9+ Top Ethical Hacking Tools: Free & Paid (2024)

Find the best ethical hacking software to test and secure your systems. Explore tools that provide security without legal concerns.
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Key Takeaways

Why do most businesses opt for ethical hacking software to protect themselves from online attacks?

Indeed, these software programs are the easiest to use and can say a lot about the cybersecurity situation of your company.

But which ethical hacking software is the best?

It seems to be quite difficult to make this decision, given the number of existing cases.

However, we have put together a list of the best software for ethical hacking.

These ethical hacking software will help you arm your website against cyberattacks.

The best ethical hacking software

Here is a list of the main ethical hacking software that you can use without fear:

1. Invicti.

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If you're looking for ethical hacking software that's simple and easy to use, Invicti is probably the one for you.

It is an extremely effective and well-known software for ethical hacking that is automated with a simple user interface.

Invicti has automatic vulnerability detection. It uses special evidence-based scanning technology that looks for potential vulnerabilities.

So, you can find system vulnerabilities that can be exploited and hacked.

Invicti also offers a special dynamic and interactive analysis approach (DAST + IAST). It scans every part of your application, even the parts that other software might miss.

But the problem arises when you need to perform analytics on multiple web applications. That's where Invicti comes in.

Invicti believes in automation, not only in terms of digitization but also in implementation.

This ethical hacking solution is scannable and can detect vulnerabilities in up to 1,000 web applications in 24 hours.

So it's faster than other software, saving you time and effort. And the best part is that the software only requires minimal configuration.

Automatic vulnerability detection software can detect custom 404 error pages and URL rewrite rules. So you don't need to reconfigure the software.

Additionally, Invicti helps identify threats to your system.

You can then assign them transparently to your developers through its platform. It is a complete ethical hacking solution.

2. Acunetix.

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Acunetix is an excellent platform for ethically hacking your web application and analyzing security issues.

It takes a completely new approach by approaching the issue from the perspective of a hacker.

This ethical hacking software can analyze all variants of XSS and SQL injection. It can also scan for up to 4,500 vulnerabilities.

This makes it the most versatile security analysis software, which can be implemented in multiple web applications.

Additionally, the software works with JavaScript, HTML5, and even single-page applications.

Additionally, Acunetix works with over 1200 WordPress themes, the core, and plugin vulnerabilities.

It is therefore the best choice for detecting security problems in your WordPress website. It does so thanks to its DeepScan technology.

This ethical hacking software uses the most advanced Cross-Site Scripting and SQLi techniques.

In other words, it has an advanced DOM-based XSS detection function, which is essential for application security.

Acunetix is a highly scalable ethical hacking solution. It can crawl up to thousands of pages in a matter of hours without hesitation or system issues.

This allows you to take full control of the security of your web application.

But how do you keep track of all the vulnerabilities? Acunetix integrates with the most popular problem trackers and web application firewalls. These facilitate application development.

But even if you don't have these trackers and WAF, Acunetix offers its audit solution. It can audit and report various vulnerabilities.

3. Solarwinds Security Event Manager.

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Do you want to analyze your web applications to detect security issues and resolve them quickly? Then SolarWinds Security eVent Manager is the ideal choice for you.

It is an ethical hacking software that automatically detects vulnerabilities. It helps you protect your network.

For starters, it has a very intuitive user interface that keeps all the essentials in one place. Ethical hacking software can be very complicated to use.

So a simple user interface is a relief.

Additionally, SolarWinds offers compliance reports. This feature has predefined templates for PCI DSS, SOX, and HIPAA standards.

It tells you if your software or web application complies with current laws and regulations.

At SolarWinds, you also get all the benefits of a cyber threat intelligence framework. It automatically detects and responds to security threats present in your web application.

In addition to detecting threats, SolarWinds reacts to them as well. This makes the application much more advanced than other ethical hacking software.

To be more precise, it has active response software that allows you to enter personalized responses to incidents.

