New release of the Nessus vulnerability scanner! This is a major release (moving from 5.0.3 to 5.2.0) and includes several new features and enhancements, including:
- IPv6 is now supported on all platforms (including Windows)
- Nessus server support for Windows 8 and Windows 2012
- Add attachments within scan result reports
- Mac OS X preference pane
- Digitally-signed Nessus RPM packages for supporting distributions
- Smaller memory footprint and reduced disk space usage
- Faster, more responsive web interface (uses less bandwidth)
- No longer need to visit the Tenable website for an activation code!
Several key features are described in detail below, including examples of the new MAC OS X preference pane and the new attachments feature:
Add Attachments to Scan Results
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| Information collected during the scan can now be included in the results as an attachment. The first iteration of attachments will be screenshots, but any attachment type can be included. |
Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP)
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| If Nessus discovers Remote Desktop Protocol on a target, a screenshot is taken. This can reveal information such as the operating system version and the currently-logged-on user. |
VNC
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| If Nessus discovers a target is running VNC without a password to restrict access, a screenshot is included in the results. The above example shows the system using a web browser to visit the www.tenable.com website. |
Websites
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| For Internet-connected web servers, Nessus will take a screenshot of the website as if you visited the website using a web browser. This feature is useful to identify the applications you are testing, including making sure you are testing the correct virtual host. |
Mac OS X Preference Pane
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| The addition of a Nessus server preference pane in OS X allows the user to stop and start the Nessus server process and configure whether or not Nessus is started at boot time. |
Getting Nessus 5.2
New users may download and evaluate Nessus free of charge by visiting the Nessus home page. Current customers can download 5.2 from the Tenable Support Portal. Detailed instructions and notes on upgrading are located in the Nessus 5.2 Installation and Configuration Guide.
Nessus ProfessionalFeed and Perimeter Service customers: Please contact Tenable Support (support -at- tenable.com) with any questions regarding the upgrade to Nessus 5.2.0. Users may also visit the Tenable Discussion Portal for more information.
