Network Scanning

Network scanners are essential tools for network discovery, vulnerability scanning, and security auditing. Here's a quick overview of two powerful network scanners:

1. Network Mapper (Nmap)

   • Website: nmap.org

   • Description: Nmap is a free, open-source utility designed for network exploration and security auditing. It can be used for discovering hosts and services on a computer network, thus creating a "map" of the network.

   • Features:

     • Host discovery

     • Port scanning

     • Service detection (determining what services and versions are running)

     • OS detection

     • Scriptable interaction using the Nmap Scripting Engine (NSE)

   • Platforms: Available for major operating systems including Linux, Windows, and macOS.

2. OpenVAS (Open Vulnerability Assessment Scanner)

   • Website: openvas.org

   • Description: OpenVAS is an open-source vulnerability scanner that is part of the Greenbone Vulnerability Management (GVM) framework. It started as a fork of Nessus after it became commercial and is designed for detecting security vulnerabilities in systems.

   • Features:

     • Comprehensive vulnerability scanning and management

     • Continuous updates of vulnerability tests (over 50,000 checks)

     • Wide range of plugins for various systems and protocols

     • Includes reporting features for prioritizing vulnerability fixes

   • Platforms: Primarily Linux-based but can also run on other systems using virtualization or containers.

Both Nmap and OpenVAS are widely used in network security to enhance visibility into the network infrastructure and identify potential vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them.