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netcat VS Suricata

Compare netcat VS Suricata and see what are their differences

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Contents:
  1. » Base Details
  2. » Videos
  3. » Reviews
  4. » Alternatives

netcat logo netcat

Netcat is a featured networking utility which reads and writes data across network connections...

Suricata logo Suricata

Suricata is a high performance Network IDS, IPS and Network Security Monitoring engine.
  • netcat Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-11-19
  • Suricata Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-11-06

netcat features and specs

  • Versatility
    Netcat can be used for a wide variety of network-related tasks, including port scanning, file transfers, and working as a backdoor.
  • Simplicity
    Netcat operates with simple command-line arguments, making it easy to use for those familiar with command-line interfaces.
  • Speed
    Netcat is lightweight and performs network operations quickly, without the overhead associated with more complex tools.
  • Scriptability
    Netcat is highly scriptable, allowing users to automate network tasks by including it in bash or other scripts.
  • Cross-Platform
    Netcat is available on multiple operating systems including Unix, Linux, and Windows, making it a versatile tool for different environments.

Possible disadvantages of netcat

  • Security
    Netcat can be misused, as it is often favored by attackers for creating reverse shells and other malicious activities.
  • Lack of Encryption
    Netcat does not natively support encrypted connections, meaning data transmitted can be vulnerable to interception.
  • Minimal Logging
    Netcat provides minimal logging capabilities, which can make it difficult to track usage or troubleshoot issues.
  • Basic Functionality
    Netcat provides core networking functions but lacks advanced features found in specialized tools.
  • Cannot Handle High Load
    Netcat is not designed to handle high traffic loads effectively, making it less suitable for some enterprise use cases.

Suricata features and specs

  • Open Source
    Suricata is an open-source project, meaning it's free to use and has a community of developers constantly improving it.
  • High Performance
    Optimized for high-speed networks, Suricata is capable of inspecting packets at gigabit speeds with minimal performance impact.
  • Multi-Threading
    Supports multi-threading which allows it to leverage multiple CPU cores for enhanced performance and scalability.
  • Protocol Identification
    Can accurately identify a wide range of network protocols even when they are using non-standard ports.
  • Unified Output
    Provides unified output options for logging and alerting, which simplifies the integration with other tools.
  • Versatile Detection
    Supports multiple types of threats such as intrusions, malware, and anomalies, encompassing various detection methodologies.
  • Community Support
    Strong community support that provides a wealth of shared knowledge, tutorials, and troubleshooting help.

Possible disadvantages of Suricata

  • Steep Learning Curve
    The complexity of setup and configuration can be challenging for beginners or those with limited experience in network security.
  • Resource Intensive
    Requires substantial system resources, especially on high-traffic networks, which might necessitate dedicated hardware.
  • Rule Management
    Managing and updating a large set of rules can be cumbersome, and improper rule configurations may lead to false positives or negatives.
  • Documentation
    While improving, the documentation can still be daunting and may not cover all edge cases or advanced configurations.
  • Complex Integration
    Integrating Suricata with other security tools and platforms can be complex and require custom configurations or additional middleware.
  • Potential for Overhead
    Depending on the network traffic and rules enabled, Suricata can introduce latency or overhead in network performance.
  • Frequent Updates
    Frequent updates and alerts might require constant monitoring and quick action to ensure the system remains secure and optimized.

netcat videos

+ Add

Linux Terminal 101: Netcat

More videos:

  • Review - Advanced Netcat and TCP Fun - Hak5 1922
  • Review - Netcat 101: Remote Shells in Windows, HakTip 86

Suricata videos

+ Add

Suricata Network IDS/IPS Installation, Setup, and How To Tune The Rules & Alerts on pfSense 2020

More videos:

  • Review - pfsense With Suricata Intrusion Detection System: How & When it works and What It Misses
  • Review - Test Case: Suricata VS Snort IDS

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to netcat and Suricata)

netcat

Suricata

Monitoring Tools
55 55%
Monitoring Tools
45% 45
Security & Privacy
0 0%
Security & Privacy
100% 100
Log Management
100 100%
Log Management
0% 0
Cyber Security
0 0%
Cyber Security
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using netcat and Suricata. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare netcat and Suricata

netcat Reviews

9 Best Angry IP Scanner Alternatives Reviewed 2021 (Free & Paid)
Netcat lacks a lot of the documentation you can easily find with software like AngryIP or Nmap which in my opinion is its biggest drawback. If you’re thinking about trying out Netcat, check out our Netcat Cheat Sheet to quickly pull up powerful and useful commands. Netcat is compatible with Windows, Linux, and macOS systems.
Source: www.comparitech.com
Top 5 Best Port Scanners
Netcat is one of the oldest network tools in the "Unixverse", it's been there since 1995, and the last official version is from 2004. Although it has many forks and variants that work pretty well on modern operating systems, like ncat from the Nmap suite, or this alternative Netcat version from Mike Frysinger.
Source: securitytrails.com