Then, the Active Response software executes the pre-assigned response as soon as a threat is detected.

That way, you can respond to the thousands of vulnerabilities that SolarWinds security software detects.

SolarWinds also offers a file integrity monitoring feature. This software detects changes to folders, items, and registry settings, as well as to master files.

4. Traceroute NG.

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Traceroute NG is an excellent ethical hacking software that allows you to analyze the network path.

It's ideal for identifying things like packet loss, host names, and even IP addresses. This security software detects path changes and allows for continuous polling.

With Traceroute NG, you benefit from the analysis of paths to ICMP and TCP networks.

ICMP is a network layer protocol that is used to diagnose specific network problems.

With this software, you can expose the vulnerabilities in your network and mobilize your team to secure it.

And with TCP network path analysis, you can detect vulnerabilities in network communication.

Additionally, Traceroute NG keeps a complete log of all of your information in a.txt file.

This way, you are always up to date with the latest network protocol security issues and can fix them.

But that's not all. Traceroute NG supports both IPv4 and IPv6. It is therefore more versatile than other network path analysis software, which only focuses on one type of protocol.

However, the Traceroute NG interface is not that intuitive. It uses a command line interface (CLI), which is text-based and does not include graphical elements.

Additionally, while it keeps a.txt log file, it allows you to access the complete history of the network. Additionally, Traceroute NG does not show vendor details and contact.

5. Hashcat.

Hashcat is an ethical hacking software that focuses on cracking passwords, although it has other functions.

The main purpose of this software is to help you recover passwords lost by hackers or by your memory.

Hashcat is an open-source platform, which means that the source code has been made public.

And if you know a bit about coding, you can modify the code to suit your needs. That makes it highly customizable.

And that's not all. The software can be used with multiple devices running on the same system.

So you see all the security information you need for all of your applications in one place. Additionally, the devices can be of various types, and Hashcat will display all of them in its system.

With Hashcat, you can recover lost passwords and keep track of the security of your password. This software also allows you to know what type of data is stored inside a hash.

Hashcat also has a built-in benchmarking system and a thermal watchdog.

It tracks the performance of your system or server and automatically fixes any issues. So you always have an optimized system that does not consume too much energy.

Hashcat also allows you to pause and resume analysis interactively.

Additionally, it can crack multiple hashes and implement them with performance as the main objective.

6. Ikecrack.

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IKEcrack is a unique, open-source, and fast IKE/IPsec verification cracking software. This ethical hacking software focuses on password security and protecting your network.

It automatically uses brute force or a dictionary attack to crack your password.

This may be the password that is used with shared key IKE verification. This way you are always aware of the vulnerabilities in your password.

IKEcrack is the ideal choice for cryptography tasks. It's ideal for cracking codes and understanding how cryptic or easy your password is to crack.

For businesses, password security is a major issue that can be addressed with IKEcrack.

But the features don't end there. IKEcrack uses a very performance-based method to deliver these goods.

First, the initiating client sends some information to the responder. These contain a proposal for encryption options.

Then, the responder generates a random number, the public value DH, and calculates the hash that is sent to the initiator.

Thus, the respondent and the initiator can authenticate each other and begin to communicate.

The initiator sends a response packet that is also encrypted in a hash. As you can see, the process is quite rigorous and focuses a lot on performance.

However, this software only uses brute-force and dictionary attacks.

As a result, it will not be able to tell you about the security of your system against other types of password cracking techniques.

7. Angry IP Scanner.

Angry IP scanner is a fast and easy to use IP address and port scanner. It is designed to detect vulnerabilities in IP addresses in various ranges and associated ports.

It is a cross-platform ethical hacking software that will tell you a lot about the security of your network.

The source code of the software can be downloaded from the website and does not require additional installation.

However, if you want to extend the use cases of the Angry IP scanner, you will need to create additional plugins.

The advantage of the angry IP address scanner is that it queries IP addresses to make sure they are still alive.

Then, as an option, it will resolve host names, scan ports, and determine MAC addresses.

