Top 10 important open-source security applications

If you are considering using some open-source components as part of your security plan, you will have thousands of options. at the time of this article, freshmeat.net listed 1,232 open-source security projects, and sourceforge.net listed 3,334. to help narrow down (select) the list of 10 open source security applications most often considered valuable to the enterprise by experts.

1. Nessus

Nessus is known as "the world's most popular vulnerability scanning program, which is used by more than 75,000 organizations around the world ". although this scanner can be downloaded for free, the annual direct purchase fee is $1,200 to update all the latest threat information from tenable network security. linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, Mac OS X, and Windows can both use Nessus.

2. Snort

This Intrusion Detection System (IDS) is so effective that it has become No. 1 in the world and is included in many commercial products. in addition to free releases, Snort developers (sourcefire) also provide open-source commercial products. linux, windows, FreeBSD, and OS X can be used.

3. Nagios

As a product specially designed for enterprise users, Nagios can detect network services, host resources, and environmental factors to identify potential vulnerabilities. it can send warnings through e-mail or the browser (PAGER), and provides a graphical representation of network functions. its optimal operating environment is Linux, but it can also run in * nix.

4. spamassasssin

Any list of open-source security tools that do not contain spamassassin is incomplete. as the winner of two "datamation product of the Year", this anti-spam tool is the secret weapon behind many commercial products) ", at the same time, many email service providers and spam (Tool) providers are using it. experts often regard spamassassin as the best open-source anti-spam tool. (operating system independent, OS-independent)

5. ClamAV

As the most widely used open-source anti-virus tool, Clam Antivirus is highly respected and generally considered to be inferior to commercial anti-virus tools. the original source code supports UNIX-based systems, but (its official website) provides links to third-party solutions for Linux, BSD, and windows.

6. Open SSL

This toolkit uses the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol, the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol and the ssleay keystore. it complies with FIPS-140 standards and is widely used by large organizations and commercial software providers. (operating system independent, OS-independent)

7. OpenSSH

This Secure Shell (SSH) technology enables administrators to use public keys when operating remote hosts. openSSH is developed by OpenBSD. it encrypts all information, including passwords, to prevent hackers and identity thieves. it is integrated into most Linux releases and Mac OS X, and also applicable to Windows, UNIX, Solaris, and other systems.

8. NMAP

NMAP is short for "Network mapper". It scans the network port and returns information about the hardware connected to the network, operating system, and application version. it supports all major operating systems, including windows, Linux, UNIX, Mac OS X, and other systems.

9. ossec HIDS

This host-based intrusion detection system (HIDS) is very popular among enterprise users recently, thanks to its high scalability. if an attack breaks through your network protection, ossec HIDS will block the attack at the host level. It can also be configured to notify the network administrator of each attack. it is compatible with many firewalls and all major operating systems.

10. Wireshark

Wireshark advertised itself as "the world's most popular network protocol analyzer ". wireshark is a well-known "ethereal" that allows users to view all network traffic passing through one Ethernet. it can run in windows, Linux, OS X, Solaris, FreeBSD, NetBSD, and other systems.