by You can use Penetration Testing tools to find security holes in a network, server, or web application. These tools, also known as Pen Testing security tools, help you identify unknown vulnerabilities in network apps that could cause a security breach.
These tools can protect your network against unauthorized access by hackers. In addition, we will be discussing the best penetration testing tools that provide 360-degree protection against hacking attempts.
Penetration Testing (also known as Pen-Testing) is a hot topic in today’s testing community. It is easy to see why: security has taken center stage with the changes in how computer systems are built and used.
Although companies know they can’t protect every system entirely, they still want to know what security problems they face. This is where Pen-testing can be very useful, thanks to its ethical hacking methods.
What is Penetration Testing?
Testing for penetration is also a kind of security testing conducted to test the safety of the systems (hardware and networks, software, or the information systems environment). This test aims to identify all security weaknesses within an application through analyzing your system’s security using malware and to secure the information from hackers and ensure the security of the application.
It is a kind of non-functional testing that aims to use authorized methods to compromise your system’s security. It is also referred to in Pen Testing or Pen Test. The person who conducts the testing is a penetration tester, also known as an ethical hacker.
List of Best Free Penetration Testing Tools in 2023
You have various commercial and free penetration tools to determine your system’s security. Below is a list of the top free penetration testing tools to help you choose the right solution.
1. Metasploit
This Framework is the most popular and advanced one that can be used to pen-test. It’s based on “exploit,” a code that can bypass security and enter a system. In addition, it can be entered to run a “payload,” which is a code that executes operations on target machines. This creates a perfect environment for penetration testing.
It can be used to access web applications, networks, and servers. The GUI interface is clickable and can be used on Linux, Apple Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows. This is a commercial product, so there may be limited free trials.
2. Wireshark
This network protocol analyzer is used to provide the most detailed information about your network protocols, including packet information, encryption, and decryption. This can be used on Windows and Linux and Solaris, Solaris OS X, Solaris FreeBSD, NetBSD, and many other systems.
This tool lets you view the information through a GUI or the TTY-mode TShark utility. The link below will allow you to download a free copy of the tool.
3. NMAP
We have NMAP, also known as network mapper. This open-source and free tool allows you to examine your networks or systems for weaknesses. You can also use this tool to perform other tasks, such as monitoring service or host uptime and mapping network attack surfaces.
This tool can scan large and small networks on most operating systems. This tool allows you to understand all aspects of a target network, including hosts, operating systems, firewalls, and types of containers. NMAP is therefore legal and can be used as a valuable and handy tool.
4. Netsparker
Netsparker is a web-based application security scanner. It’s an automated, extraordinarily accurate and easy-to-use scanner for web applications. It can be used to automatically detect security vulnerabilities like SQL injection and Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) in websites, web apps, and web-based services. Its Proof-based Scanning technology not only reports security vulnerabilities but also generates the Proof of Concept to confirm that they aren’t false positives. Therefore, there’s no need to waste time checking the vulnerability manually after the scan has been completed.
5. Acunetix
Acunetix is among the top web vulnerability scanners that automatically check any website. It has detected more than 4500 vulnerabilities on websites that include all varieties that include SQL injection XSS, XXE, SSRF, and Host Header Injection. Its DeepScan Crawler can scan HTML5 websites as well as AJAX-heavy client-side SPAs. In addition, it lets users export vulnerabilities that are discovered to issue trackers like Atlassian JIRA and GitHub. Microsoft Team Foundation Server (TFS). It’s available for Windows, Linux, and Online.
We have tried our best to present the most popular Penetration Testing Tools (both Open Source and Commercial). Please let us know your most effective penetration testing software by leaving a comment below. Also, if you think I’ve failed to mention one of your preferred tools, please let us know by leaving a comment below. We’ll do our best to include it on our list and update this post.
