[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > >> 2. use nessus or something like that to then scan the live > >> IP addresses for open ports. > > > >DON'Y USE NESSUS!! > > So what exactly are you trying to say here?
I'm trying to say that there is a correct tool for every job, and that just isn't it..... Nessus can do nasty things to a system, and to a network as a whole if it isn't used correctly, wisely, and carefully. It also should not be run unattended because of the bad things that it can do. > > Nessus is for security auditing and vulnerability > >assessment. Use nmap. Nmap is command-line friendly, faster, and is > >more targeted to the job at hand. Nessus is extreme over-kill. Not to > >mention the fact that it might just take down your router, or any > >Windows boxen that get in it's way ;-) > > Can you explain a little more about the differences between nessus > and nmap. (I actually meant nmap above, but couldn't think of the > name, and nessus is all that came to mind :) Nmap is a port scanner and Nessus is a vulnerability scanner. A port scanner runs through the list of ports (1-65535) and checks for a response. If a response is received, then the port is open. If not, the port is closed. That's it. Nmap has some great features that make it better than most, such as the ability to randomize the order of the scan, multiple scan types (xmas, fin, sys, connect, half-open, etc), niceness, etc.. However, it is still just a port scanner. Nessus, on the other hand, is a vulnerability scanner. As part of it's process, it performs a port scan to see what is open. Nessus has the ability to use Nmap as it's plug-in port scanner. Port scaning is just the first step. It scans for open ports, then once it knows what is open, it checks the services that are running. For example, if it finds port 21 open, it will check to see of an ftp server is actually running on that port, and if so, which one. It will then attempt to exploit holes in the given service (buffer overflows, file permissions, anonymous exploits, etc.). If it finds holes, it will tell you what the problems are, and most times, it will tell you how to fix them. There are many commercial vulnerability scanners out there like ISS, RetnaScan, and others. C-Ya, Kenny -- --------------------------------------------------- Kenneth E. Lussier Geek by nature, Linux by choice PGP KeyID C0D2BA57 Public key http://pgp.mit.edu:11371/pks/lookup?op=get&search=0xC0D2BA57 ***************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the text 'unsubscribe gnhlug' in the message body. *****************************************************************
