment,” Abernathy notes. “You’re playing around in a virtual Windows 7 machine, it means that you’ll do anything that’s conceivable inside the environment of the Windows 7.”

Get hands-on experience

“Understudies are progressing to have victory on the performance-based questions of the CompTIA Security+ certification exam in the event that they really practice the aptitudes,” affirmed John Walther, a specialized teacher for CompTIA Conveyance Partner Knowlogy in Tyson’s Corner, Va. “You certainly want to memorize and get the hypothesis, but you’ve got to be able to apply the hypothesis in hands-on experience— either in a mimicked environment, on your domestic computer practicing, or in a work environment.”

“CompTIA Security+ certification exam takers have to regularly practice what they’ve learned until it gets to be momentary so that when they see a specific question or a situation, they know precisely what another step would be to fathom the issue,” Dusthimer included.

Organize your study plan

When considering CompTIA Security+ certification exams with performance-based questions, test-takers “ought to be able to think more broadly,” affirmed Millett. “They can’t pack actualities; they need to connect truths together.” For illustration: In this case, would you know how to plan and execute an essential SOHO organization based on a foreordained list of prerequisites? “Foot line, candidates need to pay a parcel more consideration,” Millett affirmed.

When examining for CompTIA Security+ certification exams, Abernathy makes charts and bullet records of data. For case, charting the common organizing conventions, cable sorts and their highlights can assist you to become more comfortable with the desired studying materials. Some of the time those charts and records can be found in study materials or online, but making your possession can assist you way better keeping in mind the data.

Read more >> 7 Best Security Plus Study Material You Should Consider

Utilize practice  tests

CompTIA Security+ certification practice exams can moreover be exceptionally valuable in planning for these IT exams. “The truly great practice exams are exceptionally comparative to what candidates are aiming to see within the CompTIA Security+ certification tests—not the same questions, but the same sorts of questions covering the same subjects,” Dusthimer noted.

Kaplan’s Abernathy empowers CompTIA Security+ certification test-takers to penetrate down within the CompTIA Security+ certification practice tests and any assets or instructional exercises they might contain. For illustration, Kaplan’s practice exams clarify the proper reply, provide reasons why the erroneous reply is inaccurate and might dig more profound into the subject matter. “In case you center on the address, you’re lost all this additional stuff,” she said.

Commit to scheduling the test

“I would suggest all my understudies: After you think you’re prepared, plan your CompTIA Security+ certification exam a month out, at least 45 days out,” said Pearson’s Dusthimer. “At that point spend another month going back through all the materials, the systems of performance-based tests practicing once more and once more. Take more CompTIA Security+ certification exam practice tests, or the test system works out, and re-read the chapters.”

Plan your CompTIA Security+ certification exam and commit to planning for it, according to Aima Rotella, senior chief of Substance Improvement at Kaplan IT Certification Planning. “Something else, with so much data out there, you’ll think about 10, 12 months and never see the interior of a CompTIA Security+ certification exam room.”

The CompTIA Security+ certification exams’ PBQs are actual serious problem for the majority of test takers. But, you can succeed in passing the Security+ performance-based questions if you pack yourself with knowledge, skills, and practice.