35 Ethical Hacking Tools and Software for IT Professionals

The realm of ethical hacking or penetration testing has witnessed a drastic change with the advent of automated tools. Currently, several tools that can accelerate the testing process are being developed. Ethical hacking helps organizations better protect their information and systems. It is also one of the best methods to augment the skills of security professionals in an organization. Making ethical hacking a part of an organization's security efforts can prove to be exceptionally helpful. Cybersecurity courses offer essential training and skills that enhance these efforts.

Hacking is the process of using various types of tools or technology in the form of computer programs and scripts to access unauthorized data for the security measures of a computer system or network.

Hacking tools and software are nothing but computer programs or complex scripts designed by developers that hackers use to learn about the weaknesses of computer OSs, various web applications, servers and networks. Nowadays, many employers, especially in the banking sector, are using ethical hacking tools to secure their data from attackers. Hacking tools are available in open-source form (freeware or shareware) or commercial solutions. One can also download such tools from the browser, especially if someone wants to use them maliciously.

Security professionals use ethical hacking tools, especially to get access to computer systems to access the vulnerabilities in computer systems so that their security will improve. Security professionals use hacking tools such as packet sniffers to intercept network traffic, password crackers to discover passwords, port scanners to identify open computer ports, etc. Though there is a variety of hacking tools available in the market, keep in mind what their purpose should be.

Nevertheless, network administration has grown tremendously in the last couple of years. Initially, it was used to monitor networks, but now it can be used to manage firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS), VPNs, anti-virus software, and anti-spam filters.

Some of the most famous hacking tools in the market are Nmap (Network Mapper), Nessus, Nikto, Kismet, NetStumbler, Acunetix, Netsparker, Intruder, Nmap, Metasploit, Aircrack-Ng, etc.

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Whenever it comes to hacking software, we often feel anxious or paranoid that it will cause damage to our computer system. However, the reality is so different that employers might need someone as a professional expert to protect the essential data concerning valuable assets to companies, hardware, and software systems from attackers. Thus, the need for ethical hacking has become so evident and vital that companies have started hiring ethical hackers. The following are some crucial features of hacking software:

Invicti is a web application security scanner hacking tool that automatically finds SQL Injection, XSS, and vulnerabilities in web applications or services. It is usually available on the SAAS solution.

Fortify WebInspect is a hacking tool that provides comprehensive dynamic analysis security in an automated mode for complex web applications and services.

Cain & Abel is an Operating System password recovery tool provided by Microsoft.

The finest hacking software ever is used in port scanning, one of the phases in ethical hacking. Primarily a command-line tool, it was then developed for operating systems based on Linux or Unix, and the Windows version of Nmap is now available. Nmap is a network security mapper capable of discovering services and hosts on a network and thereby creating a network map. This software offers several features that help in probing computer networks, host discovery, and operating system detection. It is script-extensible, provides advanced vulnerability detection, and adapts to network conditions such as congestion and latency while scanning.

The next ethical hacking tool on the list is Nessus. Nessus is the world’s most well-known vulnerability scanner, designed by Tenable Network Security. It is free and chiefly recommended for non-enterprise usage. This network vulnerability scanner efficiently finds critical bugs on any given system. Nessus can detect the following vulnerabilities:

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Nikto is a web scanner that scans and tests several web servers to identify outdated software, dangerous CGIs or files, and other problems. It can perform server-specific as well as generic checks and prints by capturing the received cookies. It is a free, open-source tool that checks version-specific problems across 270 servers and identifies default programs and files.

This is the best ethical hacking tool for testing wireless networks and hacking wireless LANs or wardriving. It passively identifies networks, collects packets, and detects non-beaconing and hidden networks with the help of data traffic. Kismet is a sniffer and wireless network detector that works with other wireless cards and supports raw-monitoring mode.

This is also an ethical hacking tool used to prevent wardriving. It works on Windows-based operating systems and can detect IEEE 902.11g, 802, and 802.11b networks. A newer version of this, MiniStumbler, is now available.

This ethical hacking tool is fully automated and detects and reports more than 4,500 web vulnerabilities, including every XSS and SQL Injection variant. Acunetix fully supports JavaScript, HTML5, and single-page applications, so you can audit complex authenticated applications.

If you want a tool that mimics hackers' work, you want Netsparker. This tool identifies vulnerabilities in web APIs and web applications, such as cross-site scripting and SQL Injection.

This tool is an entirely automated scanner that searches for cybersecurity weaknesses, explains the risks found, and helps address them. Intruder takes on much of the heavy lifting in vulnerability management and offers over 9000 security checks.

Nmap is an open-source security and port scanner and network exploration tool. It works for single hosts and large networks alike. Cybersecurity experts can use Nmap for network inventory, monitoring host and service uptime, and managing service upgrade schedules.

