Top 10 Unbeatable Vulnerability Scanners you need to know

With efficient technology comes the issue of safety and security. Even as technology around us improves drastically, unsolicited vulnerabilities that might creep in have grown smarter and way difficult to detect. Detecting vulnerabilities can be a daunting task in its own right, however, a set of efficient scanners available make the process less cumbersome yet effective!

 

Here are top 10 unbeatable vulnerability scanners:

1. Nessus

-Features: patch, configuration, and compliance auditing; mobile, malware, and botnet discovery; sensitive data identification etc.

-Versions: Nessus and Nessus Perimeter Service (commercial organisations and enterprises), Nessus evaluations (commercial organisations) and Nessus Home (non-commercial, home network).

-Operating Systems supported: Windows, Mac OS X, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, Solaris, and/or other UNIX variants.

-Price: Paid

2. OpenVAS

-Framework of several services and tools that offers a comprehensive vulnerability scanning and vulnerability management solution.

-Consists of a daily updated feed of Network Vulnerability Tests (NVTs).

-Majority of components licensed under the GNU General Public License (GNU GPL).

-Operating Systems supported: Linux, Windows and others.

-Price: Free

3. CORE Impact Pro

-Taking vulnerabilty scanning to an all new level beyond traditional exploitation, CORE Impact Pro provides the same level of Advanced Persistent Threat and password-based techniques currently being deployed by various cyber criminals.

-Allowing commercial and government organisations to actively test the security of their network and application infrastructure.

-Operating System supported: Windows

-Price: Paid

4. Nexpose

-Scans for mis-configurations, vulnerabilities, and malware and then provides specific remedies for each issue.

-Scans the entire IT environment including networks, operating systems, web applications, databases, and virtualisation.

-Operating System supported: Windows and Linux.

-Price: Paid

5. GFI Lan Guard

-Scans and detects network vulnerabilities before they are exposed. This considerably reduces the time required to patch machines.

-Provides both security and non-security patches for Microsoft, Mac OS X, Linux and over 50 other third-party operating systems and applications.

-Operating System supported: Windows

-Price: Paid

6. QualysGuard

-Award-winning cloud security and compliance solution that provides global businesses with on demand critical security intelligence.

-Provides auditing, compliance and protection for Internet perimeter systems, internal networks, and web applications.

-Operating System supported: Windows

-Price: Paid

7. MBSA

-The Microsoft Baseline Security Analyser provides a streamlined detection of missing security updates and common security misconfigurations.

– The very recent MBSA 2.3 release adds support for Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows Server 2012 R2, and Windows Server 2012.

-Operating System supported: Windows

-Price: Free

8. Retina

-Perhaps one of the most sophisticated vulnerability assessment solutions available.

-Available as a standalone application or as part of the Retina CS unified vulnerability management platform.

-Efficiently identifies exposures (missing patches, configuration weaknesses etc.) and then prioritises enterprise-wide remediation.

-Operating System supported: Windows

-Price: Paid

9. Secunia PSI

-The Secunia Personal Software Inspector (PSI) efficiently identifies vulnerable and out-dated programs and plug-ins, that might expose your PC to attacks. It thereafter patch these vulnerable programs.

-Operating System supported: Windows

-Price: Free

10. Nipper

-The Network Infrastructure Parser checks the security of network devices such as switches, routers, and firewalls.

-It was earlier an open source tool. Then its developer (Titania) released a commercial version and tried to hide their old GPL releases.

-Operating System supported: Windows, Apple MAC OSX, Linux

-Price: Paid

 

If you have some suggestions of your own please let us know in comments!

 

 

Android File Transfer: How To Transfer Files Between Android And Mac

You plug your Android phone into your Mac, and nothing happens. Sound familiar?

Don’t worry: here’s how to transfer files between Android and OS X — Earth’s best mobile and desktop operating system, respectively.

On Windows, you can plug in an Android phone and explore your files, just like any other hard drive. Macs are different, and it’s annoying, but there is an official fix. There are also third-party solutions that (while flawed in some ways) might be even better for you.

 

 

 

 

Android File Transfer: The Easy Way

Android File Transfer is a free Mac app from the Android team. With it installed, you’ll see a window like this every time you plug in your device:

From here you can transfer files to and from a separate Finder window. Simple.

You might notice that my Android’s file system is a bit of a mess. Guilty. I should probably get around to cleaning that up. Happily it’s easy to do with this tool: I can CMD- or right-click any file and click “Delete”.

I point this out only because there doesn’t seem to be many other features. Seriously: copy-paste doesn’t work, there’s no search, and you can’t use quick look to preview your files. Pretty much all you can do is transfer and delete files.

This is your best option for the quick transfer of files. If you want full integration with your Mac’s Finder (or one of its alternatives), you’re going to need to try a third-party tool.

The WiFi Alternative: DroidNAS

If you want to browse Android files using the Finder, you won’t find a USB option. You can, however, acquire your files over the network — and a program called DroidNAS is the simplest way to set that up. It’s one of many ways you can access your Android device wirelessly.

In just a few taps, you can make your Android’s various folders, including the entire SD card, shared on the network. This gives you full access to your files from Finder, assuming both devices are on the same network.

In my tests, browsing folders was a little slow, but everything worked. I transferred a half-gig file to my Android device without any hiccups.

In theory DroidNAS is supposed to make your Android device visible from Finder, so you need only click an icon to start browsing your files. If you’re using Mavericks or later, however, that won’t work.

DroidNAS hasn’t fixed this problem, instead offering this workaround:

Press Cmd+K in Finder and enter IP address AND share:

smb://IP_ADDRESS:Port/Share

for example:

smb://192.168.1.101:7777/SD Card

Here’s what that looks like:

It’s a bit of extra work, sure, but after setting it up once, you’ll get the hang of it.

It’s not a perfect solution, and it’s a lot slower than Android File Transfer’s wired connection. But if you’d rather not fuss around with wires, it’s a good approach.

More Solutions

Do neither of these options quite work for you? There are other options out there. A quick rundown:

• Cloud and syncing services, such as Dropbox, can make transfers quick. Just drop the file into a synced folder, then download it using the Android client.
• Dukto, which lets you transfer files between any two operating systems, works for quickly sharing any individual file. You can’t browse the file system, but you can quickly send a file or text snippet from one device to another.
• ES File Manager, an excellent file manager for Android, has the ability to browse network shares. Set up your Mac for file sharing, and you can browse those files from your Android device.
• AirDroid offers file sharing between Android and Macs

These are all great options, but in terms of simplicity, I think a USB cable and Android File Transfer is your best bet.

Disagree? Let me know in the comments below, and also feel free to point out which tools you think are best for the job. I look forward to learning.