Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Scalpel VS Binary Ninja

Compare Scalpel VS Binary Ninja and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Scalpel logo Scalpel

Scalpel-2.0 - Scalpel; File Carving. Configuration files are modified.

Binary Ninja logo Binary Ninja

A reverse engineering platform and GUI
  • Scalpel Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-21
  • Binary Ninja Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-28

Scalpel features and specs

  • Open Source
    Scalpel is open-source software, allowing users to modify and improve the code as needed. This fosters community collaboration and continuous improvement.
  • Lightweight
    The program is lightweight, making it efficient not only in terms of resource usage but also in terms of speed, particularly suitable for tasks involving file carving.
  • Cross-Platform
    Scalpel is compatible with multiple operating systems, including Linux and Windows, providing flexibility to users on different platforms.
  • Extensible
    Users can edit the configuration files to add support for additional file types, offering a high degree of customization for forensic analyses.
  • Targeted File Recovery
    Scalpel allows for precise recovery of specific file types by using header and footer records defined in its configuration, enhancing the focus and efficiency of data recovery processes.

Possible disadvantages of Scalpel

  • Complex Configuration
    Setting up and customizing Scalpel requires editing configuration files, which can be complex and intimidating for users without technical background or experience in digital forensics.
  • Command-Line Interface
    The tool operates through a command-line interface, which could be less user-friendly for people accustomed to graphical interfaces, potentially steepening the learning curve.
  • Limited Built-in File Type Support
    By default, Scalpel may only support a limited set of file types; users must manually configure new definitions to carve other file types, requiring additional effort and expertise.
  • Lack of Active Development
    Scalpel does not receive frequent updates or active development, which may lead to challenges in dealing with new file systems or specific bugs that arise over time.
  • No Graphical User Interface
    The lack of a graphical user interface (GUI) may hinder ease of use and accessibility for non-technical users or those preferring a more visual interaction with software.

Binary Ninja features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Binary Ninja has a modern and intuitive interface that is suitable for both beginners and experienced users, making it easier to navigate through the software.
  • API and Scripting Support
    It provides a powerful API and scripting support, allowing users to automate tasks and extend functionalities using Python and other languages.
  • Cross-Platform
    Binary Ninja supports multiple operating systems including Windows, macOS, and Linux, enabling users to work on their preferred platform.
  • Extensive Documentation
    The tool comes with comprehensive documentation which covers its various features and functionalities in detail, helping new users get up to speed quickly.
  • Low-Level Binary Analysis
    Binary Ninja offers advanced low-level binary analysis and reverse engineering capabilities, useful for security researchers and software developers.
  • Static and Dynamic Analysis
    The tool supports both static and dynamic analysis, providing a complete suite of features for binary exploration and inspection.

Possible disadvantages of Binary Ninja

  • Cost
    Binary Ninja is a commercial tool and can be expensive for small teams or individual researchers, potentially limiting its accessibility.
  • Limited Free Version
    The free (student) edition of Binary Ninja comes with restricted features and may not be suitable for professional use, requiring an upgrade to access full functionality.
  • Steeper Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While the interface is user-friendly, mastering the advanced features and making full use of the scripting capabilities can have a steeper learning curve.
  • Resource Intensive
    The software can be resource-intensive, requiring a modern computer with sufficient processing power and memory for optimal performance.
  • Community and Ecosystem
    Compared to some older or more established tools, Binary Ninja might not have as large a community or as many third-party plugins and scripts available.

Analysis of Binary Ninja

Overall verdict

  • Overall, Binary Ninja is a highly regarded tool in the field of reverse engineering, valued for its efficiency, adaptability, and ease of use.

Why this product is good

  • Binary Ninja is considered a good choice for reverse engineering due to its user-friendly interface, powerful analysis capabilities, and active community support. It provides advanced features such as automated analysis, scripting APIs, and custom plugins, making it suitable for both beginners and experienced users. Its regular updates and comprehensive documentation further enhance its appeal as a reliable tool for reverse engineering tasks.

Recommended for

  • Security researchers
  • Reverse engineers
  • Malware analysts
  • Students learning reverse engineering

Scalpel videos

Cannondale Scalpel-Si Team - Long Term Review

More videos:

  • Review - Cannondale Scalpel SI Review – 2017 Bible of Bike Tests
  • Review - CANNONDALE SCALPEL SI REVIEW - ALL RIDE EP58

Binary Ninja videos

Reverse Engineering with Binary Ninja and gdb a key checking algorithm - TUMCTF 2016 Zwiebel part 1

More videos:

  • Demo - 312 Using Binary Ninja for Modern Malware Analysis Dr Jared DeMott Mr Josh Stroschein
  • Review - Binary Ninja Overview

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Scalpel and Binary Ninja)
Backup & Restore
100 100%
0% 0
IDE
0 0%
100% 100
Monitoring Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Software Development
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Scalpel and Binary Ninja. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Binary Ninja seems to be a lot more popular than Scalpel. While we know about 11 links to Binary Ninja, we've tracked only 1 mention of Scalpel. 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.

Scalpel mentions (1)

  • does formating your pc erase your Bitcoin wallet?
    Probably more than $100 of work, but if you're really serious https://github.com/sleuthkit/scalpel. Source: over 2 years ago

Binary Ninja mentions (11)

  • Bypassing regulatory locks, Faraday cages and upgrading your hearing
    Binary Ninja: https://binary.ninja/ :) Think someone has already linked it below! - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • Bypassing regulatory locks, Faraday cages and upgrading your hearing
    Found it out myself, https://binary.ninja/. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • [Media] I'm currently learning Rust. Out of curiosity, I opened the resulting binary as a text file, and among the garbled text characters, I saw this weird text. Is this normal or is there something wrong with the compiled binary? It's the "Hello, World!" sample program and it executes normally.
    If you really want to poke around in the binary, you can use a decompiler like IDA, Ghidra, or Binary Ninja's free version. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Ida Free
    Still $$$ for crippled functionality. As an alternative, https://binary.ninja is gaining traction at work. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Teaching A Machine To Identify Vulnerabilities (Part 1)
    As I said, a regular text editor won’t do for reading a binary file, so I needed to choose a disassembler to break the challenge binaries out into their basic blocks. I chose to use Binary Ninja because it has a very easy-to-use Python API, and it’s hobbyist-level cheap (for comparison, the industry-standard disassembler is IDA Pro, which they will sell to you for roughly an arm, and continue to pick off your... - Source: dev.to / over 4 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Scalpel and Binary Ninja, you can also consider the following products

TestDisk - TestDisk is a free and open source data recovery software tool designed to recover lost partition and unerase deleted files. DownloadDownload TestDisk & PhotoRec. TestDisk is a free and open .

IDA - The best-of-breed binary code analysis tool, an indispensable item in the toolbox of world-class software analysts, reverse engineers, malware analyst and cybersecurity professionals.

PhotoRec - Jun 4, 2016 - PhotoRec is file data recovery software designed to recover lost files including video, documents and archives from hard disks, CD-ROMs, and lost pictures (thus the Photo Recovery name) from digital camera memory.

Ghidra - Software Reverse Engineering (SRE) Framework

File Juicer - Extract images from PDF, PowerPoint, Word, Excel and other files. For Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard

X64dbg - X64dbg is a debugging software that can debug x64 and x32 applications.