Hacking tools are a set of computer programs and scripts that will help you recognize and exploit weaknesses in your computer systems, web-based applications, networks and servers. There are a broad spectrum of such tools available in the market. You can easily download these ethical hacking tools and put them to best use. Before downloading these tools you must know that some of the tools can be downloaded for free while the rest are paid.

The market is flooded with thousands of ethical hacking tools and we have brought to you some of the handpicked tools that are the most popular and highly efficient.

1)  Acunetix

It’s an automated tool used for security testing by ethical hackers. It primarily includes web applications or websites that are accessible via a browser using an HTTP/HTTPS protocol. Acunetix is capable of easily detecting threats like cross-site scripting and SQL injection attacks. While using Acunetix, you can even schedule scans for a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Some of the additional features of the tool include vulnerability testing, network scanning, crawl analysis, WordPress quality check and risk management.

2)  Nmap

Nmap or Network Mapper is a software used for accumulating data about a target. The information collected is used for strategizing an attack. The software is supported by all major operating systems like Windows, Mac and Linux. Some of the additional features of this software include network mapping, IPvs support and initiating DNS queries.

3)  Metasploit

This tool is used for upgrading cybersecurity counter methods. Metasploit can be used for identifying invasion gateways to determine and prevent existing vulnerabilities that need to be monitored, taken care of and enhanced. The tool can be used easily by beginners as a first step towards ethical hacking. With the help of Metasploit, one can duplicate websites and test website architecture’s reaction to phishing attacks. Additionally, Metasploit helps in circumventing early warning systems, ascertain overall security conditioning, carrying remote attacks on assets and determining network hosts.

4)  John the Ripper

It’s one of the most popular password cracking tools. Most of the time, people use passwords that can be easily cracked. This tool can be utilized for suggesting adequate password strength for your device or operating system. It primarily operates via three distinct modes which are single crack mode, wordlist mode and incremental mode.

5)  Hashcat

It’s one of the fastest password recovery tools. Hashcat is favoured over John the Ripper for penetration testing due to its exceptional capabilities for cracking hashes. Hashcat performs best on modern Graphic Processing Units compared to a CPU where you can face lag in the process. Some of the key features of Hashcat are that it’s an open-source and free tool, it supports a wide range of operating systems like Windows, macOS and Linux and also it can crack multiple hashes simultaneously.

6)  Wireshark

Wireshark is an open-source tool used for analyzing network traffic. The tool is capable of identifying security problems along with rectifying miscellaneous problems in the network. Wireshark makes it easier to present data in a more comprehensive manner and makes it easy to come up with a proactive solution. Some of the additional features of Wireshark include allowance of inspection of multiple protocols, conduct offline analysis, supports Windows, Linux and OS X and allows usage of GUI for browsing network data.

Ethical hacking tools play a key role in pentesting and are available in multiple forms. We have brought to you some of the top ethical hacking tools that are used most widely by ethical hackers.