Likelihood to Recommend Netsparker is very thorough but can take a very long time to scan a web application. It can also take a long time to learn and configure. Its thoroughness is a very good part of the product but if the application does [not] need this thoroughness it is probably a waste of time to run Netsparker on the website.
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 NetSparker has excellent customer service. When our team had to learn to use it for the first time, we had to communicate directly with NetSparker consultants. NetSparker is very user-friendly. It's UI is organized and keeps all the different scans we have set-up in a very clean visual. Netsparker has a selection of workflows and integration tools that make it useful for keeping all of my teammates on the same page. 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 Nessus points out any vulnerable or outdated software Technologies used in the system, thus eliminating any chances for security flaws being turned up.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 Netsparker Cloud is expensive and restricts the number of website URLs that you are allowed to scan. This restricts us from scanning all of the websites that we create and only allows us to scan a small subset of number of the website we produce. Netsparker is difficult to configure and I often need to open a ticket with support to figure out how to use the product. I have been vulnerability testing websites for over 10 years and I still don't think I really know how to use Netsparker. Netsparker can take a very long time to complete a scan due to the number of items it can scan for. Be certain to reduce the technologies that your scan will be looking at. Also, expect a large website to possibly take over two days to complete. Not something you really want to have happen on a developer checking on some source code. 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 NetSparker support is amazing. When first introducing this software to the team, there was a lot of communication going on between Netsparker consultants and our team. They have answered our questions very efficiently and have had consultants come to our department for training. They are open to suggestions for improvements and enhancements as well.
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 I currently use OWASP ZAP, Burp Suite Professional and Veracode Dynamic Scan. ZAP is very easy to use and the web developers use it regularly. Burp Suite is very customizable as is Netsparker but usually take much less time to scan a website. Both of these tools are programmable and allow me to add special items to a scan when I need it. They are also much better documented. Veracode also has a static code analysis tool that we use much more often then the dynamic analysis tool but we do use both parts of Veracode.
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 NetSparker has saved the team a lot of time since the scans quicker than our older software. NetSparker has been costing the company a lot compared to previous security software. Netsparker has helped improved our overall business objectives by finding an efficient and collaborative way to run scans on our systems. 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