Respondents were allowed to list open source or commercial tools on any platform. Commercial tools are noted as such in the list below. No votes for the Nmap Security Scanner were counted because the survey was taken on a Nmap mailing list. This audience also biases the list slightly toward “attack” hacking tools rather than defensive ones.
Each tool is described by one ore more attributes:
 | Did not appear on the 2003 list |
 | Generally costs money. A free limited/demo/trial version may be available. |
 | Works natively on Linux |
 | Works natively on OpenBSD, FreeBSD, Solaris, and/or other UNIX variants |
 | Works natively on Apple Mac OS X |
 | Works natively on Microsoft Windows |
 | Features a command-line interface |
 | Offers a GUI (point and click) interface |
 | Source code available for inspection. |
| #1 |  Nessus : Premier UNIX vulnerability assessment toolNessus was a popular free and open source vulnerability scanner until they closed the source code in 2005 and removed the free "registered feed" version in 2008. A limited “Home Feed” is still available, though it is only licensed for home network use. Some people avoid paying by violating the “Home Feed” license, or by avoiding feeds entirely and using just the plugins included with each release. But for most users, the cost has increased from free to $1200/year. Despite this, Nessus is still the best UNIX vulnerability scanner available and among the best to run on Windows. Nessus is constantly updated, with more than 20,000 plugins. Key features include remote and local (authenticated) security checks, a client/server architecture with a GTK graphical interface, and an embedded scripting language for writing your own plugins or understanding the existing ones. |
| #2 |  GFI LANguard : A commercial network security scanner for WindowsGFI LANguard scans IP networks to detect what machines are running. Then it tries to discern the host OS and what applications are running. It also tries to collect Windows machine's service pack level, missing security patches, wireless access points, USB devices, open shares, open ports, services/applications active on the computer, key registry entries, weak passwords, users and groups, and more. Scan results are saved to an HTML report, which can be customized/queried. It also includes a patch manager which detects and installs missing patches. A free trial version is available, though it only works for up to 30 days. |
| #3 |  Retina : Commercial vulnerability assessment scanner by eEyeLike Nessus, Retina's function is to scan all the hosts on a network and report on any vulnerabilities found. It was written by eEye, who are well known for their security research. |
| #4 |  Core Impact : An automated, comprehensive penetration testing productCore Impact isn't cheap (be prepared to spend tens of thousands of dollars), but it is widely considered to be the most powerful exploitation tool available. It sports a large, regularly updated database of professional exploits, and can do neat tricks like exploiting one machine and then establishing an encrypted tunnel through that machine to reach and exploit other boxes. If you can't afford Impact, take a look at the cheaper Canvas or the excellent and free Metasploit Framework. Your best bet is to use all three. Also categorized as: vulnerability exploitation tools |
| #5 |  ISS Internet Scanner : Application-level vulnerability assessmentInternet Scanner started off in '92 as a tiny open source scanner by Christopher Klaus. Now he has grown ISS into a billion-dollar company with a myriad of security products. |
| #6 | X-scan : A general scanner for scanning network vulnerabilities A multi-threaded, plug-in-supported vulnerability scanner. X-Scan includes many features, including full NASL support, detecting service types, remote OS type/version detection, weak user/password pairs, and more. You may be able to find newer versions available here if you can deal with most of the page being written in Chinese. |
| #7 |  Sara : Security Auditor's Research AssistantSARA is a vulnerability assessment tool derived from the infamous (at least in 1995) SATAN scanner. They ceased development after releasing version 7.9.1 in June 2009. |
| #8 |  QualysGuard : A web-based vulnerability scannerDelivered as a service over the Web, QualysGuard eliminates the burden of deploying, maintaining, and updating vulnerability management software or implementing ad-hoc security applications. Clients securely access QualysGuard through an easy-to-use Web interface. QualysGuard features 5,000+ unique vulnerability checks, an Inference-based scanning engine, and automated daily updates to the QualysGuard vulnerability KnowledgeBase. |
| #9 |  SAINT : Security Administrator's Integrated Network ToolSAINT is another commercial vulnerability assessment tool (like Nessus, ISS Internet Scanner, or Retina). It runs on UNIX and used to be free and open source, but is now a commercial product. |
| #10 |  MBSA : Microsoft Baseline Security AnalyzerMicrosoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) is an easy-to-use tool designed for the IT professional that helps small and medium-sized businesses determine their security state in accordance with Microsoft security recommendations and offers specific remediation guidance. Built on the Windows Update Agent and Microsoft Update infrastructure, MBSA ensures consistency with other Microsoft management products including Microsoft Update (MU), Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), Systems Management Server (SMS) and Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM). Apparently MBSA on average scans over 3 million computers each week. |
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