Ethical Hacking – 10 top penetration testing tool in 2022

When we talk about the penetration Testing tools, we all know very well that the first thing that comes up to our mind is the threat.

As we all know very well that we use penetration testing and hacking tools for recognizing security vulnerabilities in a network, server, or in web application.

Generally, all these tools are very beneficial, since they enable you to distinguish the “unknown weakness” in the software and in any networking applications that can create a security break or whole.

Hence, there are Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing (VAPT) Tools that strike your system inside the network and outside the web as if a hacker would strike it.

If unauthorized access is conceivable, then undoubtedly the system has to be changed. While apart from these things, let me clarify one common thing that penetration testing is also known as pen-testing as well, and it is commonly used by companies simply because it is one of the best procedures for companies and individuals to defend themselves through penetration testing.

In the old back days hacking was very difficult to recognize as well as to perform because it required a lot of manual bit fiddling.

But today, it is quite possible because of these penetration tools. Well, we can say that there is no doubt now that the threat aspect is regularly growing.

As it resembles that only one threat is discovered that many obscure ones are still stealing. Thus as we mentioned above that, it is one of the best methods, especially for businesses and corporations, to protect themselves with the help of Penetration Testing or Pen Testing.

Hence, in this article, we will simply provide you with an overview of what Pen Testing is, its benefits, and the most commonly used tools used today.

However, apart from all these things, still, there is a lot of confusion nowadays, in the industry concerning the differentiation between vulnerability scanning and penetration testing, well, these two phrases are usually interchanged application.

But, the fact is that both their purposes and implications are quite different. Hence if we talk about the vulnerability assessment, then it directly classifies and reports noted weakness; on the other hand, a penetration test or pen test simply tries to utilize the vulnerabilities to decide whether unauthorized access or other malicious exercise is conceivable.

Thus Penetration testing generally comprises network penetration testing and application security testing as well as directs and processes nearby the networks and applications and should occur from both outside and inside the network that is trying to come in.

What is Penetration Testing?

Penetration testing also called pentesing or security testing is a method of simulating the attack to scanning, test and identify the vulnerability in the authorized computer system or network to prevent it by patching the vulnerability system.

Penetration testing is automated by the Penetration Testing Tools which is generally used to identify the weak spot so that it can be cured with the help of these tools.

We can also say that Penetration testing tools are utilized as a part of a penetration test or pen test to automatize some specific tasks, develop testing productivity, and explore issues that might be challenging to find using manual analysis methods alone.

The two essential penetration testing tools are static analysis tools and dynamic analysis tools.

Moreover, for example, let me take Veracode, now many of you might be thinking that why Veracode only, why not anything else? If you are thinking about this, then let me clarify that Veracode simply performs both dynamic and static code analysis and find out different security weakness that includes wicked code as well as the loss of functionality that may commence to security breaks.

For better understanding, we can say that it’s just like in the movies, where hacker consultants burst into your operating networks to find vulnerabilities before attackers do.

Thus it’s a hidden cyber-attack where the pentester or decent hacker uses the tools and methods accessible to disclose the ill-disposed hackers.

Why are Penetration Testing Tools Essential?

Well, after knowing what Penetration Testing Tools are all about, now some of you might be thinking that why these penetration tools are so much essential.

As we discussed above that these tools are used to find the weak points and areas so that it will help you to overcome those attacks.

Thus, these Penetration Testing Tools are used by companies and organizations so that they can protect their operating system through these tools and stop hackers from those who are stealing their companies’ private information.

These penetration tests are generally performed by testers, some network specialists, or by security specialists.

Performing these penetration tools also has some advantages. These are like it will provide the IT team a distinct prospect on how to encourage their lines of protection.

Next, it always provides honest feedback, and lastly, it’s a very vast and significant application as it is not just bound to the hardware.

However, we can say that to perform and achieve a prosperous Pen Test you need to choose the right tools.

Generally, we all know very well that if you are fully new to this world or this phrase, then let me clarify that pen testing can be a complicated and intricate task, as it can take literally hours, and not only that even sometimes it also takes days as well if it all had to be done by hand.

Hence, here in this article, we tried our best to provide you with the top 10 best penetration tools available on the internet, which will simply help you to choose the best among all and will also help you to complete your task as per your need and demand.

So, now without wasting much time let’s get started and simply explore the whole list that we have mentioned below.

10 Best Penetration Testing Tools 2022

• Metasploit
• NMAP
• Wireshark
• Aircrack
• Nessus
• Social Engineering Toolkit
• W3AF
• Burp Suite
• BeEF
• SQLmap

1. Metasploit

At first, we will discuss Metasploit; it is a very famous collection among all several Penetration Testing Tools.

As per the Cybersecurity specialists and other IT experts, this tool is very beneficial as it is there for years to achieve various intentions and tasks.

Moreover, it discovers various weaknesses, conducts security evaluations, and also formulates a defense technique.

Furthermore, you can use the Metasploit tool on different servers, just like online-based applications, networks, and various other places.

Suppose, if a new security weakness or abuse has arrived then the utility will recognize it. Well, if you need to estimate the security of your foundation upon older weakness, then, Metasploit will be the right choice for you because it is the most advanced and successful framework among all the tools of penetration, in short, we can say that it’s a commercial product.

