This section has information on some of the
products and services that you can use to test your systems for configuration errors and
vulnerabilities at home and at the office.
Finjan Security Test Center
The free test center uses a number of safe tests to check your system for
vulnerabilities that may allow malicious code in web pages, downloads or email
to run on your PC. The Test Center can be found at http://www.finjan.com/mcrc/sec_test.cfm.
Hacker Whacker
This online subscription service tests your
PC for vulnerabilities. The web site also has information on security issues and links to
other security related sites. You can try a free, limited scan to try out the service. the
site is at http://www.hackerwhacker.com.
Leaktest
This free test checks your personal firewall
to see if it can prevent Trojan programs from leaking your information to 3rd parties. For
more information, to download and run the test software, go to http://grc.com.
Qualys IE Check-Up
This is a free online service that checks
for vulnerabilities in your Internet Explorer installation. The tests are safe. It checks
for things such as the ability for an attacker to access your hard disk or run a file or
program. It provides information on how to fix the issues found. To use the service go
to http://browsercheck.qualys.com.
The free tests, Test my Shields! and Probe
My Ports! tests the ability for a third party to access your PC over the Internet and
looks for vulnerable ports. For more information and to run the tests go to http://grc.com or click on the Shields Up! link above or on the
home page of this site..
Sygate Online Services
This free check looks at your system for
vulnerabilities that would allow a hacker to enter your system. It is primarily a testing
tool for the Sygate Personal Firewall and Personal Firewall Pro
products and is
available at http://www.sygatetech.com.
Symantec Security Check for Home Users
This free service uses Symantec's
technology to scan your PC to see how vulnerable you are to Internet Threats and offers
advice on remaining secure. It can also scan for viruses and malicious code. Another
feature of the scan is that it can tell if you are running one of the main anti-virus
programs and also if it is as up to date as its should be. Go to http://www.symantec.com/securitycheck/ to access this free service.
Beyond Security Automated Scanning
Beyond Security offers both online and
internal server based vulnerability assessment products. The Internet solution
provides regular vulnerability checks on your network. After the check you a given a
detailed report telling you how exposed you are and and rating the risk (low media and
high), the problems that were found and how to fix them. The internal assessment products
uses a server maintained by Beyond Security at your premises. All analysis is internal
with no connection to the Internet. The reports are similar to the online service and a
comparative analysis of current and previous reports can be made. For more information go
to http://www.automatedscanning.com.
Bindview BV-Control for Windows
This system assess security in Windows NT
and 2000. It allows you to analyse the issues and then resolve them. Some areas it
can check are password strength, unused accounts, user rights, registry settings,
unapproved files. The system uses Bindview Security Advisor to check that your systems are
running the latest Microsoft patches and updates. The system is updated automatically
every time Microsoft releases a security patch. Flexible reporting allows different styles
of documentation dependent on target audience. Real time monitoring and alerting means
that administrators can react to issues before they become critical. The product is also
available for other platforms such as UNIX and Exchange. Go to http://www.bindview.com for more
information.
GFI Email Security Test
This free service tests various aspects of
your email system by sending you innocent attachments. The behaviour of your system
towards these attachments determines how secure your system is. You can also sign up for
the GFI Security newsletter. For more information go to http://www.gfi.com/emailsecuritytest/.
GFI LANguard Network Security Scanner
This product (free for non-commercial use)
can be used to scan equipment on your network for vulnerabilities. It can check shares and
open ports and make an inventory of your network. It can also detect Trojan Horse activity
and unused accounts and password strengths and see whether the systems are advertising
information that may be useful to a potential attacker. The commercial version allows you
to analyse results against previous tests to highlight new issues. For more
information and to download the software go to http://www.gfisoftware.com.
Hacker Whacker
This online subscription service tests PC's
on your network for vulnerabilities. The web site also has information on security issues
and links to other security related sites. You can try a free, limited scan to try out the
service. the site is at http://www.hackerwhacker.com.
This system checks Windows, Solaris, Unix
and Linux systems for vulnerabilities. Risks are rated letting you concentrate on the most
critical issues first. Solutions are described and the location of relevant patches and
information are provided. Automatic fix capabilities are available for some issues and
reports can be configured depending on the target audience. The database of
vulnerabilities are updated every month. For more information, or a time limited
evaluation copy, go to http://www.statonline.harris.com/solutions/vuln_assess/index.asp.
