Provided a few bugs are cleared up, administrators looking to reduce their exposure to outside security threats should consider Network Associates Inc.'s CyberCop Scanner 2.4, the most flexible network vulnerability detector PC Week Labs has tested. Network Associates officials said they plan to fix the discrepancies in a maintenance release before the end of the month. The product, formerly known as Ballista, prior to Network Associates' acquisition of Secure Networks Inc., provides more than 320 test modules covering about 20 categories of threats that can exploit weaknesses in FTP, SNMP, remote procedure call, Network File System, Sendmail, NetBIOS, Domain Name System and other services. The 2.4 version adds 20 new modules as well as enhanced reporting. The product runs only on Windows NT 4.0 and Solaris 2.51 or higher, but it can scan any remote IP device for vulnerable network services.
All prices are for a two-year subscription, including updates and support.
CyberCop Scanner scouts for security weaknesses from the viewpoint of Internet hackers outside the network. Rival products offer more testing capabilities for operating systems, as well as network perimeter testing and more useful instructions for eliminating vulnerabilities. Netect Inc.'s Netective Site is the best choice for administrators who don't consider themselves security experts. However, it only runs from Solaris platforms and lacks Windows NT tests, although an NT version is slated for release in early fall. 1 Creator 3D running Solaris 2.6, respectively.