In simpler terms, it gathers enough information about the network to allow you to make a confident judgment.

Additionally, it can provide NetBIOS information such as computer name, workgroup, and user. It is also ideal for detecting and displaying IP address ranges.

Angry IP Scanner scans the network and stores logs in TXT, XML, and CSV formats. You can also store the results in an IP port list file.

And the best part is that setting up Angry IP Scanner and creating your plugins is easy. It just uses JavaScript. So creating new plugins should be a piece of cake.

8. Netstumbler.

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NetStumbler is an ideal ethical hacking software. It was designed to automatically detect wireless networks.

It runs on the Windows platform and is used to verify network configurations. This ethical hacking software works even with WLANs that have poor coverage.

It automatically detects any vbulnerbaiiky in your network and automatically informs you about it.

Sometimes, unauthorized people can access a network. This leaves behind a malicious or unauthorized access point.

NetStumbler works by detecting malicious access points and informing you so that you can take the necessary actions.

If your network is experiencing interference, NetStumbler can also determine the cause.

So your network connection stays uninterrupted. And you get the best wireless connectivity experience.

In addition, NetStumbler can steer directional antennas in the case of long-distance WLAN links.

Simply put, NetStumble detects long-range Wi-Fi networks. These are often used in an unauthorized manner.

Additionally, NetStumbler is the best software to use for WARdriving.

WardDriving is the method by which attackers can search for unsecured wireless networks while driving.

It is an ancient technique that allows hackers and attackers to know which network to hack. And if you're not careful, it could be yours next.

However, keep in mind that this software cannot help you determine what type of chip to use with your card.

Additionally, it will automatically disconnect from the network if it automatically reconfigures.

9. Ettercap.

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Ettercap is a fairly sophisticated ethical hacking software for modern web developers. It offers active and passive dissection and detects vulnerabilities on the fly.

In simpler terms, it is more effective at detecting vulnerabilities and will notify you of any threats to system security.

In addition, Ettercap detects ARP poisoning. In case you don't know what that means, ARP poisoning is when an attacker intercepts communication between you and another device.

With Ettercap services, you sniff out threats on a local network switched between hosts.

And that's not all. Etercap can also detect SSH connections, even in a full-duplex system. The software is also ideal for sniffing SSL-secured HTTP data.

This is done even if the connection is established through a proxy. That way, you can track down the attackers and determine where the attack is coming from.

But how do you integrate Ettercap into your software? It's simple. Characters can be injected into software or server code, even when the server is live.

So you don't experience any interruptions. This way, you don't have to interrupt your server for maintenance from time to time.

And if you want to use the Ettercap your way, then don't hesitate.

It comes with the Ettercap API, which allows you to design and develop your own plugins for a more personalized experience.

FAQs

What is ethical hacking software?

Ethical hacking software is software or code that is used to detect vulnerabilities in a web application or system.

Businesses use this software to help them identify gaps in their security systems and update them.

What is the best software for hacking?

The best software for ethical hacking is undoubtedly Invicti. It is a very intuitive platform with lots of interesting features.

First, it's highly scalable, meaning you can use it on up to 1,000 different web applications in 24 hours.

Free or paid ethical hacking tool? Paying?

It depends entirely on you whether you want free or paid ethical hacking software.

However, there are major differences between the two. For example, free hacking software may not offer as many features as the paid version.

However, the free features are still sufficient for network security. But if you want to protect yourself from cyberattacks, it's best to opt for paid software.

Summary.

Finding vulnerabilities in your system or server helps you develop as a companion. Cybersecurity is therefore extremely important for all businesses.

And this is especially true for those who have recently gone digital.

So finding the right ethical hacking software to help you crack your system is crucial.

These are 10 of the best ethical hacking software that we talked about above. Among these, Invicti is the best for its simpler user interface and high scalability, among other features.

But feel free to try others and let us know which one was the most successful for you!

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Stephen MESNILDREY
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