Scanners

The scanners tab displays the number of scanners available for scan and their details. Adding a scanner is not an option in Nessus Home and Professional versions, but can be added in Nessus Security Center:

Click on the Settings to display the settings menu. Next, we will discuss the details of various options available in the settings menu.

In the preceding section, the overview tab provides a tool overview such as license information, plugin information, and so on; we will have a look at the use of the Software Update tab in the Updating Nessus recipe:

• Master Password: Nessus provides an option to encrypt all the scan policies and credentials used in the policies using a master password as an extra layer of protection at the file level. You can find this as part of the Settings menu in the web console:

• Proxy Server: A proxy server is required to connect multiple networks by forwarding requests and responses without any changes. You can add a proxy server in Nessus, if you require one in your network, in order for the Nessus to reach the hosts to be scanned. You can find the Proxy Server option as a part of the Settings menu, as shown here:

• SMTP Server: A Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server is required to send emails. Nessus provides the option for an email notification once the scans are complete. You can configure an SMTP server so that Nessus will be able to use this mail server to send notification emails. The SMTP configuration option can be found as a part of the settings menu, shown as follows:

• Custom CA: Nessus, by default, uses a certificate signed while its installation for web based access in order for the browser to trust the certificate and negate all the certificate errors. Nessus provides an option to save a custom CA. The Custom CA option can be found as part of the Settings menu, shown as follows:

• Password Management: Default and weak passwords are one of the most commonly found vulnerabilities in a system, so in order to secure the Nessus console from unauthorized access, we need to configure strong passwords. For an admin to ensure strong password usage, Nessus provides a password management option with which an admin can configure parameters such as password complexity, session timeout, maximum login attempts, and minimum password length. These can be used to secure the Nessus console from password and session-related attacks. Password management options can be found in the Settings menu, shown as follows: