OpenVAS

The Open Vulnerability Assessment System (OpenVAS) is an open‐source framework of several tools and services that offers powerful vulnerability scanning and management systems. It was designed to search for networked devices, accessible ports, and services and then test for vulnerabilities. It is a competitor to the well‐known Nexpose or Nessus vulnerability scanning tool. Analyzing the results from tools like these is an excellent first step for an IT security team working to create a robust, fully developed picture of their network. These tools can also be used as part of a more mature IT platform that regularly assesses a corporate network for vulnerabilities and alerts IT professionals when a major change or new vulnerability has been introduced.

At the center of this modular service‐oriented product is the OpenVAS scanner, sometimes called an engine. The scanner uses the Network Vulnerability Tests (NVT) maintained by Greenbone Networks based in Germany...