Harris STAT Analyser
This product is used to manage multiple
vulnerability assessment tools. The Harris
STAT Scanner, WhatsUp Gold and NMAP are all included. It allows you to manage
assessments using multiple scanners (if you wish), consolidates the results and provides
expert analysis and reporting. Fault fixing capabilities are also available.You can
configure scans based on your corporate security policy. For more information go to http://www.statonline.harris.com/solutions/sec_policy/.
Microsoft Baseline Security Analyser
This is a free tool that can be used to
check systems for misconfigurations (such as weak passwords), vulnerabilities and missing
hotfixes in Windows NT 4, XP and 2000 Internet Information Server (IIS), SQL Server
IE 5.01 and above and Office 2000 & XP. More information, and the free download can be
found at: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/security/tools/Tools/MBSAhome.asp.
It uses the HFNetChk engine that as developed by Shavlik Technologies. Enhanced versions
of this engine (HFNetChkPro and Enterprise Inspector) and other tools are available from
Shavlik Technologies. Check out their web site at http://www.shavlik.com.
Intranode ActiveSentry
This is a vulnerability assessment tool for
Internet facing systems. It detects visible systems, audits them (by using hacker -like
techniques) then and reports its findings. The vulnerability database is updated each day
using information from world renowned sources (such as SecurityFocus
and CERT). Two levels of audit can be carried out. One provides a list
of potential vulnerabilities and the other, in-depth audit, gives a detailed report of
real vulnerabilities. Two types of report are available, technical and executive. The
technical report provides a detailed descriptions of the vulnerabilities found and
explains the potential level of risk caused by their exploitation of vulnerabilities
noted and information on how to ways to remove / reduce the risks. The executive
report allows you to make decisions based on the vulnerabilities encountered. It
enables you to manage costs and effort in order to reduce the risks to minimum. Audits
take place automatically every 14 days and can also be manually run when required. For
more information go to
http://www.intranode.com/en/pg/as_ws/as_intro_en.htm.
Intranode Vulnerability Management Suite
This is a proactive internal vulnerability assessment
system. Systems are tested for compliance with your security policy and against
a regularly updated list of vulnerabilities. Mapping features let you see
exactly what is on your network and you can view new vulnerabilities which have
appeared since the last scan. See
http://www.intranode.com/en/pg/vmsuite/vmsuite_intro_en.htm for details.
This is a free vulnerability scanner that
runs on Unix, Solaris and Linux. The signature database is updated daily meaning that your
system can be checked for the latest threats. It tests you system safely or by
attempting the types of attack that a hacker would attempt and therefore may interrupt
your services (but at least you are expecting it). The issues found are rated on risk so
that you can concentrate on the most important issues first. Information on how to resolve
some of the the issues will also be displayed. Plug-Ins can be added to enhance the
scanner. For more information go to http://www.nessus.com.
NTA Monitor
This organisation specialises in penetration
testing for organisations. Additional services such a s
Wardialling vulnerability testing are also available in the UK. They
are members of the UK CHECK scheme which is a government scheme to ensure that
organisations adhere to strict guidelines while performing tests and are
adequately trainined to do so. Go
to http://www.nta-monitor.com for full
details of their services.
OutScan is an automated perimeter vulnerability scanning
service that uses both proprietary and public domain tools to check your system
at scheduled intervals (once a week for instance). New vulnerabilities are
constantly being added to the test database ensure that you can test against the
latest threats. Go to
http://www.outpost24.com for more details.
Outpost HIAB
This is an version of OutScan
that has been designed to test the inside of your network for vulnerabilities.
You can chose minimal or exhaustive tests and you can run on-demand testing or
schedule the system to scan at set times. Vulnerability information includes
references to both BugTraq and CVE data, ensuring that clear details of the
issues found are available. Go to
http://www.outpost24.com for more details.
Portcullis
Portcullis offer vulnerability scanning and penetration
testing services in the UK. They are members of the UK CHECK scheme which is a
government scheme to ensure that organisations adhere to strict guidelines while
performing tests and are adequately trained to do so. Their web site is at
http://www.portcullis.co.uk.
QualysGuard
This online vulnerability assessment service
that audits your systems looking for vulnerabilities. The vulnerability database is
constantly updated from multiple sources, including Bugtraq.
You can track your remediation activities centrally to ensure
that you are in control at all times. For more information, a free trial or to buy the product go to http://www.qualys.com.
There are also a number of free to use QualysGuard
tests available.