2. NMAP

After Metasploit, now we have the NMAP, it is also known as network mapper, which is a free and open-source tool for examining your systems or networks for different weaknesses.

This tool is also useful if you want to carry out other activities, like monitoring host or service uptime and working mapping of network assault surfaces.

This tool generally runs on all the major operating systems and is proper for scanning both large and small networks.

With this tool, you can also understand the different features of any target network, including the hosts accessible on the network, the type of operating systems working, and the type of container filters or firewalls in the area.

Hence, NMAP itself is legal to use, and not only that it’s a handy and helpful tool as well.

3. Wireshark

Next, we have the Wireshark, as it is a universal tool to know the traffic crossing across your network.

Thus it is generally used to penetrate down into your everyday TCP/IP connection problems.

This tool supports the analysis of number of protocols (around a hundred), including real-time investigation and decryption assistance for many of those protocols.

Moreover, if you want to capture data packets, then it will allow you to examine the different features of individual packages, such as where they are getting from, their purpose, and the protocol they have used.

With all this information, you can effortlessly recognize security Vulnerabilities in your network.

Hence, If you’re new to pentesting, then Wireshark is a must-learn tool for all.

4. Aircrack-NG

Next, we have one of the most comprehensive tools which is Aircrack, it offers a good collection of utility tools for examining the vulnerabilities in a WiFi network.

This tool simply enables you to watch over the security of your WiFi network by seizing data packets and transporting them to text files for additional analysis.

Moreover, You can also check the execution of WiFi cards through capture and injection. Furthermore, this wifi security auditing tool is free to use.

However, the fact is that cracking wifi today is often possible because of the sparse arrangement, bad passwords, or outmoded encryption protocols. Thus Aircrack is one of the best choices for many users.

5. Nessus

Nessus is one of the most commonly and widely used vulnerability scanners in the world, hence, it has managed to obtain the first place in the world rankings in 2000, 2003, and 2006 as the best network security tool available on the internet.

Basically, this tool simply prevents network attacks by identifying the weaknesses and configuration errors that can be used for attacks.

So, Nessus is basically the worldwide standard for the prevention of network attacks, vulnerability identification, and detection of configuration problems used by hackers to enter the network.

Apart from all these things, this well-known tool, of course, Nessus has been used by more than 1 million users worldwide, which simply making it the leader in vulnerability assessment, security configuration and compliance with security standards.

Moreover, we all know very well that mobile phones, the cloud, and the internet are the technologies of the future, and it is really important to secure them properly.

As all these new technologies simply change the assumptions we have used in the past for security technology.

Hence, now it is time to evolve to security 2.0, it’s not a next-generation security product, basically, it’s a collection of critical capabilities that are integrated together into a complete solution.

6. Social Engineering Toolkit

Next, we will discuss the Social-Engineer Toolkit (SET), it is a unique tool in sequences that detects the attacks that are targeted at the human element than on the system component.

Further, it has incredible features that let you send emails, java applets, and many more, including the attack code.

Well, it goes without telling that this tool is to be practiced very carefully and only for ‘white-hat’ purposes.

While now if we talk about its availability then let me clarify that this tool has a command-line interface and it runs on Linux, Apple Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows. And not only that even it is an open-source tool.

7. W3AF

Now we will discuss the W3AF, it is a web application attack and inspection framework.

Moreover, It has three varieties of plugins; discovery, audit, and charge that interact with each other for any weakness in the site, for illustration, a discovery plugin in W3AF seems for different URLs to test for deficiency and deliver it to the audit plugin which then utilizes these URL’s to hunt for several vulnerabilities.

Well, it can further be configured to run as a MITM proxy, and this request can be caught.

Thus, you could be transferred to the demand generator, and then manual web application testing can be implemented by using mutable parameters.

Therefore, it also has features to employ the vulnerabilities that it obtains.

8. Burp Suite

Now we will discuss the Burp Suite, well, this is one of the essential scanners with a limited “intruder” tool for attacks, although many protection testing experts swear that pen-testing without this tool is unbelievable.

Hence, this tool is not free, but it is very cost-effective and efficient. Basically, this tool works and surprises with different tasks like intercepting proxy, dragging content and functionality, web employment scanning, and much more.

Moreover, you can also use this tool on all the major platforms like Windows, Apple Mac OS X, and Linux environments for performing these types of tasks.

9. BeEF

After that, we will discuss the BeEF, and the BeEF simply stands for the Browser Exploitation Framework.

Thus it’s a penetration testing tool that concentrates on the web browser, which implies that it takes advantage of the point that it’s an open web browser into a target system and creates its attacks to go on from this point.

Moreover, this tool has a GUI interface, and it operates on all the major platforms like Linux, Apple Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows. And apart from all these things, it is a wide open-source application.

10. SQLmap

Lastly, we will discuss Sqlmap, it is a fantastic open-source Pen-testing tool, which is mainly used for identifying and exploiting SQL injection effects in an application and hacking over different database servers.

Well, apart from all these things, it comes with the command-line interface, hence it supports all the major platforms.

And all the versions of this tool are available free of cost, which means you can easily download them if you want.

Well, basically this tool is essentially used for identifying and utilizing SQL injection issues in an application and hacking over different database servers.

Moreover, it appears with the command-line interface as we told earlier, and available for various platforms like Linux, Apple Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows.