Computer systems, software, applications, and other network interfaces are vulnerable to various threats. Failure to find these vulnerabilities can lead to the downfall of the company.
Hence, businesses conduct regular vulnerability assessments for their websites and networks to identify existing loopholes and weaknesses.
The assessment results can help developers and network administrators understand the security issues and implement the necessary defensive measures against the potential threats.
This article will go more in-depth on what a vulnerability scanner is. We’ll also introduce our top open-source vulnerability scanning tools that are free and adaptable to various operating systems.
Let’s get started.
What is a Vulnerability Scanner?
As the name suggests, the term vulnerability scanner is assessing the vulnerabilities in a system or application. It automates security auditing and improves your IT security by scanning your website and network for various security risks.
The scanner can also generate a prioritized list of the vulnerabilities you should patch, describe what type of vulnerability it is, and provide the necessary steps to fix them. Some scanners also do automated patching.
It’s crucial to patch any vulnerabilities swiftly because they’re at a much higher risk of cyber-attacks. The threats let hackers enter your security system and exploit the vulnerabilities to their advantage, potentially causing an immense loss for your business.
Vulnerability scanners rely on a database of known vulnerabilities and automatically test for them. Just like installing fail2ban or antivirus software, these scanners play a crucial role in maintaining maximum security for
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