
Network scanning refers to the use of a computer network to gather information regarding computing systems. Network scanning is mainly used for security assessment, system maintenance, and also for performing attacks by hackers.
Network scanning is an important part of network security that any system administrator must be comfortable with. Network scanning usually consists of a port scanner and vulnerability scanner.
Here we are listing the top 4 Network Vulnerability Scanners:
1) Netsparker Application Security Scanner
Netsparker finds and reports web application vulnerabilities such as SQL Injection and Cross-site Scripting (XSS) on all types of web applications, regardless of the platform and technology they are built with. Netsparker’s unique and dead accurate Proof-Based Scanning Technology does not just report vulnerabilities, it also produces a Proof of Concept(POC) to confirm they are not false positives.
Basically there are two version of Netsparker tool are available –
- a) Netsparker Desktop Scanner – Netsparker Desktop is available as a Windows application and is an easy-to-use web application security scanner that uses the advanced Proof-Based vulnerability scanning technology and has built-in penetration testing and reporting tools.
Download Demo – https://www.netsparker.com/web-vulnerability-scanner/download/
- b) Netsparker Cloud Scanner – Netsparker Cloud is a scalable multi-user online web application security scanning solution. It uses the unique Proof-Based Scanning Technology and has built-in enterprise workflow tools to help enterprises scan and manage the security of 100s and 1000s of websites.
Try Online Scan – https://www.netsparker.com/web-vulnerability-scanner/download/
2) Nexpose
Nexpose is one of the leading vulnerability assessment tools. The Nexpose community edition is a free program and the other editions are paid ones.
Rapid7 Nexpose is a vulnerability scanner which aims to support the entire vulnerability management lifecycle, including discovery, detection, verification, risk classification, impact analysis, reporting and mitigation. It integrates with Rapid7’s Metasploit for vulnerability exploitation.
Free Trial – https://www.rapid7.com/products/nexpose/download/
3) Nessus
Nessus is a remote security scanning tool, which scans a computer and raises an alert if it discovers any vulnerabilities that malicious hackers could use to gain access to any computer you have connected to a network.
Nessus is a proprietary vulnerability scanner developed by Tenable Network Security. It is free of charge for personal use in a non-enterprise environment.
According to surveys done in 2009 by sectools.org, Nessus is the world’s most popular vulnerability scanner, taking first place in the 2000, 2003, and 2006 security tools survey. Tenable Network Security estimated in 2005 that it was used by over 75,000 organizations worldwide.
Free Trial – https://www.tenable.com/products/nessus/nessus-professional/evaluate
Nessus allows scans for the following types of vulnerabilities:
- Vulnerabilities that allow a remote hacker to control or access sensitive data on a system.
- Misconfiguration (e.g. open mail relay, missing patches, etc.).
- Default passwords, a few common passwords, and blank/absent passwords on some system accounts. Nessus can also call Hydra (an external tool) to launch a dictionary attack.
- Denials of service against the TCP/IP stack by using malformed packets
- Preparation for PCI DSS audits
4) OpenVAS
OpenVAS is a framework of several services and tools offering a comprehensive and powerful vulnerability scanning and vulnerability management solution. The framework is part of Greenbone Networks’ commercial vulnerability management solution from which developments are contributed to the Open Source community since 2009.
OpenVAS (Open Vulnerability Assessment System, originally known as GNessUs) is a software framework of several services and tools offering vulnerability scanning and vulnerability management.
You may also like:Try OpenVAS in Virtual Machine – http://www.openvas.org/vm.html
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