Likelihood to Recommend -To track the vulnerability level of a windows network. -To push windows and other application updates from a central location. -Produce reports to highlight work being done to protect a network. In some organizations, you may have to prove for audit reasons you are enforcing policies put into place around cyber-security. This software can help you track work done on an ongoing basis for such purposes.
Read full review Nessus is perfectly suitable for performing comprehensive vulnerability assessment scans being a vulnerability scanner. It is less appropriate for performing penetration testing since it is not a penetration testing tool, it does not have the ability and modules to exploit the vulnerabilities of the system.
Read full review Pros Install an agent to thoroughly scan machines to discover vulnerabilities. Keeps there lists up-to-date with applications outside of windows and lets you know when an update is available. Read full review With Nessus we can find the missing critical patches for a server or workstations. Nessus points out any vulnerable or outdated software Technologies used in the system, thus eliminating any chances for security flaws being turned up. Nessus typically points any configuration level issues in accordance with the OWASP guidelines. Even the configuration of SSL related which are most of the time handled by some vendors or 3rd parties. Nessus not only lists out these Vulnerabilities but describes clearly the vulnerabilities in details with its thousands of plugins updated regularly, the tool also recommends solution with practical details of easy implementation. Read full review Cons It could be a bit of information overload which some things are shown can become noise. Maybe different levels of "security" for lack of a better term may be better where you have a summary vs detailed level when it comes to rating the vulnerability of the entire network. I find I sometimes have issues with PCs on a different network accessed across a VPN where timeouts often occur with very large updates. This aspect can be improved. Read full review Could use an upgrade within reports. Scans can take a long time to complete. Have to break them down in small sections. Read full review Likelihood to Renew Nessus is best and easy to use application for Vulnerabilities finding and reporting, it has multiple platforms and wide scope covering almost all devices for security improvement so far, thus we are very likely to continue its services.
Read full review Usability It's very much a plug and play application that the user can go into with limited knowledge and set-up scans in minutes.
Read full review Support Rating I only tried to access there support once and it was a relatively pain-free process. They also have a lot of documentation available online which can be used to learn and tailor the software to suit your needs. It just takes time and effort to plan, execute and monitor going forward.
Read full review I haven't needed to contact support yet. But issues are easily solved with a quick internet search which means support and by extension, the larger community are involved and knowledgeable.
Read full review Alternatives Considered WSUS was the other alternative I considered but I believe GFI takes updates, reporting, and functionality to a different level for an enterprise/medium-size business environment.
Read full review Sometimes when we identify a vulnerability with Nessus that has an exploit, we made a proof of concept with
Metasploit in order to show to the IT managers the importance of the software/hardware hardening.
Read full review Return on Investment Certainty. It allows you to know where on your network needs attention. Peace of mind. As security professionals, we can only put the necessary things in place to prevent malicious persons from exploiting a network. The software allows you to know whether or not your risk of exploitation is high or low. and if high what to do with it. Read full review Nessus certainly has a positive impact while me while performing my job, either as security research, or performing vulnerability assessments for clients. It gives a lot of information about the system/application after performing scans. The number of false positives is also less compared to other vulnerability scanners. The professional edition is very useful as policy templates available in this edition are very handy and useful even to perform compliance scan like PCI DSS scan. Also, the ability to export the scan results into reports in formats like HTML, PDF is very useful which could be for performing system/application reviews. Read full review ScreenShots