Skip to content
EDWartens UK

Free course · Cybersecurity

CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) Exam Prep

Prepare for CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 with Professor Messer's complete free video course: every exam objective across the five domains, with EDWartens notes, worked calculations, practice questions and an optional security project. Exam preparation only: the EDWartens certificate is not the CompTIA Security+ certification, which is earned only by passing CompTIA's exam.

See the modules

Free to learn. Verifiable certificate £19 when you pass the final exam (optional, VAT included).

Level
Beginner
Modules
13
Video
19 hours
Price
Free

Outcome

What you will be able to do

Explain every SY0-701 objective in the exam's own vocabulary: security controls and concepts, cryptography and PKI, threat actors and social engineering, vulnerabilities and attacks, mitigations and secure architecture, data protection and resilience, hardening, vulnerability management, monitoring, identity and access, incident response, and governance, risk and compliance; calculate SLE and ALE; and apply the concepts in a small-office security assessment.

  • Classify security controls and explain CIA, AAA and zero trust
  • Explain PKI, encryption, hashing and digital signatures
  • Recognise threat actors, vectors, social engineering and attacks
  • Match vulnerabilities to their controls and read indicators of compromise
  • Place firewalls, IPS, proxies and zones in a secure architecture
  • Protect data in every state and plan RTO, RPO and backups
  • Run vulnerability management, monitoring, IAM and incident response
  • Calculate SLE and ALE and choose a risk strategy

Software

None required. A free virtual lab (for example a Linux virtual machine) is useful for the project.

Hardware

Any computer with a browser.

Syllabus

13 modules

Each module has video lessons, notes and a short quiz. The final exam closes the course.

  1. 1How the Security+ exam works1 lesson
  2. 2Security controls and fundamental concepts (1.1 to 1.2)8 lessons
  3. 3Change management and cryptography (1.3 to 1.4)10 lessons
  4. 4Threat actors, vectors and social engineering (2.1 to 2.2)6 lessons
  5. 5Types of vulnerability (2.3)14 lessons
  6. 6Malicious activity and indicators (2.4)15 lessons
  7. 7Mitigation and security architecture (2.5 to 3.2)13 lessonsLab
  8. 8Protecting data and building resilience (3.3 to 3.4)8 lessonsLab
  9. 9Hardening, assets and vulnerability management (4.1 to 4.3)11 lessons
  10. 10Monitoring, tools and enterprise security (4.4 to 4.5)9 lessonsLab
  11. 11Identity, automation and incident response (4.6 to 4.9)9 lessonsLab
  12. 12Governance, risk and compliance (5.1 to 5.6)17 lessons
  13. 13Final Assessment0 lessons

How it works

How this course works

  1. Watch the video lessonsOne module at a time, at your own pace.
  2. Take the module quizA short quiz at the end of each module shows what stuck.
  3. Keep your notesWrite in My notes beside each module and ask the trainer if you are stuck.
  4. Practise in the labOptionalTry a task from the module in the EDWartens Lab, in your browser.
  5. Sit the final examPass it once you have been through the modules.
  6. Certificate, if you want oneOptionalPaid, and only after you pass. Anyone can check it online.

EDWartens Lab

Practise this in the EDWartens Lab

Practise firewall rules, backups, log reading and incident order in the OT security lab; the same ideas apply to office networks, so you see them work, not only read them.

Works alongside CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) Exam Prep. The Lab is ot security practice in your browser: no install, no hardware, free to use. Sign in as a learner and it opens with your account.

Open the free lab See the Lab
OT security: Defend a plant network.

Levels to try with this course

Optional. Skip it whenever you like: it never blocks your progress or your certificate.

Why practise in a lab

Technical work is judged on what you can do: wiring, commissioning, finding a fault. Doing a task yourself teaches more than watching it a second time, and a lab lets you try it safely before you meet real equipment. It does not replace working on real hardware.

  • Practise safely, so a mistake costs nothing.
  • The lab checks your work like a site test, so you know when it is right.
  • Free, in your browser, with nothing to install.

Certificate

An optional certificate when you pass

Learning is free. Pass the final exam and you can have a certificate for £19, including VAT, with a number employers can check online. It records that you completed a free online course; it is not a regulated qualification or a CPD certificate.

  • Your name, the course, its study time and your final exam score
  • A unique certificate number and a QR code to its verification page
  • Issued by Wartens Ltd; add it to your LinkedIn profile in one click
  • Pay now or after you pass: it is issued the moment you pass the final

How the certificate works

Sample certificate for CompTIA Security+ (SY0-701) Exam Prep

Credits

Who made the lessons

The video lessons belong to their creators. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, quizzes and the final exam.

  • Professor Messer

    the complete free CompTIA SY0-701 Security+ Training Course, every lesson in this course

Questions

About this course

Is this the official Security+ course?
No. It is an independent free course built on Professor Messer's free SY0-701 videos, credited on every module. CompTIA and Security+ are trademarks of CompTIA, and neither CompTIA nor Professor Messer is affiliated with EDWartens.
Does passing this course give me the Security+ certification?
No. The certification is awarded only by passing CompTIA's exam, booked and paid for through CompTIA. This course prepares you for it and gives you an EDWartens certificate of completion.
Does it cover every exam objective?
Yes. The course follows Professor Messer's complete SY0-701 series, which covers every objective across the five domains, in 12 teaching modules.
How long does it take?
About 19 hours of lessons, notes and practice questions, plus about 10 hours for the project. Spread over several weeks, with time for revision, is a realistic plan before booking the exam.
Do I need experience?
No, though basic networking knowledge helps. CompTIA recommends some IT experience before sitting the exam itself.
Is the course really free?
Yes. Every module, the notes, the 130 practice questions, the project and the final assessment. The only paid item is the EDWartens certificate, if you want it.
Is SY0-701 still the current exam?
Yes, as of September 2026. CompTIA expects to launch Security+ V8 (SY0-801) on or around 17 November 2026, and SY0-701 stays available for a period after that, so check CompTIA's retirement date before you book.
What is the project?
A security assessment of a 25-person accounting office in Geelong, Australia: an asset list, a risk register with SLE and ALE figures, an incident response procedure and a prioritised report mapped to the five exam domains. It doubles as a revision checklist and a portfolio piece.

The Professional Module is five live days of Siemens PLC, HMI and SCADA with an instructor, then a resume session and a CPD certificate.

See the Professional Module