Nessus

Nessus

Nessus is a vulnerability scanner used to scan networks and systems for security vulnerabilities. It is one of the most popular vulnerability assessment tools.
Nessus image
vulnerability-scanning network-security penetration-testing

Nessus: Vulnerability Scanner

Vulnerability scanning tool for network and system security assessments, used by top organizations globally

What is Nessus?

Nessus is a comprehensive vulnerability scanning software developed by Tenable. It is used to scan networks, operating systems, web applications, databases, and other systems for vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers.

Some key features of Nessus include:

  • Ability to perform high-speed discovery, mapping, and assessment of vulnerabilities across networks, endpoints, web apps, cloud infrastructure, and more
  • Broad range of vulnerability checks including malware, misconfigurations, missing patches, and exploitable bugs
  • Prioritized remediation guidance, compliance checks, and scoring to enable cost-effective security
  • Intuitive web interface and customizable reporting for sharing findings with stakeholders
  • Frequent updates with latest vulnerability data from Tenable Research
  • Integrations with other security products via APIs and endpoints
  • Compliance checks for standards like PCI DSS, HIPAA, ISO 27001, and more

Nessus is used by over 30,000 organizations globally including Fortune 500 companies. It is known for its depth of coverage, scanning accuracy, and ease of deployment and use.

Nessus Features

Features

  1. Vulnerability scanning
  2. Compliance auditing
  3. Web application scanning
  4. Malware detection
  5. Configuration auditing

Pricing

  • Subscription-Based

Pros

Wide range of vulnerability checks

User-friendly interface

Regular plugin updates

Integrates with other Tenable products

Can customize scans and policies

Cons

Limited mobile device scanning

No built-in remediation capabilities

Some advanced features require additional purchase


The Best Nessus Alternatives

Top Security & Privacy and Vulnerability Scanner and other similar apps like Nessus


OpenVAS icon

OpenVAS

OpenVAS (Open Vulnerability Assessment System) is a free and open source vulnerability scanner and vulnerability management solution. It can perform network vulnerability tests, system configuration audits and vulnerability detection using the Network Vulnerability Tests (NVT) rules. OpenVAS provides complete tests coverage for IT vulnerabilities with over 50,000 NVTs for vulnerabilities...
OpenVAS image
Metasploit icon

Metasploit

Metasploit is an open source penetration testing framework used by cybersecurity professionals to test the security of an organization's networks and applications. It enables ethical hackers and security teams to identify potential weaknesses and vulnerabilities in a system before they are exploited by malicious actors.Some key features of Metasploit include:Database...
Metasploit image
Acunetix icon

Acunetix

Acunetix is a comprehensive web application security testing tool used to detect vulnerabilities and security issues in web applications and services. It features an automated web vulnerability scanner that can crawl and test websites, APIs, and web services to identify SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), misconfigurations, and other security flaws.Key...
Acunetix image
Armitage icon

Armitage

Armitage is a graphical cyber attack platform that provides a graphical interface for the Metasploit Framework. It is designed to help automate common tasks in Metasploit and improve workflows for security professionals and hackers.Some key features of Armitage include:Graphical user interface for Metasploit instead of having to use the command...
Nuclei icon

Nuclei

Nuclei is an open-source web security scanning tool developed by Project Discovery. It is designed to send customizable HTTP requests to web applications and APIs to detect security vulnerabilities and misconfigurations.Some key features of Nuclei include:Powerful templating engine to customize vulnerability scans using YAML filesExtensive library of vulnerability templates covering...
Nuclei image
OpenSCAP icon

OpenSCAP

OpenSCAP is an open-source auditing tool that enables automated security scanning and compliance testing of systems against security benchmarks and policies. It helps organizations maintain continuous monitoring of their infrastructure for vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and policy compliance issues.Some key features and capabilities of OpenSCAP include:Performs automated scanning for security vulnerabilities based...
OpenSCAP image
Cobalt Strike icon

Cobalt Strike

Cobalt Strike is a commercial software platform for Adversary Simulations and Red Team Operations. It provides penetration testers network situational awareness, access to credentials and internal network access, and the ability to mimic the techniques and procedures of advanced threats through its robust scripting engine.Key features of Cobalt Strike include:Beacon...
Cobalt Strike image
Probely icon

Probely

Probely is a powerful web analytics platform designed specifically for observing and understanding user behavior. It utilizes session recordings and advanced form analytics to provide unprecedented visibility into how visitors interact with your digital properties.The core capability of Probely is its ability to record visitors' sessions, allowing you to watch...
Probely image
Pentest-Tools.com icon

Pentest-Tools.com

Pentest-Tools.com is a free online platform that provides penetration testers and network security professionals with various utilities for auditing and exploiting vulnerabilities in networks and systems. It offers a wide range of tools including:Port scanners like Nmap to detect open ports and services on servers and devicesVulnerability scanners such as...
Pentest-Tools.com image
Nexpose icon

Nexpose

Nexpose is a comprehensive vulnerability management and penetration testing software developed and maintained by Rapid7. It enables organizations to identify security weaknesses across their networks, systems, web applications, databases, and endpoints.Key features of Nexpose include:Asset discovery - Automatically discovers devices, ports, services, vulnerabilities, and misconfigurations on the network.Risk-based vulnerability management...
Nexpose image
Skipfish icon

Skipfish

Skipfish is an open source, active web application security reconnaissance tool. It was created by Michal Zalewski for Google as an automated security testing tool.Here are some key features of Skipfish:It carries out recursive crawl and dictionary-based probes on web applications to prepare an interactive sitemap.It has over 3,400 built-in...
Skipfish image
Qualys Cloud Platform icon

Qualys Cloud Platform

Qualys Cloud Platform is a cloud-based vulnerability management and policy compliance solution used by enterprises globally. It enables organizations to consolidate their security and compliance stacks onto a single platform for assessments that continuously monitor IT infrastructure and applications for risks and misconfigurations.The Qualys Cloud Platform features include:Asset Discovery and...
Qualys Cloud Platform image
Mageni icon

Mageni

Mageni is an open-source low-code application development platform focused on empowering businesses to build their own internal web applications. It features a visual, drag-and-drop interface that enables staff with no prior coding experience to rapidly develop custom apps that automate workflows, manage data, and streamline business processes.Some key capabilities and...
Mageni image
Intruder icon

Intruder

Intruder is a comprehensive web application security testing tool used to identify vulnerabilities in web apps. It is designed to automate vulnerability scanning and penetration testing to help developers build more secure software.Key features of Intruder include:Automated vulnerability scanning - Intruder can crawl web applications and automatically scan for security...
Intruder image
HostedScan Security icon

HostedScan Security

HostedScan Security is a cloud-based vulnerability management platform designed to help organizations identify security weaknesses in their IT infrastructure. It provides the following key capabilities:Automated network, web application, and compliance scanning - No software to install. Agentless scans are performed from the HostedScan cloud scanning infrastructure.Prioritized vulnerability findings - Vulnerabilities...
HostedScan Security image
Core Impact Pro icon

Core Impact Pro

Core Impact Pro is a comprehensive penetration testing software used by information security teams to perform automated attacks against their organizations' networks, endpoints, web applications, wireless networks, mobile devices, and more. It can help identify vulnerabilities and provide remediation advice before cybercriminals have a chance to exploit them.Key features of...
Core Impact Pro image
Vulners API icon

Vulners API

Vulners API is a comprehensive vulnerability database and cyber threat intelligence feed. It contains information on over 160,000 known software vulnerabilities collected from a variety of sources including the National Vulnerability Database (NVD), security advisories, bug trackers, exploit databases, malware signatures, and open source intelligence.The key capabilities provided by Vulners...
Vulners API image
Purplepee.co icon

Purplepee.co

Purplepee.co is a website that provides AI-powered alternatives and substitutions for various software products. Users can enter the name of a piece of software they currently use, and purplepee.co will suggest free, open source, or paid alternatives that offer similar features and functionality.The website has an intuitive interface where users...
Sucuri icon

Sucuri

Sucuri is a comprehensive website security solution designed to protect websites against a wide range of threats. It offers the following key features:Website firewall and DDoS protection to block attacks and prevent blacklistingContinuous malware scanning to detect infections early and enable fast cleanupRemote malware removal to safely eliminate infections without...
Sucuri image
Rapid7 icon

Rapid7

Rapid7 is a leading cybersecurity software company founded in 2000 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Their solutions focus on managing security risk across cloud, hybrid, and on-premises environments. Their flagship product is InsightVM (formerly Nexpose) which is a vulnerability assessment and management solution that allows organizations to scan their networks,...
Rapid7 image
BabySploit icon

BabySploit

BabySploit is an open-source penetration testing framework and toolkit that allows beginners to get started with ethical hacking and cybersecurity education. It provides a simple graphical user interface along with a collection of basic network scanning and exploitation tools without the complexity of advanced frameworks like Metasploit.Key features of BabySploit...
BabySploit image
Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer icon

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer

The Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) is a free tool from Microsoft that helps improve computer security by identifying missing security updates and common security misconfigurations. MBSA can scan Windows systems, including clients and servers, and provide a report on the status of system updates, Windows security settings, password policies,...
Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer image
HTTPCS Security icon

HTTPCS Security

HTTPCS Security is an open-source web application firewall (WAF) designed to protect websites and web applications from common exploits and vulnerabilities. It works by filtering, monitoring, and blocking potentially malicious HTTP traffic before it reaches the web application.Some key features of HTTPCS Security include:Protection against SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS),...
HTTPCS Security image
PatrolServer icon

PatrolServer

PatrolServer is a comprehensive server and infrastructure monitoring software designed for businesses of all sizes. It provides real-time monitoring of servers, applications, networks, and other IT infrastructure to quickly identify performance issues, outages, and security threats.Key features of PatrolServer include:Monitoring of server health metrics like CPU usage, disk space, memory...
Yang icon

Yang

Yang is an open-source modeling language developed by the IETF for defining data models and APIs for network configuration and operations. It is commonly used in networking devices and software to model data structures and interfaces in a standardized way.Some key features of Yang include:Tree-based hierarchical data models for complex...
Yang image
Cvechecker icon

Cvechecker

cvechecker is an open-source command-line utility that allows users to scan software applications, system packages, containers, and virtual machine images to identify vulnerabilities and exposure to publicly known exploits. It works by checking the software and its dependencies against vulnerability databases like the NVD (National Vulnerability Database) and OVAL (Open...
Cvechecker image
WoTT icon

WoTT

WoTT (Web of Trust) is a browser extension available for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera that analyzes websites and assigns them a trustworthiness score along with safety ratings in various categories. It aims to help users identify potential risks when browsing the web.When you visit a website, WoTT will display an...
WoTT image
Webcheck.me icon

Webcheck.me

webcheck.me is a free website and browser extension service that makes it easy to check websites for key issues like privacy, security, performance and accessibility. It allows non-technical users to audit a website by scanning it from their web browser and providing a report with actionable feedback.Once installed, the webcheck.me...
IronWASP icon

IronWASP

IronWASP is an open-source web application penetration testing tool written in Python. It is designed for testing the security of web applications by simulating real-world attacks.Some key features of IronWASP include:Automated detection of common security vulnerabilities like SQL injection, XSS, and moreExtensible architecture allowing for custom plugins and attack modulesBuilt-in...
IronWASP image