Acunetix: The ultimate web security scanner for acute vulnerabilities

Introduction

What if one day you are suddenly denied access to your website? Such a pulse-pounding moment isn’t it?
You and I can be the next victim of such cyber mishaps that mainly happen because of website vulnerabilities. These loopholes or vulnerabilities are manipulated by the threat actors to gain unauthorised web access and perform vicious acts. Did you know 98% of websites have vulnerabilities that facilitate threat actors to steal sensitive corporate data - such as transaction details and consumer lists - through web-based applications such as shopping carts, forms, login pages, etc? This is where Acunetix comes to the rescue.
Widely implemented by cyber defense experts, Acunetix is an automated black-box web security scanner, designed to prevent intrusive breaches.

Overview

As you know prevention is better than cure, the same applies in keeping your website health up to date. Acunetix tool is a leading web application and network scanning tool, implemented to detect website susceptibilities. These could range from misconfigurations to weak passwords, and other potentialities.
Remember, the threat landscape is evolving and acute sophisticated attacks are conjuring the data space now and then. This sheer frequency of attacks leaves cybersecurity experts scrambling to enact required defense strategies before the grave damage is done. Well, a tool like acunetix web vulnerability scanner empowers the cybersecurity experts to fortify the web applications for optimum security.
It appears you've arrived at our informative blog guide just in time, driven by the need to fortify your web applications and secure your digital assets with Acunetix. So, let’s get started

How does the Acunetix vulnerability scanner work?

To start with, acunetix web security scanner works in 3 simple steps to secure your digital authority from vulnerabilities.

Step 1

Spotting the target: Acunetix enables professionals to run an extensive check on the target. Users need to provide the URL of the website or web applications to Acunetix for initiating scanning. In this phase, Acunetix fingerprints the web server to thoroughly scan the types (if Apache HTTP Server, Nginx, IIS) and server-side language (if PHP, ASP.NET, Java/J2EE, Python, NodeJS), including the operating system. Based on the findings, the acunetix tool finetune the scanning, and tailor it based on specific server types and PHP versions.


Step 2

Website crawling and mapping: This is the second step of Acunetix scanning where the index file is requested from the web server. Once received, Acunetix runs a deepscan to execute client-side Javascript on the page. The crawling process also involves exploring links in the additional pages of the website. Further, the tool maps HTML forms to detect different states of applications and hidden functionalities. Once Acunetix is done with the crawling process, it generates detailed reports of the vulnerabilities detected during the process.


Step 3

Real-time report generation: Acunetix generates real-time threat reports following the second step. The report houses detailed information on the vulnerabilities and recommended fixes. The Acunetix report also carries helpful links to help users learn more about the detected flaws and fixes.

For enhanced threat detection accuracy you need to enable AcuSensor, an additional Acunetix feature to fetch detailed debug information. Get a demo of premium Acunetix security features for your web applications.
If you are interested in learning more about the operation of these vulnerability assessment tool, join our penetration testing course.

Features of Acunetix

Acunetix can be integrated into existing development and security workflow to automate vulnerability scanning and incorporate security testing into CI/CD pipelines. Curious about what sets Acunetix apart as the premier solution for detecting web application threats? Below are several innovative capabilities of this versatile web scanning tool:

i) Can identify up to 7000+ website and web application vulnerabilities including zero-days
ii) User-friendly and easy to integrate
iii) Offers combined DAST(dynamic application security testing) +IAST (interactive application security testing) scanning
iv) Enables user's software composition analysis (SCA) to identify open-source components
v) 99.9% detection accuracy compared to other vulnerability scanning tools
vi) Offers 99% customer satisfaction
vii) Takes less than a minute to run the first scan followed by unlimited scans

Benefits of Acunetix

So, why is Acunetix the industry's top choice for advanced cyber threat detection and Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) testing tools? Let's explore some proven advantages of acunetix vulnerability scanner.

360-degree scanning tool:

Acunetix is designed to reach acute vulnerabilities that other scanners can’t reach. Scans A-Z of web applications ( script-heavy sites, Javascript and HTML5 applications, multi-level forms, and unlinked files.


Instant detection:

The tool instantly detects and reveals vulnerabilities with 99.9% accuracy, thereby saving time from false positives.


Secure coding:

Acunetix assists developers in writing secure codes against vulnerabilities


Automated Scanning:

The tool enables professionals to automate consistent scanning while away

Conclusion

Integrating Acunetix is the most effective way to secure your website and web application with advanced threat detection and prevention techniques. Organisations around the globe are deploying Acunetix for its automated threat detection features. Its comprehensive scanning capabilities, real-time vulnerability identification, and intuitive reporting system make it the go-to choice for organizations seeking robust protection against cyber threats. It’s time to hone your cyber protection skills and knowledge set with DataSpace Academy’s highly rated online penetration testing courses curated by industry experts.
Interested in learning more about cybersecurity tools? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Let's keep the conversation going and exchange knowledge on how these tools are shaping the digital security landscape.