Secunia Test Zone
There are three free tests from Secunia, a browser checker
that checks that you browser, plug ins and associated programs are up to date, a
vulnerability scanner that uses Nessus against a single IP
address and an online virus checker that uses the Panda ActiveScan system. Go to
http://www.secunia.com for details.
SecureTest
SecureTest provide penetration testing, vulnerability
assessment and training in the UK. They use
Vigilante products for the vulnerability testing They are members of the UK
CHECK scheme which is a government scheme to ensure that organisations adhere to
strict guidelines while performing tests and are adequately trained to do so. Go
to http://www.securetest.com for
information on their range of services.
Shavlik Account Inspector
Checks for accounts with no or weak
passwords, no expiry, not accessed, old passwords etc. Many functions including report
exporting to Excel for detailed analysis. For more information go to http://www.shavlik.com.
This product aids the identification,
delivery and implementations updates and hotfixes over a wide range of Microsoft products.
You can check you systems to see what's missing and print reports to track your status.
For more information, to purchase the product or download a free trial go to
http://www.stbernard.com.
Symantec Vulnerability Assessment
This system allows you to automatically audit your systems
against a regularly updated database of vulnerabilities (indexed to Bugtraq and
CVE) . Remediation information is provided to
allow you to fix you systems if vulnerabilities are identified. The system can
be linked to the Symantec Enterprise Security Manager system to allow for
compliance checking against corporate policy. In order to track vulnerability
fixes you can link the system to the Symantec Incident Manager product. Go to
http://enterprisesecurity.symantec.com/products/products.cfm?productid=188&EID=0.
Symantec NetRecon
This multi-platform network-wide
vulnerability assessment tool is able to learn from its results and use the information
gained in future scans. It scans your systems, emulating hacker-like behaviour to
uncover vulnerabilities. As well as reporting on the issues and recommending fixes for
them it describes the steps involved in discovering them. Vulnerability updates can be
automatically downloaded from the Internet on a regular basis. Reports can be tailored for
the intended audience. For more information go to http://enterprisesecurity.symantec.com/products/products.cfm?productid=46&PID=na&EID=0.
Intrusion SecurityAnalyst
This system (former known as Kane Security
Analyst) allows you to audit your system configuration to check for non-conformances
against your policies. It checks account restrictions and password strengths, confirms
what resources accounts have access to, checks which auditing and logging services are
running, performs checks on data integrity and confidentiality settings. No agents
are required to be installed on the machines to be audited, everything is run from on
machine. Produces customisable reports. For more information go to
http://www.intrusion.com/products/va.asp.
This product (from eEye Digital Security)
checks your systems for vulnerabilities and compatability with your defined corporate
policies (password rules etc). It uses artificial intelligence technology to look for
potential vulnerabilities (not just those published in a database). You can decide which
audits you want to run and you can design your own tests to tailor the system to your
organisations particular needs. There is also an option to get the system to automatically
fix common configuration issues. The reporting tools allow for in-depth and high level
reports allowing adequate information for support and management. The various part of the
product can be updated regularly over the Internet. It can scan multiple platforms
(NT, XP, Unix, Linux, routers and firewalls etc.). eEye Digital Security have teamed up
with St. Bernard Software, publishers of ExpertUpdate to
provide a joint vulnerability assessment and product update solution. Information can be
found on their web site at
http://www.eeye.com/html/Products/Retina/index.html.
This tools uses agents installed in your
network components (including firewalls) to allow you to scan your entire network from a
single console. Vulnerabilities are constantly being added to the testing schedule.
Vulnerabilities are rated allowing you to concentrate on the most critical issues first.
Reports can be configured based on the intended recipient and
comparative analysis can help define trends. Links to vendor alerts, security fixes and
software patches and maintained, reducing the resource required to do this yourself.
For more information go to http://www.vigilante.com/securescan/nx/product_description.htm.
This is an assessment tool for your Internet
facing systems. Test are initiated over the Internet (as a hacker would) starting at the
Firewall and making its way inside your infrastructure. It checks for all known
vulnerabilities and creates a report on the issues found and resolution options. The risks
found are prioritised allowing you to concentrate on the most critical issues first.
Reports can be customised depending on the intended recipient and comparisons to previous
results can used to define trends. The latest vulnerabilities are constantly added to the
testing schedule to ensure that you are protected against the latest threats. For more
information go to http://www.vigilante.com/securescan/perimeter/product_description.htm.
Last Updated
16/11/2003
