Can scan home networks for vulnerabilities with easy patching.
Nessus Home is a freeware version of the very useful Nessus series of network scanners that can scan a home network for possible vulnerabilities.
Nessus Home is a great choice to add an extra layer of security at your home, especially if you have many devices that haven't been updated recently. More important if they've been hacked.
Though the home version is limited to 16 IP addresses, it shouldn't be an issue unless there's a very large home network. You may actually run into problems if there's too mobile devices in the home.
With that said, Nessus Home will audit devices connected to a home network. These can be devices connected with WiFi or by Ethernet cable. It can be effective at finding compromised devices that have been taken over by malicious users on the Internet.
Whether it's cell phones, televisions, PCs, laptops or anything else that connects to your home network by WiFi or by cable, Nessus Home should do a good job at finding compromised devices.
In order to complete the installation of Nessus Home, you are required to obtain a free license from the Tenable web site.
Features of Nessus
- Advanced Scanning: Perform advanced scans for complex environments.
- Asset Management: Track and manage assets to maintain compliance.
- Authentication: Scan with credentials to detect hidden threats.
- Automated Patching: Automatically patch vulnerabilities.
- Built-in Network Scanning: Scheduled network scans to detect threats.
- Compliance Checks: Verification of system configuration against standards.
- Continuous Monitoring: Receive alerts on newly discovered threats.
- Data Loss Prevention: Protect sensitive data from unauthorized access.
- Multi-platform Support: Scan multiple platforms and operating systems.
- Plugins: Expand scanning capabilities with over 80,000 plugins.
- Reporting: Generates detailed reports of vulnerabilities.
- Scanning Speed: Scan quickly to reduce disruption of service.
- Secure Authentication: Assure user authentication is secure.
- User-defined Policies: Create custom policies for scanning.
- Vulnerability Scanning: Identify and patch vulnerabilities.
Compatibility and License
Nessus is provided under a freeware license on Windows from network auditing software with no restrictions on usage. Download and installation of this PC software is free and 10.8.2 is the latest version last time we checked.
What version of Windows can Nessus run on?
Nessus can be used on a computer running Windows 11 or Windows 10. Previous versions of the OS shouldn't be a problem with Windows 8 and Windows 7 having been tested. It comes in both 32-bit and 64-bit downloads.
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