Top Penetration Testing Software & Tools

1. Netsparker

Netsparker Security Scanner is a popular automatic web application for penetration testing. The software can identify everything from cross-site scripting to SQL injection. Developers can use this tool on websites, web services, and web applications.

The system is powerful enough to scan anything between 500 and 1000 web applications at the same time. You will be able to customize your security scan with attack options, authentication and URL rewrite rules.

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2. Wireshark

Once known as Ethereal 0.2.0, Wireshark is an award-winning network analyzer with 600 authors. With this software, you can quickly capture and interpret network packets. The tool is open source and available for various systems including Windows, Solaris, FreeBSD, and Linux.

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3. Metasploit

Metasploit is the most used penetration testing framework in the world.

It is useful for checking security and pinpointing flaws, setting up a defense. An Open source software, this tool will allow a network administrator to break in and identify fatal weak points. Beginner hackers use this tool to build their skills. The tool provides a way to replicates websites for social engineers.

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4. BeEF

This is a pen testing tool and is best suited for checking a web browser. Adapted for combatting web-borne attacks and could benefit mobile clients. BeEF stands for Browser Exploitation Framework and uses GitHub to locate issues. BeEF is designed to explore weakness beyond the client system and network perimeter. Instead, the framework will look at exploitability within the context of just one source, the web browser.

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5. John The Ripper Password Cracker

Lastly, this penetration tool can be used to tackle traditional passwords. This is one of the most prominent vulnerabilities. Attackers may use passwords to steal credentials and enter sensitive systems. John the Ripper is the essential tool for password cracking and provides a range of systems for this purpose. The pen testing tool is a free open source software.

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6. Aircrack

Aircrack NG is designed for cracking flaws within wireless connections. This tool is supported on various OS and platforms with support for WEP dictionary attacks. It offers an improved tracking speed compared to most other penetration tools and supports multiple cards and drivers. While the software seemed to be abandoned in 2010, Aircrack was updated again in 2019. The software is typically used for network scanning, security assessment, and hardware security.

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7. Acunetix Scanner

Acutenix is an automated testing tool you can use to complete a penetration test. The tool is capable of auditing complicated management reports and issues with compliance. The software can handle a range of network vulnerabilities. Acunetix is even capable of including out-of-band vulnerabilities.

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8. Burp Suite Pen Tester

There are two different versions of the Burp Suite for developers. The free version provides the necessary and essential tools needed for scanning activities. Or, you can opt for the second version if you need advanced penetration testing. This tool is ideal for checking web-based applications. There are tools to map the tack surface and analyze requests between a browser and destination servers.

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9. Ettercap

The Ettercap suite is designed for ‘man in the middle’ attacks. Using this application, you will be able to build the packets you want and perform specific tasks. The software can send invalid frames and complete techniques which are more difficult through other options.

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10. W3af

W3af web application attack and audit framework is focused on finding and exploiting vulnerabilities in all web applications. Three types of plugins are provided for attack, audit, and discovery. With this software, these plugins interact. In doing so, one plugin can locate different URLS. The software then passes these on to the audit tool to check for flaws in the security.

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11. Nessus

Nessus has been used as a security penetration testing tool for twenty years. 27,000 companies utilize the application worldwide. The software is one of the most powerful testing tools on the market with over 45,000 CEs and 100,000 plugins. Ideally suited for scanning IP addresses, websites and completing sensitive data searches. You will be able to use this to locate ‘weak spots’ in your systems.

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12. Kali

Kali advanced penetration testing software is only available on Linux machines. Many experts believe this is the best tool for both injecting and password snipping. However, you will need skills in both TCP/IP protocol to gain the most benefit. An open source project, Kali Linux provides tool listings, version tracking, and meta-packages.

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13. X-Force Red

X-force Red is designed to check for weak spots across the network. The software uses both advanced state analysis and automated security testing to check for issues. Using this system, you can enable development as well as QA to complete testing through the SDLC process.

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