Nessus Network Auditing

Planning a Deploymen t
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| Make a list of your network s assets, who is responsible for them, and to whom the results should be mailed. |
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| Invite all the network s assets owners and managers to an overview of Nessus capabilities, and the effects they have. Give a live demonstration. |
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| Use a test lab to determine the network bandwidth requirements your organization can afford. |
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| Automate the server s process of scanning and updating. |
Configuring Scanners
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| Choose a topology that suits your needs. |
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| Buy any additional hardware you require. |
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| Practice scanning for a specific threat, as in the case of a critical Microsoft advisory. |
Data Correlation
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| Use a database instead of files to store all the results. |
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| Correlate the results you receive from scans to help you concentrate on the most serious vulnerabilities. |
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| Generate differential results from the data stored in the database. |
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| Generate complex results using sophisticated SQL statements. |
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| Filter out from the database irrelevant vulnerabilities and false positives. |
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| Use third-party tools to ease the use vulnerability assessment in your organization. |
Common Problems
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| Avoid problems caused by scanning too aggressively. |
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| Test relatively unknown software and hardware in a test lab to avoid unexpected problems. |
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| Try to avoid scanning printers to save paper resources. |
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| Scan your workstations during working hours to avoid illusive hosts, or instruct your employees to leave their workstations turned on for the night. |