What Is Penetration Testing?

A penetration test is an authorized simulated attack performed on a computer system to assess its security. It is usually a combination of manual and automated testing carried out by ethical hackers who use various tools to compromise a tested system with proper approval and scope of the test. Ethical hackers use the same techniques as malicious attackers that don't cause damage to the tested system and organization. The main goal of pen-testing is to find potential weaknesses and help the organization maintain and comply with a standard that protects the client's privacy.

Which Tool Is Best For Penetration Testing?

All the tools mentioned in this guide are the best penetration testing tools that ethical hackers must consider. However, it also depends upon their needs and the purpose for using the software. Different pen-testing tools evaluate various aspects of organizational security. For instance, you must try using Hashcat, Hydra, and John the Ripper software to analyze vulnerable passwords. Whereas, if you're going to test the web apps, consider using Burp Suite Professionals, Nessus, OWASP-ZAP, and Netsparker. Similarly, you can also use the Wireshark tool to inspect and analyze the entire network, ports, and protocols.

Are Penetration Testers Hackers?

Pen-testers are ethical hackers that organizations use as a technique to detect, test, highlight, and fix vulnerabilities within their security posture.

Is Wireshark A Penetration Tool?

Wireshark is a leading open-source penetration testing tool used for network protocol analyzers. It uses packet sniffing and API to capture the data packets. It also captures the VoIP data packets or calls made across the network, thus allowing the user access to the data. Besides this, it provides offline analysis of the live capture of the data packets, ensuring that Wireshark delivers the most authentic test results. This cross-platform tool works on various operating systems such as Windows, Linux, Solaris, and macOS; you can download it for free.

20 Best Penetration Testing Tools For Security Professionals

Farwa Sajjad

Last updated: April 2, 2024 Reading time: 21 minutes

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

If you’re in a hurry, then have a look at the list of 20 best penetration testing tools that are worth considering:

Nmap – It uses IP packets to analyze what hosts are available on the network, which operating systems they use, and the services they offer.
Metasploit – Ethical hackers use custom codes to uncover network vulnerabilities and gain deep visibility of the network.
Burp Suite Professional – It provides a detailed report for the pen-testers to understand the network’s vulnerabilities clearly.
Hydra – It prevents password theft and brute force attacks and works efficiently well on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Solaris operating systems.
Wireshark – It efficiently debugs the common TCP/IP connection problems and analyzes hundreds of protocols, including the real-time analysis and decryption of various protocols.

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