Nessus on Windows

What is Nessus?

Nessus is an Open Source Remote Vulnerability Scanner. 
Get more information at www.nessus.org.



What is Windows port of Nessus?

Cenzic has taken a step forward to port Nessus to Windows so that even the Windows users will be benefited from it. 



What is NessusWX?

NessusWX is a client program for Nessus security scanner which is designed especially for Windows platform. 
You can download it at http://nessuswx.nessus.org/



What are the limitations of Windows port of Nessus?

The Windows port of Nessus is under development and has some limitations as follows: -

•	You can perform only one scan at a time. After every scan the Nessus server exits and has to be restarted. You can create your own service to restart the Nessus server every time. 

•	If you are using NessusWX as a client to connect to the Nessus server, NessusWX will disconnect after every scan. You need to reconnect to the server through NessusWX to perform another scan.

•	It may or may not support any external plugins which are not supplied with the source code. 
	
•	We have tested the binaries only on Microsoft Windows XP and 2000.



How do I compile the Windows port of Nessus?

Follow the following steps:-

1.	Click here to download the source code of the first version of Windows port of Nessus and unzip the files. You will get a folder named nessus2.2.
2.	Open a windows command prompt, change directory to nessus2.2 and execute buildNessus.bat. You need Microsoft .Net compiler to compile it.
3.	All the binary files will get generated in the nseesu2.2\Scanner\bin folder.
4.	Just double click on the scannerd.exe and the server will be up.



How do I use NessusWX to scan my network?

Follow the following steps:-

1.	Once the Nessus server is up download the NessusWX client from http://nessuswx.nessus.org/.
2.	Click on NessusWX.exe.
3.	Click on communications>connect. You will get a dialog box. Enter server name 127.0.0.1 and port number 1241. Use Authentication by password, Login: user1 and password: user1. Then connect. Now you are connected to the Nessus server.
4.	Click on Session>New>. Enter a session name. Add a target (IP or Hostname). Apply the plugins and click ok. The scan will start. You can view the results of the scan in the preview.



Can I use the binaries directly?

Yes, download the binaries and click on Scanner\bin\scannerd.exe. Your server will be up.



Where can I post my queries or suggestions related to Windows Port of Nessus?

You can post your queries to nessus@cenzic.com. 
We will try our best to answer them back. 
We are looking forward for more suggestions from all of you who are interested in this project.