The Most Popular Vulnerability-scanning Engine: A Comprehensive Ranking

Voting rules: Choose the vulnerability-scanning engine you think is the most popular!

Updated on Nov 25, 2023 09:43

Welcome to StrawPoll, where your opinion matters, and your voice is heard! Today, we're exploring the fascinating world of vulnerability-scanning engines, and we need your expertise. With the rise of cyber threats and the need to secure our virtual environment, it's time we determine the most popular vulnerability-scanning engine out there. Cast your vote or suggest a missing option to help us create the ultimate ranking that will not only educate but keep our online community safer than ever. So, don your hacker hoodie, and let's dive into the realm of security and technology, shaping the future of internet safety together!

What Is the Most Popular Vulnerability-scanning Engine?

1

45
votes
Nessus

Nessus is a widely used tool for vulnerability scanning, and it is known for its comprehensive features and accuracy. It is commonly used by cybersecurity professionals and is highly recommended for small to large businesses.
Description

Nessus is a widely used vulnerability-scanning engine designed to identify potential security issues in computer systems and networks. It can help in the early detection of vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and malware on a wide range of platforms.

Active scanning: Nessus actively scans systems to find vulnerabilities.

Compliance checks: It supports a wide range of compliance checks, helping organizations adhere to security standards.

Extensive vulnerability database: Nessus maintains an extensive regularly updated database of vulnerabilities.

Customized policy creation: Users can create customized scanning policies to meet their specific needs.

Integration capabilities: It can integrate with other security tools, such as SIEM and ticketing systems.
2

29
votes
OpenVAS

OpenVAS is an open-source vulnerability scanner that is highly customizable and flexible. It is popular among security professionals who prefer open-source solutions.
Description

OpenVAS is a widely used vulnerability scanning engine that helps organizations identify and analyze potential security vulnerabilities in their network infrastructure. It is an open-source project that evolved from the earlier Nessus vulnerability scanner. OpenVAS is designed to provide robust and comprehensive scanning capabilities that assist in the identification of weaknesses and potential entry points that can be exploited by attackers.

1: Supports multiple scanning protocols such as ICMP, TCP, UDP, SNMP, and SSH.

2: Provides regular updates for vulnerability checks to stay up-to-date with new threats and security vulnerabilities.

3: Offers a range of scanning profiles and configurations to suit different network infrastructures and requirements.

4: Supports authenticated or unauthenticated scanning to assess vulnerabilities from varying perspectives.

5: Ability to perform comprehensive network and host scanning to identify vulnerabilities across multiple layers of the network stack.
3

21
votes
Qualys

Qualys is a cloud-based vulnerability scanner that offers comprehensive scanning and reporting features. It is widely used by small to large businesses, and it is known for its scalability and ease of use.
Description

Qualys is a popular vulnerability-scanning engine that helps organizations identify and mitigate security risks. It offers comprehensive, cloud-based solutions for vulnerability management, policy compliance, and threat prioritization.

Scalability: Capable of scanning large networks with thousands of assets

Accuracy: Uses advanced scanning techniques to deliver accurate and reliable results

Continuous monitoring: Enables real-time monitoring and detection of new vulnerabilities

Compliance management: Helps ensure adherence to industry standards and regulatory requirements

Threat prioritization: Prioritizes vulnerabilities based on their potential impact and exploitability
4

9
votes
Rapid7

Rapid7 offers both cloud-based and on-premise vulnerability scanning solutions. It is known for its user-friendly interface and comprehensive reporting features. It is widely used by small to large businesses.
Description

Rapid7 is a popular vulnerability scanning engine used for identifying and assessing potential security vulnerabilities in systems and networks. It provides comprehensive vulnerability management solutions.

Comprehensive Coverage: Rapid7 scans for a wide range of vulnerabilities, including common and emerging threats.

Scalability: Rapid7 is designed to handle large-scale scanning of networks and systems.

Real-time Threat Intelligence: It leverages up-to-date threat intelligence data to detect and prioritize critical vulnerabilities.

Continuous Monitoring: Rapid7 enables ongoing monitoring to identify new vulnerabilities and potential threats.

Remediation Guidance: The engine provides actionable insights and recommendations to address identified vulnerabilities.
5

18
votes
Acunetix

Acunetix is a web vulnerability scanner that is specifically designed for web applications. It is known for its comprehensive features and ease of use. It is widely used by small to large businesses.
Description

Acunetix is a popular vulnerability scanning engine used to identify security flaws in web applications and websites. It is designed to help businesses and security professionals ensure the security of their online assets.

Vulnerability Scanning: Acunetix scans web applications and websites to detect various vulnerabilities such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and insecure server configurations.

Crawl and Attack Scenarios: It employs a crawler to navigate through different pages and simulates various attack scenarios to find potential vulnerabilities.

DeepScan Technology: Utilizes advanced scanning techniques to comprehensively analyze web applications and identify both high-severity and low-severity vulnerabilities.

Network Security Checks: Acunetix goes beyond web applications and conducts network security checks to identify issues like open ports, weak configurations, and server vulnerabilities.

Integrations: Provides integrations with various development tools and platforms to streamline vulnerability management processes.
6

12
votes
Burp Suite

PortSwigger

Burp Suite is a web application security testing tool that includes a vulnerability scanner. It is known for its advanced features and flexibility. It is widely used by security professionals.
Description

Burp Suite is a popular vulnerability scanning engine used for security testing of web applications. It is a comprehensive toolkit developed by PortSwigger, offering a wide range of tools and functionalities for assessing and identifying vulnerabilities in web applications. Burp Suite is widely used by security professionals and penetration testers due to its user-friendly interface and powerful features.

Active Scanning: Burp Suite can actively scan websites and web applications to identify various security vulnerabilities.

Passive Scanning: It also offers passive scanning capabilities to monitor and identify vulnerabilities in real-time while browsing a website.

Spidering: Burp Suite includes a web spider that automatically explores a website and identifies possible entry points for further scanning.

Automated Scanning: It supports automated scanning of web applications, allowing for large-scale vulnerability assessments.

Vulnerability Detection: Burp Suite can detect a wide range of vulnerabilities, including SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and command injection.
7

13
votes
Nmap

Nmap is a popular network discovery and security auditing tool that includes a vulnerability scanner. It is known for its accuracy and flexibility. It is widely used by security professionals.
Description

Nmap (Network Mapper) is a free and open-source network scanning tool used for auditing and discovering vulnerabilities in computer networks. It is widely regarded as one of the most popular vulnerability-scanning engines available.

Network scanning: Nmap employs various scanning techniques like host discovery, port scanning, version detection, and OS fingerprinting to gather information about network hosts.

Scripting engine: It includes a powerful scripting engine (NSE) that allows users to write and share scripts to automate and extend its functionality.

Flexible output formats: Nmap provides multiple output formats such as plain text, XML, and JSON, allowing users to easily parse and process scan results.

Port scanning options: It supports different port scanning techniques, including TCP SYN scan, TCP connect scan, UDP scan, and ICMP scan.

Fast and efficient: Nmap is optimized for performance and offers various optimizations such as parallel scanning, timing controls, and efficient data handling.
8

6
votes
McAfee Vulnerability Manager

McAfee

McAfee Vulnerability Manager is a comprehensive vulnerability scanning tool that is known for its accurate reporting and ease of use. It is widely used by small to large businesses.
Description

McAfee Vulnerability Manager is a popular vulnerability scanning engine. It is designed to identify and assess security vulnerabilities across an organization's network infrastructure. It helps organizations proactively manage the security risks by providing detailed insights into potential vulnerabilities and offering recommendations for remediation.

