Welcome to the Nessus Setup tutorial! In this guide, we will walk you through the process of installing and configuring Nessus, a powerful vulnerability scanner.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the following:

  • A system with the required specifications to run Nessus.
  • A valid Nessus license.
  • Administrator privileges on the system where you will be installing Nessus.

Installation

  1. Download the Nessus installer from the Tenable website. Download Nessus
  2. Run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

Configuration

Once installed, you will need to configure Nessus:

  1. Open the Nessus Manager web interface by navigating to https://<nessus_manager_ip>:8838.
  2. Log in using your credentials.
  3. Click on the "Manage" tab and then "Scans" to view the available scan configurations.
  4. Select the scan configuration you want to use and click "Edit".
  5. Configure the scan options according to your requirements.

Running a Scan

To run a scan:

  1. Go to the "Scan" tab in the Nessus Manager web interface.
  2. Click on "New Scan" and select the scan configuration you want to use.
  3. Specify the target IP address or range.
  4. Click "Start Scan" to begin the scan.

Interpreting Results

After the scan completes, you will see a list of vulnerabilities. Use the following criteria to determine the severity of each vulnerability:

  • Critical: Vulnerabilities that can lead to a complete system compromise.
  • High: Vulnerabilities that can lead to significant data loss or service disruption.
  • Medium: Vulnerabilities that can be exploited to gain unauthorized access.
  • Low: Vulnerabilities that are less likely to be exploited.

Further Reading

For more detailed information on Nessus, please refer to the following resources:

Nessus Scanner