It is very important to protect systems againts various cyber attacks. There are number of cyber attacks happening on the internet everyday. It is essential for every organization to keep IT environment secure, for that variouse important cyber security tools are used to ensure the security of orgnaization. Out of which 20 most commonly used tools are as follow:
1. Wireshark
Wireshark is a open source software which is use to monitor network traffic in real-time. It efficiently captures data packets and tries to display that packet data as detailed as possible.
Advantages:
- Free software
- Available for multiple platforms – Windows & UNIX
- Can see detailed information about packets within a network
2. Nmap
Nmap is open source free tool which IP packets to determine what hosts are available on the network, Services that are enabled, Operating systems and version of the hosts and many other aspects of network.
Advantages:
- Free and open source
- Powerful: capable to scan huge network
- Portable: Most operating systems are supported, including Linux, Microsoft Windows
3. Kali Linux
It is the excellent penetration testing tool use by many organizations. This contains various security tools used for security auditing. Some of these tools are executable while some are command line based.
Advantages:
- Advanced Penetration Testing tools
- Open sourced
- provide more security & Stability
4. John the Ripper
This tool is used for testing password strength. This tool can quickly look for complex ciphers, encrypted logins, hash-type passwords and identify weak passwords. Download and setup guide
Advantages:
- Automates hash generation
- Makes it easier to run brute-force
- Automates work with sessions
5. Xerxes
Xerxes is the most powerful DOS tool.It provides the capacity to launch multiple independent attacks against several target sites without necessarily requiring a botnet.
Advantages:
- TLS Support
- Multiprocessing support
- Multiple Attack vectors
6. KeePass
KeePass is a free open source password manager, which helps you to manage your passwords in a secure way. You can store all your passwords in one database, which is locked with a master key. So you only have to remember one single master key to unlock the whole database. Database files are encrypted using the best and most secure encryption algorithms like AES-256.
Advantages:
- Your information is protected by a very high level of encryption.
- You only have to remember one master password.
- You can use this single password to unlock a database that contains all your stored passwords.
- You can organize passwords into groups.
7. VIPRE
VIPRE is one of the most widely used cyber security tools used to protect computers from malicious attacks, malware, and spam messages with no hassle. It helps to stay safe against new cyber threats and crimes.
Advantages:
- It is quite effective against all kinds of viruses and provides 360-degree protection.
- Its scanning action is quite fast and less time taking.
- It has the ability to scan emails too, from viruses.
- It is reliable, easy-to-use, and provides excellent protection.
8. Metasploit
It is a Penetration testing software.It discovering vulnerabilities in the system. These penetration testing tools can examine the different security systems, including web-based apps, servers, networks, and so on.
Advantages:
- Open source.
- Supports large networks.
- GUI environment.
9. Cain and Abel
It is a password recovery tool for Microsoft Windows. It could recover many kinds of passwords using methods such as network packet sniffing, cracking various password hashes by using methods such as dictionary attacks, brute force.
Advantages:
- Have various supporting functionalities.
- Open source free software.
- Good start for all kinds of packet sniffing exercises
10. Tcpdump
It is an efficient packet sniffer security tools used to monitor and log TCP/IP traffic connected via a network. it is a command-based tool, it can efficiently define network security and the packet contents of system traffic.
Advantages:
- It can save the captured packets in a file for an advanced analysis.
- Several configuration options are available
11. Nikto
It is used to detect web vulnerabilities and take appropriate actions accordingly. The software contains a database that includes around 6400 different threats. Security professionals keep updating this database so that the users may easily identify the new vulnerabilities.
Advantages:
- Open source, Fast and portable.
- Easy to integrate in other penetration testing tools.
12. Paros Proxy
Paros Proxy is a Java-based security tool that contains a variety of other tools like vulnerability scanners, traffic recorder, web spider, etc. this tool helps to scan security tests for identifying web vulnerabilities and maintaining network activities in real-time.
Advantages:
- Web based light weight tool
- Protection And Security
- Anonymity When Using The Internet
13. Nessus Professional
It is a vulnerability assessment tool created by Tenable Inc. that can search out various vulnerabilities in a network such as the denial of service vulnerabilities. It helps in finding vulnerabilities that might allow access to unauthorized users or the loss of sensitive information.
Advantages:
- vulnerability scans on a regular basis and provides a full report.
- Understand the current threats and issues with current network devices.
14. Aircrack-ng
Aircrack-ng is a tool that comes pre-installed in Kali Linux and is used for wifi network security and hacking. Aircrack is an all in one packet sniffer, WEP and WPA/WPA2 cracker, analyzing tool and a hash capturing tool.
Advantages:
- To list all network interfaces.
- To Star a network interface at a specific channel.
- Free and open source
15. Tor
Tor or The Onion Router is a service created to allow people to anonymously browse the Internet. It is a decentralized system that allows users to connect through a network of relays rather than making a direct connection. The benefit of this method is that your IP address is hidden from the sites you visit by bouncing your connection from server to server at random.
Advantages:
- Free and portable
- Deep web access
- Hides information
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