The Metasploit Framework is open-source, and Metasploit Pro is a commercial offering with a 14-day free trial. Metasploit is geared towards penetration testing, and ethical hackers can develop and execute exploit codes against remote targets.

Wireless network use is rising, so keeping Wi-Fi secure is becoming more critical. Aircrack-Ng offers ethical hackers various command-line tools that check and evaluate Wi-Fi network security. Aircrack-Ng is dedicated to attacking, monitoring, testing, and cracking. The tool supports Windows, OS X, Linux, eComStation, 2Free BSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, and Solaris.

Wireshark is a great hacking software for analyzing data packets. It can also perform deep inspections of a large number of established protocols. You can export analysis results to many different file formats, such as CSV, PostScript, Plaintext, and XML.

The Open Vulnerability Assessment Scanner is a fully featured tool for large-scale scans, performing authenticated and unauthenticated testing and performance tuning.

OpenVAS supports various high- and low-level Internet and industrial protocols backed by a robust internal programming language.

SQLMap is an open-source hacking software that automates detecting and exploiting SQL Injection flaws and taking control of database servers. You can use it to connect directly with specific databases. SQLMap completely supports a half-dozen SQL injection techniques (Boolean-based blind, error-based, stacked queries, time-based blind, UNION query-based, and out-of-band).

Ettercap is a free tool that is best suited for creating custom plug-ins.

Maltego is a tool dedicated to link analysis and data mining. It comes in four forms: the free Community version, Maltego CE; Maltego Classic, which costs $999; Maltego XL, which costs $1999; and server products like Comms, CTAS, and ITDS, starting at $40000. Maltego is best suited to working with huge graphs.

This security-testing tool comes in three price tiers: Community edition (free), Professional edition (starting at $399 per user/per year), and Enterprise edition (starting at $3999/year). Burp Suite distinguishes itself as a web vulnerability scanner.

This free tool is ideal for password cracking. It was created to detect weak UNIX passwords and can be used on DOS, Windows, and Open VMS.

This is a free tool for scanning IP addresses and ports, though it’s unclear what it’s so angry about. It can be used on the Internet or your local network and supports Windows, MacOS, and Linux.

SolarWinds emphasizes computer security improvement, automatically detecting threats and monitoring security policies. You can easily keep track of your log files and get instant alerts should anything suspicious happen.

Traceroute focuses on network path analysis. It can identify host names, packet loss, and IP addresses and provides accurate analysis via a command-line interface.

This is one of the best ethical hacking tools available today. Used in conjunction with LiveAction packet intelligence, it can diagnose network issues more effectively and faster.

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Look no further if you want a hacker security tool that checks vulnerabilities in online cloud systems. QualysGuard lets businesses streamline their compliance and security solutions, incorporating security into digital transformation initiatives.

WebInspect is an automated dynamic testing tool well-suited for ethical hacking operations. It offers hackers a dynamic, comprehensive analysis of complex web applications and services.

Password cracking is a big part of ethical hacking, and Hashcat is a robust tool. It can help ethical hackers audit password security, retrieve lost passwords, and discover the data stored in a hash.

This is a password recovery and audit tool for identifying and assessing password vulnerabilities on local networks and machines.

Here’s another entry in the password-cracking category. It uses rainbow tables to crack hashes, using a time-memory tradeoff algorithm to accomplish this.

IKECrack is an authentication cracking tool with the bonus of being open source. This tool is designed to conduct dictionary or brute-force attacks. IKECrack enjoys a solid reputation for successfully running cryptography tasks.

SBoxr is another open-source hacking tool that emphasizes vulnerability testing. It has a favorable reputation as a customizable tool that lets hackers create their custom security scanners.

Medusa is one of the best online speedy, brute-force parallel password cracker tools for ethical hackers.

Cain and Abel is a tool for recovering passwords for the Microsoft Operating System. It uncovers password fields, sniffs networks, recovers MS Access passwords, and cracks encrypted passwords using brute force, dictionary, and cryptanalysis attacks.

This open-source application is the official Nmap Security Scanner software and is multi-platform. Zenmap is ideal for any level of experience, from newbies to experienced hackers.

Here’s how to get started using any hacking software, either from the above list or wherever else on the Internet you find it:

You can use hacking tools if you fulfill both of the following conditions:

With the growing Internet security threats, employers now seek skilled and certified ethical hackers, such as those who have completed the CEH (v12) - Certified Ethical Hacker course, to prevent fraudulent crimes and identity thefts. End users have always been the weakest links using which cybercriminals crack even highly sophisticated defenses. In recent times, several large businesses have announced significant security breaches. Ethical hacking tools help companies identify shortcomings in internet security and prevent data breaches. Get started to upskill yourself now!