Free CompTIA certification study resources from Professor Messer — and how to use them effectively.
Category: Security
Who is Professor Messer?
Professor James Messer provides completely free video training courses for CompTIA certifications including A+, Network+, Security+, and CySA+. His courses are used by hundreds of thousands of IT professionals worldwide.
Free Resources Available
- Video courses — Full exam objective coverage, free on YouTube and his website
- Study groups — Monthly live study group sessions (free)
- Exam tips — Video walkthroughs of what to expect on each exam
- Course notes — PDF notes for purchase (affordable)
Recommended Study Path
- CompTIA A+ — Start here for IT fundamentals (hardware, OS, networking basics)
- CompTIA Network+ — Covers TCP/IP, routing, VLANs, wireless, and troubleshooting
- CompTIA Security+ — Entry-level security certification, DoD 8140 baseline (IAT Level II)
- CompTIA CySA+ — Intermediate blue team / threat analysis
Effective Study Tips
- Watch each video, then pause and explain the concept in your own words
- Use free practice tests from ExamCompass and Quizlet
- Build a lab: use VirtualBox or AWS Free Tier to practice hands-on
- Take notes in your own words — don’t just re-read slides
Sysadmin Certs Beyond CompTIA
- RHCSA/RHCE — Red Hat Linux (highly respected in enterprise)
- AWS Solutions Architect Associate — Cloud fundamentals
- HashiCorp Terraform Associate — IaC certification