Woohoo!!!

I passed the new Cloud+ beta exam! No studying, just winged it! Close one...7 points.

Hello, does anyone know for sure what is happening with the CTT+ being discontinued? any replacements? thanks.

There is a TTT session currently underway, that is being masterfully delivered RJ!!!

In the list of exams objectives below, which do you recall being discussed thus far?
Of course, you can only respond to this if you've been in attendance for the first five
sessions.

• t-tests
• Chi-squared test
• Analysis of variance (ANOVA)
• Hypothesis testing
• Confidence intervals
• Regression performance metrics
- R2
- Adjusted R2
- Root mean square error (RMSE)
- F statistic
• Gini index
• Entropy
• Information gain
• p value
• Type I and Type II errors
• Receiver operating characteristic/
area under the curve (ROC/AUC)
• Akaike information criterion/
Bayesian information criterion
(AIC/BIC)
• Correlation coefficients
- Pearson correlation
- Spearman correlation
• Confusion matrix
- Classifier performance metrics
o Accuracy
o Recall
o Precision
o F1 score
o Matthews Correlation
Coefficient (MCC)
• Central limit theorem
• Law of large numbers

Hello everyone,

I’m excited to share that I’ve recently taken on a part-time role as an IT Instructor in the Department of Computer Studies at a State University, alongside my work as a Freelance CompTIA Trainer. With 15 years of experience in IT operations support, I’m looking forward to leveraging this experience in my new role.

I’m considering proposing the integration of CompTIA A+ and Network+ training into our university curriculum. I understand that CompTIA training can be delivered in various formats, ranging from intensive bootcamps to more extended programs over several weeks, I am interested in adapting this content into a longer-term academic format that aligns with our semester schedule. Given our state university's very tight budget, I am exploring whether this adaptation is feasible and how it can be aligned with CompTIA’s guidelines and conditions.

If anyone has experience with integrating CompTIA certifications into an academic program, particularly within budget constraints, or knows if CompTIA offers semester-long formats for these certifications, I would greatly appreciate your advice and insights.

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I am seeking an experienced IT instructor to teach A+ through Security+ certifications. The position is based at a school in the San Fernando Valley, near Los Angeles, California.

If you or someone you know is interested, please reach out for more details.

Thank you!

I have a scenario where I am being asked which two certs would be most valuable and which would be most beneficial for career changers transitioning from the military.

In your humble opinion, which would be the two that would make them the most valuable and job ready?

It was already suggested Sec+, and Cloud+

Can you let me know, your thoughts?

Hi,

I’m experiencing some permission issues while trying to follow the instructions in the lab. For example, one of the questions says, “Select the New Folder icon to create a working directory folder titled Example at the path /home/coder/DataX/Lab01/Example.”

I cannot read or write to the DataX directories, but I noticed that I can write to the parent (coder) directory. See the image below. Does anyone know how I could resolve these issues? Your help will be greatly appreciated.

I'm currently participating in the train-the-trainer sessions for the N10-009 certification series as a new IT freelance trainer. I'm excited to learn and prepare for delivering quality sessions next month. Will there be access to the CompTIA instructor guide for N10-009 during these sessions?

Your insights and expertise from the train-the-trainer series would be greatly appreciated! Thanks a ton for your help.

Fake reviews waste time and money​

Earlier this month, the US Federal Trade Commission banned fake reviews. FTC Chair Linda M Khan reported: “Fake reviews not only waste people’s time and money, but also pollute the marketplace and divert business away from honest competitors. By strengthening the FTC’s toolkit to fight deceptive advertising, the final rule will protect Americans from getting cheated, put businesses that unlawfully game the system on notice, and promote markets that are fair, honest, and competitive.”

In real-world terms, advertisers cannot buy fake reviews to help promote a movie. This includes both positive and negative reviews. But wait there’s more. This also includes reviews and testimonials from someone that does not exist. You guessed it, I am talking about AI here. The FTC feels AI-generated reviews are fake reviews. These are banned. I am quoting from https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/new...-final-rule-banning-fake-reviews-testimonials

The FTC has declared…​

Fake or False Consumer Reviews, Consumer Testimonials, and Celebrity Testimonials: The final rule addresses reviews and testimonials that misrepresent that they are by someone who does not exist, such as AI-generated fake reviews, or who did not have actual experience with the business or its products or services, or that misrepresent the experience of the person giving it. It prohibits businesses from creating or selling such reviews or testimonials. It also prohibits them from buying such reviews, procuring them from company insiders, or disseminating such testimonials, when the business knew or should have known that the reviews or testimonials were fake or false.

Buying Positive or Negative Reviews: The final rule prohibits businesses from providing compensation or other incentives conditioned on the writing of consumer reviews expressing a particular sentiment, either positive or negative. It clarifies that the conditional nature of the offer of compensation or incentive may be expressly or implicitly conveyed.

