I have been writing review for many technical security books in the recent past, so this time I thought of picking up certification related book. I generally don’t value these security certifications. Though these certifications do not add any greater value to ones technical knowledge but they certainly help anyone in getting ahead in the job race. With that note, today I will be writing brief review about one of the best reference book for CISSP exam.

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The book, “CISSP – All in One Exam Guide” has been all time hit book for studying and conquering the CISSP exam which is hailed as one of the prized security certifications in the industry. The book currently being in its fifth edition itself signifies its effectiveness in attaching CISSP flag to most security men out there.

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Here is the core information about the book,

Title: CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide (5th Edition)
Author: Shon Harris
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media
Hardcover: 1216 pages
Release Date: Jan 15, 2010 (5th Edition)
Rating(Amazon):

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Here is the table of contents

Chapter 1. Becoming a CISSP
Chapter 2. Security Trends
Chapter 3. Information Security and Risk Management
Chapter 4. Access Control
Chapter 5. Security Architecture and Design
Chapter 6. Physical and Environmental Security
Chapter 7. Telecommunications and Network Security
Chapter 8. Cryptography
Chapter 9. Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
Chapter 10. Legal, Regulations, Compliance, and Investigations
Chapter 11. Application Security
Chapter 12. Operations Security
Appendix A. Security Content Automation Protocol Overview
Appendix B. About the CD-ROM

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It starts with introduction to CISSP offering tips and guidance on effectively using this book to clear the exam.  Slowly it gets into explaining basic security issues and risk aspects to the organization. Chapters 7 & 8 on Networking & Cryptography adds a bit of excitation in the middle compared to previous chapters. I found chapter 10 on legal terms most boring one as I hate anything related to law. You may feel better if you are a law freak ;). Then it covers on Application Security in detail by getting into Web Security, Mobile Devices, Distributed Computing and even Artificial Neural Networks !

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The book comes with a CD ROM which is highly valuable as it contains 100’s of questions for practice, video training by author and an e-book copy which you can gift it to a friend 🙂

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Note that this is not one of those pure technical books which you will enjoy reading in addition to enhancing your tech knowledge. But it is definitely a very good reference for CISSP exam.

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Though there is no significant difference between editions, it is always good to get latest edition. My personal opinion is that no book is ever expensive; The knowledge and returns you get from the good book is not comparable to anything. Often we waste money in other pursuits which is often not worth at all. Some one has said, “When there is a book beside you, You are never alone” !

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Finally to conclude, This book is one stop guide for any Security Professional to clear the most acclaimed CISSP exam in one shot !

eBook Download Link: http://hotfile.com/dl/35013099/1667f77/0071602178_CISSP5th.rar.html

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