Top Ethical Hacking Tools

1. Nmap

Nmap (Network Mapper) is a powerful open-source tool used for network exploration, management, and security auditing. It is designed to scan and map networks and hosts, identifying what services are running, the operating system of the target, and other information.

2. Metasploit

Metasploit is an open-source penetration testing framework used for developing and executing exploits against target systems. It provides various tools for testing and exploiting vulnerabilities in computer systems, such as servers, workstations, and mobile devices.

3. Burp Suite

Burp Suite provides a wide range of features that can be used to test the security of web applications. The tool is available in both a free and paid version. The free version provides basic functionality, while the paid version (Burp Suite Professional) includes additional features such as automatic scanning, session handling, and more advanced reporting capabilities.

4. Wireshark

Wireshark is a free and open-source network protocol analyzer that is used to capture and analyze network traffic in real-time. With Wireshark, you can capture and inspect network traffic and packets, decode various network protocols (TCP, UDP, IP, HTTP, SMTP, FTP), and analyze network behavior.

5. Aircrack-ng

Aircrack-ng is a network security tool that is used to monitor, analyze, and crack Wi-Fi networks. It is a free and open-source software suite that runs on multiple platforms, including Linux, Windows, and macOS. It consists of a detector, packet sniffer, WEP and WPA/WPA2-PSK cracker and analysis tool for 802.11 wireless LANs.. It works with any wireless network interface controller whose driver supports raw monitoring mode and can sniff 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g traffic.

6. John the Ripper

John the Ripper is a free password cracking software tool originally developed for the Unix operating system, now it can run on 15 different platforms. It can perform dictionary attacks, which involve trying words from a predefined list of words to see if they match the password. It can also perform brute-force attacks, which involve trying every possible combination of characters to crack the password. Additionally, it can use various other techniques, such as rainbow table attacks and hybrid attacks, to crack passwords.

7. THC Hydra

THC Hydra is a popular command-line based password cracking tool that is used to test the strength of passwords. It works by using different approaches to perform brute-force attacks in order to guess the right username and password combination.

8. Kali Linux

Kali Linux is a Debian-derived Linux distribution designed for digital forensics and penetration testing. Kali Linux comes with a wide range of pre-installed tools and software applications that are useful for security professionals and penetration testers, including tools for password cracking, network scanning, and vulnerability assessment.

9. Nikto

Nikto is an open source web server scanner that helps identify potential security vulnerabilities in web servers and web applications. It is designed to scan web servers for over 6,500 potentially dangerous files/CGIs, outdated server software, and other security vulnerabilities. Nikto is written in Perl and can run on multiple operating systems, including Linux, Unix, and Windows. It works by sending requests to the target server and analyzing the server's responses for known vulnerabilities.

10. SQLMap

SQLMap is an open source penetration testing tool that automates the process of detecting and exploiting SQL injection flaws and taking over of database servers.

OpenVAS (Open Vulnerability Assessment System) is an open-source network security scanner that allows for comprehensive vulnerability testing and management. OpenVAS is a fork of the well-known and widely used security scanner, Nessus, and is designed to be used by network administrators, security professionals, and developers. It is written in the programming language C, and is supported on a variety of operating systems including Linux, FreeBSD, and macOS.

The Social-Engineer Toolkit (SET) is an open-source penetration testing framework that is designed to help security researchers and penetration testers carry out social engineering attacks. SET is a versatile tool that includes a range of attack vectors, including spear-phishing, website attacks, and credential theft. SET is a Python-based toolkit that is available for multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, and Linux.