Insider Reviews and Consumer Testimonials: The final rule prohibits certain reviews and testimonials written by company insiders that fail to clearly and conspicuously disclose the giver’s material connection to the business. It prohibits such reviews and testimonials given by officers or managers. It also prohibits a business from disseminating such a testimonial that the business should have known was by an officer, manager, employee, or agent. Finally, it imposes requirements when officers or managers solicit consumer reviews from their own immediate relatives or from employees or agents – or when they tell employees or agents to solicit reviews from relatives and such solicitations result in reviews by immediate relatives of the employees or agents.

Company-Controlled Review Websites: The final rule prohibits a business from misrepresenting that a website or entity it controls provides independent reviews or opinions about a category of products or services that includes its own products or services.

Review Suppression: The final rule prohibits a business from using unfounded or groundless legal threats, physical threats, intimidation, or certain false public accusations to prevent or remove a negative consumer review. The final rule also bars a business from misrepresenting that the reviews on a review portion of its website represent all or most of the reviews submitted when reviews have been suppressed based upon their ratings or negative sentiment.

Misuse of Fake Social Media Indicators: The final rule prohibits anyone from selling or buying fake indicators of social media influence, such as followers or views generated by a bot or hijacked account. This prohibition is limited to situations in which the buyer knew or should have known that the indicators were fake and misrepresent the buyer’s influence or importance for a commercial purpose.

We’ve all seen fake reviews​

Anybody who ever felt they were reading online reviews were fake reviews and/or purchased, your voice has been heard. Fake reviews are now banned. Same with paid reviews, which I could argue are fake, BTW.

More​

AI ain’t so tough. See https://cybersafetynet.net/category/ai/ to help understand and use Artificial intelligence.

A private college on the West-Rand, Gauteng, South Africa is looking for a CompTIA Security+ Instructor for Saturday face-to-face courses.

If interested, please let me know.

I am about to start preparing for the Security+ exam. Is there any suggestions of study tools to use? Or any advice on preparing and taking it?

AI Disclosure necessity​

I added a global AI disclosure to my website. You should too. My disclosure is:

Some content here is generated by AI. The views expressed are the author's opinion and not legal advice. The author is not a lawyer. You are an adult and responsible for anything you do.

Click to expand...

Why you should disclose AI usage too​

As a content creator (we are all content creators, BTW), you might be wondering why you should include AI disclosure statements in anything you publish. Here are five reasons:

• Build Trust and Transparency. With an open AI disclosure, you build trust with your audience. When you inform them that some content comes from AI, you demonstrate transparency in your creative process, which strengthens your relationship with readers.
• Embrace Ethical Responsibility. Open disclosure shows that you take responsibility for your work. Clarifying which parts of your content are created by AI and which are your own enhances your credibility and highlights your commitment to integrity.
• Stay Ahead of Legal Trends. While AI disclosure may not be legally required yet, regulations are evolving. By including a disclosure now, you prepare yourself for future legal changes, helping you avoid potential complications down the road.
• Protect Your Creative Rights. Remember that AI-generated content cannot be copyrighted. By clearly distinguishing between your own creations and AI-generated material, you protect your intellectual property and safeguard your creative rights.
• Combat Misinformation. In an age where misinformation spreads rapidly, AI disclosure helps your audience identify what’s real and what’s not. Your commitment to accuracy resonates with readers and enhances their trust in your content.

Over disclosing is better than under disclosing​

A realtor told me I am better off over disclosing than under disclosing. I was selling a home at the time, but I think the strategy still works here. Including open AI disclosure allows you to build trust, embrace ethics, stay compliant with regulations, protect your rights, and contribute to a more informed community. This simple practice can significantly impact how your audience perceives your work! For more AI wisdom, see https://cybersafetynet.net.

Before I forget..."Some content here is generated by AI. The views expressed are the author's opinion and not legal advice. The author is not a lawyer. You are an adult and responsible for anything you do."

More​

AI ain't so tough. See https://cybersafetynet.net/category/ai/ to help understand and use Artificial intelligence.

The folks at Black Hills Information Security are making their fantastic Infosec Survival Guide available for educators at no charge. See this post at LinkedIn for details.

For years, we've been an academy partner with CompTIA, and we've been able to purchase vouchers using an online pdf submission form.
It looks like this...



But now, pearsonvue is saying our Partner ID number is invalid, and we need to contact CompTIA.
Should we send an email to [email protected]?
Our partner certificate shows we are valid until August 31, 2025.
Thanks!

Do any of you know of any schools that are currently providing online curriculum with interactive lab components to students with limited mobility?

We have 2 incoming students who have very limited mobility capability (I believe they both have CP.)

