What are the best penetration test tools?

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Sep 11, 2019

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3 Options Considered

Best penetration test tools	Price	Platforms	Last Updated
-- Wireshark	Free	Windows, Linux, Mac, BSD	Sep 11, 2019
-- Metasploit	-	-	Jun 18, 2019
-- w3af	-	-	Aug 20, 2017

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score 5 · Answer 1

Wireshark

Top Con

USB monitoring

The experimental USB monitoring can lock up your PC. See More

Top Pro

Powerful way to filter displays

Wireshark lets users specify exactly what kind of traffic they want to see. You can choose to see only TCP packets for example. The filtering system is as easy as it is powerful. There are also plenty of pre-built filter expressions at Wireshark's official wiki. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows, Linux, Mac, BSD

Top Con

Steep learning curve

For such an advanced tool it's not a surprise that the learning curve is quite steep. If you don't have at least a basic understanding of TCP/IP networks, you will have a hard time trying to learn how to use Wireshark. See More

Top Pro

Captures packets from multiple types of sources

Wireshark is not limited to WiFi or Ethernet packets only. It can also capture packets from VLAN, Bluetooth, USB and other types of network traffic depending on the operating system you are running. See More

Top Pro

One of the most popular network analyzing tools available

Being absolutely free and an extremely powerful tool has made Wireshark one of the most widely used network analyzing and pentesting tools available. Almost every security expert or network engineer has used it at least once or has heard of it. As such, it's very easy to find help online or otherwise from experts. See More

Top Pro

Can read captured information from other applications

Wireshark can also be used to read captured information from Snoop, Sniffer or Microsoft Network Monitor, so it can serve as an additional tool for network analysis. See More

Top Pro

Multiplatform

Wireshark is available for almost any platform used nowadays. From Linux, Windows, and Mac to Solaris and OpenBSD. See More

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score 2 · Answer 2

Metasploit

Top Pro

Has a large collection of penetration testing tools

Metasploit comes with an extensive arsenal of pentesting tools designed to develop and test common security exploits. See More

Top Con

Requires experience with CLI commands

To use the full extent of the tools available in Metasploit you need to be comfortable with the CLI. See More

Top Pro

Has a large exploits database

Metasploit lets pentesters access and execute proven exploits which are stored in Metasploit's database. See More

See All

score 1 · Answer 3

w3af

Top Pro

Can be extended through plugins

w3af has a number of plugins that can be installed to enhance its features. See More

Top Pro

Can be used to identify over 200 vulnerabilities

w3af can be used to identify over 200 known exploits and vulnerabilities in your website. See More

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What are the best penetration test tools?

3 Options Considered

Wireshark

My Recommendation for Wireshark

My Recommendation for Wireshark

USB monitoring

Powerful way to filter displays

Steep learning curve

Captures packets from multiple types of sources

One of the most popular network analyzing tools available

Can read captured information from other applications

Multiplatform

Metasploit

My Recommendation for Metasploit

My Recommendation for Metasploit

Has a large collection of penetration testing tools

Requires experience with CLI commands

Has a large exploits database

w3af

My Recommendation for w3af

My Recommendation for w3af

Can be extended through plugins

Can be used to identify over 200 vulnerabilities

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