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Zed Attack Proxy VS OpenVAS

Compare Zed Attack Proxy VS OpenVAS and see what are their differences

Zed Attack Proxy logo Zed Attack Proxy

The Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) is an easy to use integrated penetration testing tool for finding...

OpenVAS logo OpenVAS

The Open Vulnerability Assessment System (OpenVAS) is a framework of several services and tools...
  • Zed Attack Proxy Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-16
  • OpenVAS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-22

Zed Attack Proxy features and specs

  • Open Source
    Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) is open-source software, which means it's free to use and the source code is available for modification and improvement by the community.
  • Active Community
    ZAP has a robust and active community that contributes to its continuous improvement, provides support, and develops plugins and extensions.
  • Ease of Use
    ZAP is designed to be user-friendly, with a simple and intuitive interface, making it suitable for both beginners and advanced users.
  • Comprehensive Toolset
    ZAP offers a wide range of tools and features for automated and manual testing of web applications, including spidering, scanning, proxying, and reporting.
  • Cross-Platform
    ZAP runs on multiple platforms, including Windows, Linux, and macOS, providing flexibility for users regardless of their operating system.

Possible disadvantages of Zed Attack Proxy

  • Performance Issues
    ZAP can be resource-intensive, which might lead to performance slowdowns, especially when scanning large applications or using a lot of active scan rules.
  • Steep Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While the basic functions are user-friendly, utilizing advanced features and customizations can require a deeper understanding and can be complex for newcomers.
  • Plugin Dependency
    Relying on community-developed plugins can sometimes be problematic if they are not updated in line with the core tool, potentially leading to compatibility issues.
  • Limited Commercial Support
    Since ZAP is open source, it lacks dedicated commercial support, which may be a disadvantage for enterprises requiring guaranteed support services.
  • False Positives
    As with many security scanning tools, ZAP may generate false positives, which requires manual verification and can add to the time and effort required in a security assessment.

OpenVAS features and specs

  • Open Source
    OpenVAS is an open-source vulnerability scanning tool, which means it is free to use and the source code is available for customization.
  • Comprehensive Scanning
    It offers comprehensive vulnerability scanning capabilities, including a wide range of tests for network vulnerabilities, web application security, and compliance checks.
  • Regular Updates
    The tool receives regular updates, ensuring that it keeps up with the latest vulnerabilities and security threats.
  • Community Support
    OpenVAS has a strong community of users and developers who contribute to its development and provide support through forums and other channels.
  • Integration Capabilities
    OpenVAS can be integrated with other security tools and systems, enhancing its utility in a broader security infrastructure.

Possible disadvantages of OpenVAS

  • Complex Setup
    Setting up OpenVAS can be complex and time-consuming, requiring a fair amount of technical expertise.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running OpenVAS can be resource-intensive, potentially requiring significant CPU and memory, especially during large-scale scans.
  • False Positives
    Like many vulnerability scanning tools, OpenVAS can generate false positives, which can result in additional effort to validate findings.
  • User Interface
    The user interface can be less intuitive compared to some commercial vulnerability scanners, potentially increasing the learning curve for new users.
  • Limited Real-Time Capabilities
    OpenVAS is more focused on periodic scanning rather than real-time vulnerability detection and management.

Zed Attack Proxy videos

Zed Attack Proxy ZAP Tutorial #6 - Forced Browsing

More videos:

  • Tutorial - Zed Attack Proxy ZAP Tutorial #2 - ein einfacher Angriff
  • Tutorial - Zed Attack Proxy ZAP Tutorial #11 - Kontexte - Authentifikation und mehr

OpenVAS videos

How to find Exploits with OpenVAS

More videos:

  • Review - Vulnerability Analysis with OpenVAS | Scanning and Reconnaissance
  • Review - Vulnerability Identification and Remediation Cybrary Lab | Ep. 3 Kali Linux, OpenVAS, + more

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Zed Attack Proxy and OpenVAS)
Web Application Security
23 23%
77% 77
Security
17 17%
83% 83
Monitoring Tools
21 21%
79% 79
Security & Privacy
45 45%
55% 55

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Zed Attack Proxy and OpenVAS

Zed Attack Proxy Reviews

We have no reviews of Zed Attack Proxy yet.
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OpenVAS Reviews

Best Burp Suite Alternatives (Free and Paid) for 2023
The primary reason businesses use OpenVas is to perform comprehensive security testing of their IP addresses. This tool performs a port scan of an IP address to find any open services. Once listening services are found, they are tested for known vulnerabilities and misconfiguration using a large database of 53000 NVT checks. The results are compiled into a report that...
Burp suite alternatives
It is an open vulnerability assessment system is a software framework of services and tools offering vulnerability scanning and vulnerability assessment. The aim of OpenVAS protocol ia to be well documented to assist the developers. all products of OpenVAS are free, most components are licensed under the GNU, general public license. Its Plugins are written in NASL (Nessus...
Source: www.educba.com
10 Best Tenable Nessus Alternatives For 2021 [Updated List]
Verdict: OpenVAS is an open-source web application security scanner that will help you accurately detect vulnerabilities. It is easily configurable and can be tuned accordingly if you want to perform large-scale scans. Its use of updated data feeds makes it extremely efficient in detecting almost all types of vulnerabilities.
Best Nessus Alternatives (Free and Paid) for 2021
OpenVAS receives updates daily, which broadens the vulnerability detection coverage. It also helps in risk assessment and suggests countermeasures when the vulnerabilities in an application or network is detected.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, OpenVAS seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 6 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.

Zed Attack Proxy mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Zed Attack Proxy yet. Tracking of Zed Attack Proxy recommendations started around Mar 2021.

OpenVAS mentions (6)

  • Link CVE to installed applications?
    Otherwise your on the right path checkout the open source Greenbones OpenVAS (this was Nessus before they closed source and became corporate) or Project Discovery Nuclei. Source: about 2 years ago
  • What should I be doing as the sole sysadmin for a company to keep up with security?
    Personally, I was lucky enough to get a license to Nessus for my own scanning, however you can use OpenVAS for some free to scan. Scanners aren't 100% correct no matter where you go but it'll give you some things to look at. OpenVAS. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Wanting to protect my own homelab
    Https://openvas.org/ OpenVAS is free and fairly capable. It might struggle cpu on a pi... Might need quite a bit of ram, but I'm hoping you've got some beefier kit in your stack. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Free nessus equivalent?
    Maybe OpenVAS would fill the bill. It’s been on my list of things to check out. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Internal Vulnerability Scanning
    OpenVAS - https://openvas.org Try it first, its free, just download a prebuilt VM and you're off and running. I found it valuable for my clients. Source: over 3 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Zed Attack Proxy and OpenVAS, you can also consider the following products

Burp Suite - Burp Suite is an integrated platform for performing security testing of web applications.

Nessus - Nessus Professional is a security platform designed for businesses who want to protect the security of themselves, their clients, and their customers.

Verimatrix App Security - Verimatrix App Security offers 24/7 protection for Android and iOS applications.

Intruder - Intruder is a security monitoring platform for internet-facing systems.

Nikto - Nikto is an Open Source (GPL) web server scanner which performs comprehensive tests against web...

Acunetix - Audit your website security and web applications for SQL injection, Cross site scripting and other...