Snort
Snort is an open-source network intrusion detection and prevention system. It can perform real-time traffic analysis and packet logging on IP networks to detect suspicious activity and attacks.
network
intrusion-detection
prevention
logging
analysis
Snort: Open-Source Network IDS/IPS
Real-time network intrusion detection and prevention system for IP networks, detecting suspicious activity and attacks.
What is Snort?
Snort is a free and open-source network intrusion detection system (NIDS) and intrusion prevention system (IPS). It was created in 1998 by Martin Roesch and is now developed by Cisco. Snort analyzes network traffic in real-time and performs protocol analysis, content searching, and matching to detect a variety of attacks and probes.
Some key features and capabilities of Snort include:
- Real-time traffic analysis and packet logging
- Detecting probes, attacks, malware, and policy violations
- Protocol analysis, content searching, and matching
- Generating alerts and logging packets when threats are detected
- Customizable through community-sourced rules and signatures
- Capable of performing as a packet sniffer, packet logger, or full intrusion detection system
Snort can be deployed inline to act as an intrusion prevention system, blocking threats in real-time. It is highly customizable through community-sourced rules and signatures that are constantly updated. This allows Snort to detect emerging threats.
Snort can help protect networks and systems from attack, malware, exploits, vulnerabilities, and policy violations. Its effectiveness does depend on keeping its ruleset up-to-date and properly tuning its detection capabilities to the specific network environment.
Snort Features
Features
- Real-time traffic analysis and packet logging
- Protocol analysis and content searching/matching
- Can be used as a packet sniffer/logger
- Plugin architecture for detection and pre-processors
- Built-in rules for detecting common attacks/vulnerabilities
Pricing
- Open Source
Pros
Open source and free
Highly customizable detection rules
Large community support
Can integrate with other security tools
Available on multiple platforms
Cons
Complex installation and configuration
Prone to false positives
Must be manually updated and maintained
Higher resource usage than some alternatives
Not ideal for very high traffic networks
Official Links
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