Scalability: Capable of scanning large-scale networks with thousands of devices

Accuracy: Uses multiple scan techniques for accurate vulnerability detection

Comprehensive Coverage: Scans operating systems, network devices, databases, and web applications

Customization: Flexible configurations and reporting options for tailored scanning and analysis

Continuous Monitoring: Supports continuous monitoring of vulnerabilities for real-time risk assessment
9

9
votes
IBM Security AppScan

IBM

IBM Security AppScan is a comprehensive web application security testing tool that includes a vulnerability scanner. It is widely used by small to large businesses.
Description

IBM Security AppScan is a popular vulnerability-scanning engine used to identify and prioritize security risks across web applications. It helps organizations identify vulnerabilities in their applications before they are exploited by attackers.

Scanning Capabilities: Identifies vulnerabilities and highlights potential risks in web applications.

Automated Scanning: Performs scans automatically, saving time and effort for security teams.

Extensive Coverage: Supports a wide range of programming languages, frameworks, and platforms.

Deep Analysis: Utilizes intelligent scanning techniques to provide in-depth analysis of identified vulnerabilities.

Risk Assessment: Prioritizes vulnerabilities based on their severity and potential impact to enable effective risk management.
10

5
votes
Trustwave SpiderLabs

Trustwave SpiderLabs

Trustwave SpiderLabs is a comprehensive vulnerability scanning tool that includes network and web application scanning. It is known for its accuracy and ease of use. It is widely used by small to large businesses.
Description

Trustwave SpiderLabs is a popular vulnerability-scanning engine used for identifying and mitigating security weaknesses in computer systems and networks. It is designed to help organizations proactively protect their digital assets.

Vulnerability Detection: Scans and detects vulnerabilities in computer systems and networks.

Port Scanning: Identifies open ports and services running on target systems.

Web Application Scanning: Detects vulnerabilities specific to web applications and websites.

Network Mapping: Creates a topology of network infrastructure and identifies potential entry points.

Exploit Testing: Assesses the exploitability of identified vulnerabilities.

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Ranking factors for popular vulnerability-scanning engine

Accuracy

The scanning engine's ability to detect vulnerabilities accurately and generate a low number of false positives and false negatives.
Coverage

The scanning engine's ability to cover a wide range of operating systems, applications, and network devices.
Speed

The time required to perform a scan and generate the report should be minimal.
Integration

The scanning engine's ability to integrate with other security tools to create a complete security solution.
Ease of Use

The user interface should be intuitive and user-friendly so that even non-technical users can perform scans.
Cost

The cost of the scanning engine should be reasonable compared to its capabilities and features.
Support

Availability of technical support and resources to address any issues that may arise while using the scanning engine.

About this ranking

This is a community-based ranking of the most popular vulnerability-scanning engine. We do our best to provide fair voting, but it is not intended to be exhaustive. So if you notice something or vulnerability-scanning engine is missing, feel free to help improve the ranking!

Statistics

1654 views
167 votes
10 ranked items

Voting Rules

A participant may cast an up or down vote for each vulnerability-scanning engine once every 24 hours. The rank of each vulnerability-scanning engine is then calculated from the weighted sum of all up and down votes.

More information on most popular vulnerability-scanning engine

Background: Vulnerability scanning is a critical aspect of cybersecurity, as it helps identify potential vulnerabilities and weaknesses in a system, network, or application. Vulnerability scanning engines are tools or software that automate the process of scanning and detecting vulnerabilities, allowing organizations to quickly identify and remediate potential security risks. There are several vulnerability scanning engines available in the market, each with its own set of features and capabilities. These engines use a combination of techniques such as port scanning, network mapping, and vulnerability testing to identify potential vulnerabilities. As cyber threats continue to evolve, vulnerability scanning engines have become increasingly important for organizations to ensure the security of their systems and networks. So, which vulnerability scanning engine is the most popular among cybersecurity professionals? Let's take a look at the top contenders.

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