Is there something along the lines of a speech-controlled product that you have seen integrated with TestOut or other online curriculum in other schools?

Who’s at partner summit? Make sure to say hi if you see me.

Hello CIN:

So, given that we have taken on some new CIN members this week for Partner Summit as well as over the last month, this post is ONLY for posters that have less than 20 posts total. Anyone can like, but for this thread, I'm asking only new members to post. Let's see who comes up!

Suggested Reply Ideas

1) Who are you, for whom do you teach/work?

2) What is your current certification that you're working?

3) What kind of success stories do you have from where you're working?

In short, this is a "getting to know you" post. But as I said, it's only for the newbies in CIN - to get them posting.

Let's hear it!

/r

It's been an incredibly busy and haphazard last few months and I just hadn't had the time or headspace to go back and review. Finally speed-ran back through both the TTT and the Dion course and managed to pass yesterday with about six hours of validity left on the voucher. ?

Hello everyone,

I have students asking about the course, if it will be updated. Anyone have any info?

Hi gang,

I want to follow-up the Partner Conference Atlanta Practical AI for Instructors: Lessons Learned session from Thursday August 1. This time, I am talking about refining prompts.

Use and in your AI prompt chain to refine the responses​

You can use and in your AI prompts to refine the responses your favorite AI engine gives you. I am using Perplexity.AI, which lets you follow-up prompts. You may prompt Perplexity “tell me the 10 largest cities in the United States,” get the response and follow-up with “and tell me each city’s population from the 2020 census.”


Perplexity.AI lets you follow-up prompts.

CIA Triad in Cybersecurity​

Let’s step into the world of cybersecurity. I am showing how to tweak Perplexity AI’s response to “Tell me about the CIA Triad in cybersecurity.” Perplexity. AI replies with:

The CIA Triad is a fundamental model in cybersecurity, representing three core principles: Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability. These principles guide the development and implementation of security policies and practices to protect information within organizations.

Click to expand...

Perplexity also gives me headings and supporting paragraphs for Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability.

I follow-up by prompting “and write at a 6th grade reading level” This basically means creating shorter sentences with shorter words, thus making the response more understandable. Please see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flesch–Kincaid_readability_tests for more. Perplexity’s response begins with:

Sure! Here’s an explanation of the CIA Triad in cybersecurity at a 6th-grade reading level:…

Click to expand...

Perplexity’s new response is easier to read and more conversational….

I follow-up with “and in under 250 words.” Perplexity returns a shorter response. So far, we are prompting:

• Tell me about the CIA Triad in cybersecurity.
• and write at a 6th grade reading level
• and in under 250 words

But wait, there’s more. I follow-up further with “and give me this information in bullet points.” Perplexity. AI delivers, with a response in bullet points. Each heading has four entries. I prefer three. Therefore…

I follow-up with “and make sure each bullet point list has only three entries.” I get bullet points again, but this time each entry has only three supporting entries. All the text looks the same. Therefore…

Final Result​

I follow-up with “and bold the first word in each bullet point entry.” Perplexity gives me a final result I can embrace and utilize elsewhere. That response is:

CIA Triad in Cybersecurity

• Confidentiality
  • Keeps sensitive information safe and private.
  • Ensures only authorized people can access important data.
  • Uses tools like passwords and encryption for protection.
• Integrity
  • Ensures information is accurate and trustworthy.
  • Protects data from being altered by unauthorized users.
  • Uses tools like checksums and hashes to verify data remains unchanged.
• Availability
  • Ensures information and systems are accessible when needed.
  • Makes sure websites and online services work properly.
  • Aims to prevent downtime and ensure users can access resources without issues.

Click to expand...

With and follow-up prompts, you too can follow-up Perplexity. AI responses and generate verbiage you can embrace and use elsewhere.

Thread​

I am sharing the entire thread at: https://www.perplexity.ai/search/tell-me-about-the-cia-triad-in-cggSS5XETk6.l.AlF0T9Uw#5. You can get a Perplexity Pro $10 discount at https://perplexity.ai/pro?referral_code=Z5IL6KZ7.

More​

AI ain't so tough. See https://cybersafetynet.net/category/ai/ to help understand and use Artificial intelligence.

Join the CompTIA Instructor Network and special guest RJ Sak as he leads the DataX TTT series using the CompTIA CertMaster Learn content. RJ will cover the exam objectives and provide hands-on examples as you strengthen your Data analytics skills. We will discuss how to cover the content with students and suggest various labs to let students gain hands-on experience as they prepare for certification.

What: CIN TTT Series DataX DY0-001 10 sessions
When: Aug 12 - Sept 16, 2024, 7:00 - 9:00 PM Central Daylight Time, Monday and Wednesday
Who: RJ Sak
Where: ON24
REGISTER HERE

Hi gang,

I want to follow-up the Partner Conference Atlanta Practical AI for Instructors: Lessons Learned session from Thursday August 1.

