- Nessus comes with all the standard
network vulnerability assessment tool features.
One of the most critical features is vulnerability scanning
with real-time updates
because new vulnerabilities show up all the time.
Other features include malware detection,
web application scanning, mobile device detection,
scan scheduling, and email notifications,
and configuration and compliance checks.
Previously, we looked at the National Vulnerability Database
or NVD by the National Institute of Standards
and Technology or NIST.
NVD is a vulnerability repository
that includes Common Vulnerability and Exposure or CVE.
CVE is a standard way of specifying security vulnerabilities
widely accepted by industry professionals
and researchers in the cybersecurity field.
Therefore, it makes sense for Nessus to adopt the standard
like CVE to track network vulnerabilities.
Nessus comes in three different versions
Nessus Essentials, Nessus Professional,
and tenable.io.
We'll try Nessus Essentials because it's free.
Nessus Essentials allows us to scan up to 16 hosts
which is sufficient for home and small business uses.
You can download Nessus
by clicking the downloads link
and then, choose Nessus.
There are multiple download options
for both Windows, Mac,
and Linux.
We'll download the windows 64-bit version
for demonstration purposes.
During the installation process,
Nessus asks you to provide an activation code.
You can make your request on the Nessus Essentials' website.
The installation file is the same
for all three versions of Nessus.
Please install Nessus on your computer
and we'll try some basic Nessus features in our next lesson.