Suricata Reviews

The Top 14 Free and Open Source SIEM Tools For 2022
Prelude is a universal SIEM system and it collects, normalizes, sorts, aggregates, correlates and reports all security-related events independent of the product brand or licence giving rise to such events. Third-party agents to this tool include Auditd, OSSEC, Suricata, Kismet and ClamAV.
Source: logit.io

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Suricata should be more popular than netcat. It has been mentiond 15 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

netcat mentions (7)

  • could not connect to the rhel-9 from putty in windows machine
    If you don't like using telnet, that's fine. Don't use it. There are plenty of other options available. Use netcat. Or use netcat. Or use netcat. Or read and write directly to /dev/tcp/hostname/port using shell constructs. Or run openssl s_client if you suspect something complicated is listening on the other end. There is more than one way to do it and ways that are not your way still work. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • The HTTP crash course nobody asked for
    Reminder, there are many different netcats, here are some of the most commons: - netcat-traditional http://www.stearns.org/nc/ - netcat-openbsd : https://github.com/openbsd/src/blob/master/usr.bin/nc/netcat.c (also packaged in Debian) - ncat https://nmap.org/ncat/ - netcat GNU: https://netcat.sourceforge.net/ (quite rare) To prevent any confusion, I like to recommend socat: http://www.dest-unreach.org/socat/. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Gaining remote access to a computer with a reverse shell attack in Node.js
    A common tool to execute a reverse shell is called netcat. If you're using macOS, it should be installed by default. You can check by running nc -help in a terminal window. - Source: dev.to / almost 3 years ago
  • Programm to send and receive TCP/UDP Packets
    You could try using Ncat on Windows or netcat on Linux, though it's a command-line only tool if that matters. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Is there a way to copy a file from a remote shell to local without using scp?
    If you have netcat, you can easily set up a transfer from one machine to the other:. Source: almost 4 years ago
View more

Suricata mentions (15)

  • What is a Denial of Service (DoS) Attack? A Comprehensive Guide
    Suricata - High-performance Network IDS, IPS, and Network Security Monitoring engine. - Source: dev.to / 8 days ago
  • The Impact of Open-Source Tools in Cyber Warfare: A Deep Dive
    In summary, the open-source movement in cyber warfare has dismantled the long-held notion that only a select few can access and use cutting-edge cybersecurity tools. With resources like Suricata and Wireshark available at no cost, the barriers to entry have significantly decreased, allowing for both robust security defenses and increasingly complex cyber offensive strategies. The balance between offensive and... - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Harnessing Open Source Cybersecurity: A Robust Defense Against Cyberwarfare
    Cyberwarfare can range from cyber espionage to full-scale digital assaults against critical infrastructures. With the increasing frequency and sophistication of these attacks, the demand for transparent, flexible, and cost-effective cybersecurity solutions has never been higher. Open source cybersecurity tools meet this demand head-on. Their transparency allows vulnerabilities to be identified and fixed rapidly,... - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Who does check linux distros of malware - open source
    Linux has (free) tools to improve security and detect/remove malware: Lynis,Chkrootkit,Rkhunter,ClamAV,Vuls,LMD,radare2,Yara,ntopng,maltrail,Snort,Suricata... Source: over 1 year ago
  • Risks of hosting a website out of my house
    Monitoring & Active Measures - Exporting firewall events to an external time-series database like I describe above is good to see who is touching your firewall or accessing your web site. Using an Intrusion Detection System / Intrusion Prevention System (IDS/IPS) such as open-source Suricata, which is a free package on pfSense, and deploying file system integrity monitoring, such as the open-source Wazuh on the... Source: over 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing netcat and Suricata, you can also consider the following products

Wireshark - Wireshark is a network protocol analyzer for Unix and Windows. It lets you capture and interactively browse the traffic running on a computer network.

Wazuh - Open Source Host and Endpoint Security

Ettercap - Ettercap is a suite for man in the middle attacks on LAN.

snort - Snort is a free and open source network intrusion prevention system.

tcpdump - tcpdump is a common packet analyzer that runs under the command line.

SonicWall Capture Advanced Threat Protection - SonicWall Capture Advanced Threat Protection is a new cloud-based sandbox service that helps to provide continuous security against complex threats by leveraging intelligence and automation to proactively protect organizations from advanced attacks,…

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