I asked an AI engine to generate content yesterday. One small change in my prompt created a result with a vastly different result, tone and verbiage. Armed with this knowledge, I am arguing plagiarism checkers will not generate consistent results on AI-generated content.

My client has all users logging into their Windows 11 workstations with the same password. Danger, Danger, Danger, I know. I asked perplexity to generate content I can share with the client, promoting creating user-specific passwords.

My first prompt was​

“why should a company with 5 computer users have unique passwords for each user and in under 300 words and include bullet points and in a friendly tone and written from the perspective of a cybersecurity consultant”

The first answer was​

“As a cybersecurity consultant, I'd strongly recommend unique passwords for each user in your 5-person company. Here's why, in a friendly and concise manner:

• Enhanced Security: Unique passwords significantly reduce the risk of a widespread breach. If one password is compromised, only that account is at risk, not your entire system.
• Accountability: Individual passwords allow you to track who accessed what and when. This is crucial for maintaining data integrity and resolving any issues that may arise.
• Compliance: Many industries require unique user identification for regulatory compliance, such as HIPAA in healthcare.
• Easier Management: While it might seem simpler to have one password, individual accounts actually make it easier to manage access rights and revoke them when needed.
• Personal Responsibility: Users tend to be more careful with their own unique passwords, leading to better overall security practices.
• Flexibility: Different access levels can be assigned to different users based on their roles and needs.

To make this manageable, consider:

• Implementing a password manager for your team
• Using multi-factor authentication for an extra layer of security
• Creating a clear password policy that everyone understands and follows Remember, good cybersecurity is about layers of protection. Unique passwords are a simple yet effective layer that can significantly boost your company's digital defenses. It's a small change that can make a big difference in protecting your valuable data and systems.

My second prompt requested only 5 bullet points​

“why should a company with 5 computer users have unique passwords for each user and in under 300 words and include 5 bullet points and in a friendly tone and written from the perspective of a cybersecurity consultant”

The second answer was vastly different​

“Hey there! As a cybersecurity consultant, I'm excited to share why unique passwords for each of your 5 users are a game-changer for your company's security. Let's dive into the top reasons:

• Fortress-like Protection: Unique passwords act like individual locks for each user. If one lock gets picked, the others stay secure. This means a single compromised password won't give hackers the keys to your entire kingdom!
• Sherlock-Level Tracking: With unique passwords, you can easily track who did what and when. It's like having a digital detective on your team, helping you solve any mysterious activities quickly and efficiently.
• Regulation High-Five: Many industry regulations love unique passwords. By implementing them, you're not just boosting security, you're also giving a thumbs up to compliance requirements. It's a win-win!
• Personal Security Superheroes: When users have their own passwords, they tend to become more security-conscious. It's like giving each team member their own superhero cape – they'll feel more responsible for protecting their digital identity.
• Flexible Access Control: Unique passwords allow you to tailor access levels for each user. It's like having a VIP list for your data – you decide who gets the all-access pass and who gets the standard ticket.

Remember, implementing unique passwords doesn't have to be a headache. Password managers can make this process smooth and simple for everyone.”

Small change​

All I did was request 5 bullet points. The result is vastly different. My proposals do not promise “Fortress-like Protection,” “Sherlock-Level Tracking” and Regulation High-Five.” I may submit the second result to a teacher or academic journal while someone else submits the first result. No teacher could accuse anyone of copying each other. The tone is widely divergent.

I ran the second prompt again this morning. Widely divergent results, again. Seeing that we get widely divergent results, teachers and academic journals cannot generate sufficient evidence for plagiarism. Prompts are highly similar. Results are not. AI wins. Plagiarism checkers lose.

More​

AI ain't so tough. See https://cybersafetynet.net/category/ai/ to help understand and use Artificial intelligence.

Took my exams DataSys+ today and passed. The TTT for DataSys+ really helped. ??

Team, I passed the new Network+ (N10-009)!

Let's talk...80 questions, which consisted of 6, let me repeat that, 6 PBQs.

Time will be a problem for most testers, in my opinion. I flagged the 6 PBQs and went right to the multiple choice questions. Since I have experience and teach this content, I was able to buy time by getting through the multiple-choice questions fast. Even by doing that, I still had a couple of minutes left after rushing through the PBQs.

Since more PBQs were added, I suggest reducing the amount of multiple choice questions for time purposes, or, reduce the amount of PBQs.

What do you think?

I am trying to purchase or getting access for Security+ 701 instructor notes and ebook from https://global-store.comptia.org/.
It seem not to have any instructor notes any more. How do i access it?


Thanks